Imagine Dragons
Imagine Dragons is an American rock band originating from Las Vegas, Nevada and consisting of lead vocalist Dan Reynolds, lead guitarist Wayne Sermon, bassist Ben McKee, and drummer Daniel Platzman. The band gained exposure following the release of their debut studio album, Nigh Visions (2012) and first single 'It's Time' . According to Billboard, Imagine Dragons topped the year-end rock rankings for 2013.
KidinaKorner and Interscope Geffen A & M Records
KidinaKorner (styled KIDinaKORNER) is an American record label founded in 2011, by British music producer and songwriter Alex Da Kid is a music company housing a record label, music publishing, commercial production and a marketing agency.
Interscope Geffen A&M Records (also known as IGA Records) is an American record company. Its parent company is the Universal Music Group a subsidiary of Paris-based media conglomerate Vivendi SA.
'Demons'- By Imagine Dragons
Lyrics
When the days are cold
And the cards all fold
And the saints we see
Are all made of gold
When your dreams all fail
And the ones we hail
Are the worst of all
And the blood's run stale
I wanna hide the truth
I wanna shelter you
But with the beast inside
There's nowhere we can hide
No matter what we breed
We still are made of greed
This is my kingdom come
This is my kingdom come
When you feel my heat
Look into my eyes
It's where my demons hide
It's where my demons hide
Don't get too close
It's dark inside
It's where my demons hide
It's where my demons hide
At the curtain's call
It's the last of all
When the lights fade out
All the sinners crawl
So they dug your grave
And the masquerade
Will come calling out
At the mess you made
Don't wanna let you down
But I am hell bound
Though this is all for you
Don't wanna hide the truth
No matter what we breed
We still are made of greed
This is my kingdom come
This is my kingdom come
When you feel my heat
Look into my eyes
It's where my demons hide
It's where my demons hide
Don't get too close
It's dark inside
It's where my demons hide
It's where my demons hide
They say it's what you make
I say it's up to fate
It's woven in my soul
I need to let you go
Your eyes, they shine so bright
I wanna save that light
I can't escape this now
Unless you show me how
When you feel my heat
Look into my eyes
It's where my demons hide
It's where my demons hide
Don't get too close
It's dark inside
It's where my demons hide
It's where my demons hide
And the cards all fold
And the saints we see
Are all made of gold
When your dreams all fail
And the ones we hail
Are the worst of all
And the blood's run stale
I wanna hide the truth
I wanna shelter you
But with the beast inside
There's nowhere we can hide
No matter what we breed
We still are made of greed
This is my kingdom come
This is my kingdom come
When you feel my heat
Look into my eyes
It's where my demons hide
It's where my demons hide
Don't get too close
It's dark inside
It's where my demons hide
It's where my demons hide
At the curtain's call
It's the last of all
When the lights fade out
All the sinners crawl
So they dug your grave
And the masquerade
Will come calling out
At the mess you made
Don't wanna let you down
But I am hell bound
Though this is all for you
Don't wanna hide the truth
No matter what we breed
We still are made of greed
This is my kingdom come
This is my kingdom come
When you feel my heat
Look into my eyes
It's where my demons hide
It's where my demons hide
Don't get too close
It's dark inside
It's where my demons hide
It's where my demons hide
They say it's what you make
I say it's up to fate
It's woven in my soul
I need to let you go
Your eyes, they shine so bright
I wanna save that light
I can't escape this now
Unless you show me how
When you feel my heat
Look into my eyes
It's where my demons hide
It's where my demons hide
Don't get too close
It's dark inside
It's where my demons hide
It's where my demons hide
Synopsis
The clip, which starts as a standard concert video, albeit one bathed in beautiful blue light, features the 'Radioactive' band performing the heavy mid-tempo track about the demons we all have living inside us before a hometown audience in Las Vegas.
One by one, it spotlights someone in the audience and takes them outside of the concert hall into their real life. The story zooms in on that person’s own demon, whether it’s the woman who has just lost a loved one, the young man battling from anorexia (or a disease that has left his body decimated), the son bullied by his father, or the soldier struggling from PTSD.
Timeline
00:00- 00:40- The clip begins with a concert video, showing Imagine Dragons live on stage, with the light being blue very bright. The camera is mainly fixated and panning around the main singer who is literally singing or lip syncing the words of the song 'Demons'. A feature of the band performing live in concert is a typical convention of an alternative/rock band's music video. The camera then pans around the whole band and back to the main singer with a close-up shot of him. The camera then moves through the crowd to see an extreme close up shot of a woman who is standing in the crowd. The way the shot is an extreme close up exaggerates her emotion/expression to what she is listening to and to show that she is trying to make sense of what is being said in the song.
