In contrast to other pop-punk music videos, Set It Off's 'Swan Song' features darker tones with a darker narrative. Comparing this to the work of Marcos Siega in Blink 182's music video for 'All The Small Things' which conveys lighter element, much more of what you would expect from a conventional pop-punk video. However, Set It Off are a different strand of pop-punk and have diverged from the norm in the sense of their videos aren't necessarily happy or nonsensical but the tone fits with that of the music. Other bands such as Blink 182 are know to have music that has a deeper meaning but is accompanied by a light hearted fun looking video in order to juxtapose the conflicting ideas, such as in their video 'What's My Age Again'.
Looking at their costume, aspects of what can be perceived as being 'typical' pop-punk can be seen in their make up, that being the eye liner that some of the band are wearing much like that which is worn by Green Day.
Looking at their costume, aspects of what can be perceived as being 'typical' pop-punk can be seen in their make up, that being the eye liner that some of the band are wearing much like that which is worn by Green Day.
A main feature of a pop-punk video is that the narrative doesn't exactly make a direct link to the meaning of the song, it is more abstract and requires thinking. This is evident in Set It Off's music video as the carnival setting hasn't much to do with the video in which I mean if the narrative was set in a city or school, the meaning would obviously change but the main message would still be the same. It can be seen that the two girls loose each other but the audience may not understand why the narrative was chosen and to what extent if they don't have a grasp on the concept of the lyrics.
The camera is constantly moving throughout the song. This is a common feature in most music videos of all genres as the movement of the camera mimics the pace of the music and the fact that it is constantly moving. In pop-punk videos however, this movement is more exaggerated and all the more noticeable due to the pace of the music and the movement during the performance element of the music video. This is done in order to capture the audiences attention and to draw them in as if they were there in front of the band, giving them more perspectives rather than a 2D stationary shot of the front of the band. This helps endorse the show casing of the instruments which may therefore inspire the target audience in wanting to become like the band and aspire to play and instrument and live the lifestyle that the band has. The slow turning of the camera also has the same effect as the tracking motion as it adds much more interest to the whole video then if each shot shown was to be stationary and at one angle throughout.
Something else which is a heavy feature of pop-punk videos is the use and sometimes over use of lights. In this video there are used but only for a fractional amount of time meaning that the video is embellished rather than taken over by the addition on lights.
As the audience of the pop-punk genre and specifically Set It Off are aged typically speaking, between 15 and 25, the lyrics of the song and therefore the narrative of the song is something of which they can relate to. Many people lose friends during high school and as you get to the higher end of the age bracket, those losses become all the more significant and impacting on your life.
Something else which is a heavy feature of pop-punk videos is the use and sometimes over use of lights. In this video there are used but only for a fractional amount of time meaning that the video is embellished rather than taken over by the addition on lights.
As the audience of the pop-punk genre and specifically Set It Off are aged typically speaking, between 15 and 25, the lyrics of the song and therefore the narrative of the song is something of which they can relate to. Many people lose friends during high school and as you get to the higher end of the age bracket, those losses become all the more significant and impacting on your life.