Story of the Year- Until the Day I Die

The video on which the times were based in the text had disabled embedding 'by request'. So I'm posting a link here.

- The opening shot is of various bottles smashed on the floor. This is as the guitar is starting to sound in the background.




- The first 6 seconds are all of the guitar building up, with 3 different cuts. We then see a fly which flies across the screen, this accompanied to a cut brings the lead singer (Dan Marsala) into the audiences view. He begins to sing whilst still out of focus.




-He comes into focus briefly at 0.09 before another cut.



- This high amount of exposure to the lead singer is almost inevitably due pressure from the record company wishing to establish him as an icon or star.



- It continues with the same chords being played on the guitar in the background with his vocals laid over it for roughly 15 seconds. It uses a large amount of shallow and deep focus.


- At 0.24, we see the first cut to the live performance, but the first thing we see is the guitarist mid way through a jump whilst playing the guitar.



- For the next 10 seconds, we have varying cuts of the band members performing. This helps establish the people who are in fact in the band, as in this video there are many shots of individuals in the crowd singing along, and this helps distinguish between the band and the crowd.




- At 0.35, we cut to the lead singer no longer on stage on his own, in a similar setting to the start of the video. This signals the beginning of the vocals again. Once more, this helps increase exposure.




- The music video effectively uses the crowd, as it shows many singing along and obviously enjoying the experience.



- At 0.43, the lyrics say 'I die too', and he pats his heart.



- In the live performance, there are many many cuts between the band members. Also there is a large amount of camera movement, to put emphasis on the idea that YOU are in the crowd.

- This is further reinforced at 0.59 when a low angled shot from within the crowd, facing towards the stage, helps add to this idea of actually being there.



- The camera even moves in time with singer nodding his head at 1.27, with the camera panning up and down.

- At 1.45, we hear the words 'My hands are at your throat', and he points to his throat.



- Even when he is singing on his own, the camera is still moving.



- During the unclean vocal section of the song (scream) we have an extreme close up of the singers mouth. This is at roughly 2.25.



- Drummer spins his sticks in his hand when he isn't playing. This is a close up shot and helps increase the audiences estimation of the bands skill.



- The lyrics repeat 'My hands are at your throat', but this time we see the audiences hands all around his throat. This helps increase the audience interaction with the band.




- At 3.04, the music begins to become more heavy again, and to signal a return to the live performance we see a member of the crowd, or possibly the band, run and perform a back flip. This helps increase the enjoyment of the performance, as it makes it seem more extreme and dangerous.




- The last shot of the live performance is of the bassist playing the final chord. While this is playing out we see the singer alone again, and the shot cuts are similar to the start of the video.