00:40- 00:55- The camera then fades into the woman's face who was standing in the crowd to fade into her sitting on a chair opposite to a coffin. This is then cut to an over the shoulder shot/behind the woman to show what she is looking at in front of her, and in actual fact it is a coffin. This is then cut to a mid shot of the woman's hand in which she is holding a photograph which looks like the loved one who may have sadly passed away and is at their funeral. The camera then looks up at the woman with an extreme close up, showing how she is upset as she is crying.
00:55- 1:20- This then cuts from the woman crying at a loved one passing away to her back at the concert listening to the song in the music video. The camera then pans across the crowd and cuts back to the main singer and then to a close up of other band members.
1:20-1:50- After panning across the crowd and around the band, the shot cuts to one of an older man standing in the crowd at the concert with the blue warm lights surrounding him.This shot is then cut to a fade into the man with a extreme close up and cuts to another scene. There is a mid shot showing the man looking at himself in the mirror as he is rather skinny, so possibly showing how he may have struggled from anorexia or still is struggling. The camera pans around his body showing how skinny he is and then cuts to a close up of his face showing his emotion as to what he is seeing of his reflection in the mirror. This shot is then cut back to the concert of Imagine Dragons.
1:50-2:22- The camera shows a young boy wearing a hoodie standing in the concert with a bruise on his face. Which is then showing a fade into the boy's face, which then cuts to the boy in another setting sitting on a sofa, drinking a beer. We then see a mid-shot of the boy sitting down watching television, and then a man (assuming it's the boy's father) comes along and starts hitting the boy. There are then fast paced cuts of the concert again with flashing lights.
2:22- 3:11- The camera then cuts to a middle aged darker man standing in the crowd in an extreme close up, showing his full emotion. Which is then faded into the man standing as a soldier in the middle of what looks like a war. This shot is then cut back to man standing in the crowd again with a mid-shot, which then cuts to the camera panning around the band and the crowd again as the main singer is singing.
The final cut is of the main singer in an extreme close up as he closes his eyes along with the blue lighting. Then the shot cuts to a fast fade directly into the singer's face.
In this shot, the young boy is wearing a vest top and shorts with trainers and socks in his house, while sitting on a sofa; this therefore suggests that he is a young boy and hasn't lived his full life yet.
In this shot the man is wearing army clothes. It suggests that he is in the army and therefore depicting him as a tough man.
Key Shot- Establishing Shot
It is important to include all of the conventions which a music video should have.
Brand recognition is very important in music videos.
Having the singer sing the lyrics without breaking the fourth wall can also work well.
It can be important for elements of the music video to be relatable to the target audience; be that the protagonist or the setting.
People tend to enjoy music videos which have more of a deeper meaning to them.
00:40- 00:55- The camera then fades into the woman's face who was standing in the crowd to fade into her sitting on a chair opposite to a coffin. This is then cut to an over the shoulder shot/behind the woman to show what she is looking at in front of her, and in actual fact it is a coffin. This is then cut to a mid shot of the woman's hand in which she is holding a photograph which looks like the loved one who may have sadly passed away and is at their funeral. The camera then looks up at the woman with an extreme close up, showing how she is upset as she is crying.
00:55- 1:20- This then cuts from the woman crying at a loved one passing away to her back at the concert listening to the song in the music video. The camera then pans across the crowd and cuts back to the main singer and then to a close up of other band members.
1:20-1:50- After panning across the crowd and around the band, the shot cuts to one of an older man standing in the crowd at the concert with the blue warm lights surrounding him.This shot is then cut to a fade into the man with a extreme close up and cuts to another scene. There is a mid shot showing the man looking at himself in the mirror as he is rather skinny, so possibly showing how he may have struggled from anorexia or still is struggling. The camera pans around his body showing how skinny he is and then cuts to a close up of his face showing his emotion as to what he is seeing of his reflection in the mirror. This shot is then cut back to the concert of Imagine Dragons.
1:50-2:22- The camera shows a young boy wearing a hoodie standing in the concert with a bruise on his face. Which is then showing a fade into the boy's face, which then cuts to the boy in another setting sitting on a sofa, drinking a beer. We then see a mid-shot of the boy sitting down watching television, and then a man (assuming it's the boy's father) comes along and starts hitting the boy. There are then fast paced cuts of the concert again with flashing lights.
2:22- 3:11- The camera then cuts to a middle aged darker man standing in the crowd in an extreme close up, showing his full emotion. Which is then faded into the man standing as a soldier in the middle of what looks like a war. This shot is then cut back to man standing in the crowd again with a mid-shot, which then cuts to the camera panning around the band and the crowd again as the main singer is singing.
The final cut is of the main singer in an extreme close up as he closes his eyes along with the blue lighting. Then the shot cuts to a fast fade directly into the singer's face.
Mise en Scene
Setting
This shot is an establishing shot of where the music video setting is. We can clearly see that it is a concert of the artist 'Imagine Dragons' with the crowd being shown and the lights being very vibrant and colourful.
This shot shows the man's struggle with his personal image.
This shot is showing how the man was in the army and shows how he has saved lives.The mise en scene in this shot is important as it shows a derelict land where a war is taking place.
This shot shows the woman's story of how she has lost a loved one.
This shot shows the man's struggle with his personal image.
This shot is establishing where the boy lives as he is sitting on a sofa, therefore the audience assumes he is at home. The next shot switches to what it looks like his father hitting him, therefore depicting domestic violence.
This shot is showing how the man was in the army and shows how he has saved lives.The mise en scene in this shot is important as it shows a derelict land where a war is taking place.
Costume and Makeup
In this shot, the young boy is wearing a vest top and shorts with trainers and socks in his house, while sitting on a sofa; this therefore suggests that he is a young boy and hasn't lived his full life yet.
In this shot the man is wearing army clothes. It suggests that he is in the army and therefore depicting him as a tough man.
This shot shows a woman wearing a black dress. This could be significant as she is at a loved one's funeral. Wearing black represents paying respect when attending a funeral as it connotes death. The way in which the woman is facing the coffin while attending a funeral shows how she is grieving.
In this shot the man is shown without a t-shirt and wearing plain blue jeans. Wearing jeans could suggest that he is young/rebellious, while wearing no t-shirt may suggest that he is struggling with something inside, possibly an illness.
Key Shots, Camera movements, and Edits
Key Shot- Establishing Shot
This is a Key Shot in the music video as it is establishing the setting of where the music video is being filmed which is at an Imagine Dragons concert.
Camera Movements/ Editing
The image above shows how the camera moves from the woman standing at the concert to an extreme close up of her face and then cuts to her face in another setting which she is thinking about at the concert, the setting is in fact a funeral which she is attending or has attended.
The editing in this shot is very clever as it fades from the woman's face at the concert to another shot of her standing in a different setting (at a funeral); this is showing what she is thinking about while at the concert.
The fading effect then happens to the other three people, for example in the image above. From the concert to the fade into that persons life/struggle is significant as it is showing a different story as to why that person may be attending that specific concert.
Camera Movements/ Editing
The image above shows how the camera moves from the woman standing at the concert to an extreme close up of her face and then cuts to her face in another setting which she is thinking about at the concert, the setting is in fact a funeral which she is attending or has attended.
The editing in this shot is very clever as it fades from the woman's face at the concert to another shot of her standing in a different setting (at a funeral); this is showing what she is thinking about while at the concert.
The fading effect then happens to the other three people, for example in the image above. From the concert to the fade into that persons life/struggle is significant as it is showing a different story as to why that person may be attending that specific concert.
The fading effect then happens again to this man who is in the army. This is significant as it is showing the mans sorry as to why he might be attending the concert and what he may be thinking about while attending the concert and listening to the lyrics.
The fading effect then happens to this boy with bruises on his face. The fade in switches to a young boy sitting on a sofa while what it seems to be his father hitting and abusing his son. Again, this is significant as it shows why the boy may have been attending the concert and his reason is the domestic violence he is receiving from his father.
Focus Group
"I really like the music video as it shows four different people's story across the whole video as well as the live concert performance of Imagine Dragons."
"I really enjoyed watching this music video as it shows a meaning across the four people's lives which it shows across the music video. I think it shows all the conventions the music video should have being 'alternative/rock' and this is shown well with both a short story line alongside a live concert performance of the artist."
' I really enjoyed watching the music video as it illustrates many different peoples lives well. I like the way the lyrics of the song replicate into each persons backstory when shown with the fade in as they stand in the concert hall".
' I really enjoyed watching the music video as it illustrates many different peoples lives well. I like the way the lyrics of the song replicate into each persons backstory when shown with the fade in as they stand in the concert hall".
Lessons to be learnt
Brand recognition is very important in music videos.
Having the singer sing the lyrics without breaking the fourth wall can also work well.
It can be important for elements of the music video to be relatable to the target audience; be that the protagonist or the setting.
People tend to enjoy music videos which have more of a deeper meaning to them.
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