Kings of Leon 3 Music Videos: Differences & Similarities

Pyro - Kings of Leon

•Located at an American bar.

•Different situations taking place (arguments, fighting, conversations, etc).

•Pyro is short for Pyromaniac which is defined as an obsession with setting things on fire.

•The lyrics relate to the song title ‘Pyro’: “Single book of matches, gonna burn what's standing in the way. Run down the mountain, now they're calling on the fire brigade”.

•The dress code is very red-neck/country type (leather jackets, jeans, etc).

•Camera shot is revolving around the room showing all the situations, never stops at one place, always on the move.

•As the song gets into its most vocal and loud point, the fight scene is taking place but it is in slow motion, showing the punch in more detail.  A lot more of the music video is then played in slow motion.

•Fire is connoted with pain, anger, evil and death. We see someone get beaten up, we see glass smash, we someone who is unwell, it all links together.

•The lyrics also link very well to the music video with lyrics such as “All the black inside me is slowly seeping from the bone” and “Everything I cherish is slowly dying, or it's gone”.

•We then see the body of the man beaten starting to rise and then so does some selected others, going away and rising from the person they were with.

The music video is partly performance based with the actual band playing at the bar with their equipment and lip sync but the majority of the music video is focused on the other people in the bar.  

Supersoaker - Kings of Leon

•Very old fashioned feel to the music video in terms of colour, lighting, costume, make up, location. 1950s.

•Changes from black and white to colour.

•Performance based showing all the instruments and the microphone.

•Video looks very retro and photo like.

•Music video seems very fun and friendly, smiling etc, very different from their past music videos which are
usually very depressive and emotional.

•Camera shots are very close up focusing on the eyes and lips of the performers.

•Lots of changing sequences in the music video from colour to people.

•Performance based again, showing the instruments and the band playing together.

•Lots of camera shots moving quickly across people and the band.

•Southern and relaxed clothing, casual, jeans, leather jackets etc. 

Back Down South - Kings of Leon

•Kings of Leon are brothers and cousins, they are all from the same place in the US, this song is about their roots and going back to their home in the south. 

•The music video links to the title of the song and to the roots of the band. It is filmed in the country side with  all your typical rural American way of life (Barns, diners, tractors, empty roads, land, trees, fields etc)

•Again partly performance based with all their instruments and microphone playing in a random field.

•Music video is really fun and joyful. Its as if the band are reliving their past and memories all onto one music video.

•Camera shots move very quickly onto different people and situations.

•All wearing stereotypical southern American outfits, jeans, leather jackets, boots etc.

•Fireworks at the end in the night sky represent a party feel, celebrations of their memories in their home town.

•Lyrics to back up the music video celebration feel are “come on out and dance If you get the chance”.

Similarities

•All three music videos have the same sort of structure in the way they go, all feature the band together playing instruments and singing.

•In terms of clothing, they all wear the same sort of clothing in each of their music videos: The typical Southern representation of skinny jeans, leather jackets, boots, levy etc.

•All of the music videos show other people and their stories in the video.

•They always take a back seat role in the video as if they are playing in the back and watching over the ongoing situations.

•All the music videos are performance based.

•They always keep the same concept in their videos. All the videos link to the song title and lyrics.

•All the videos feature women barely dressed.

•Camera shots are always very similar throughout the three music videos, always focusing on the band with a medium close up shot and then going close up to their faces.

•The camera also moves around a lot to other people in the music videos. 

Differences

•Differences in the three music videos are obviously the concept of the video linking to the lyrics and song title, in the first we see a fight and a very angry and dangerous situation linking the song name Pyro which is connoted with anger, power, death, danger.

•In the second video we see a much more happy vibe with people smiling, dancing and having fun, Supersoaker is actually a well known branded water gun from the 90s when KOL would have been growing up and messing around, referring to “I’m a Supersoaker red and white and blew 'em all away ”.

•The third video is again a very fun and happy video, reminiscing on the bands past and going back to their roots where they grew up and watching people do the things they did like party, play sports, chill out etc.

•What I love about Kings of Leon is that they are meaningful in all of their songs, they relate the song title and lyrics to the music video really well. 

Annotation Of A Music Video (Homework)

Jake Bugg - Broken

• Starts outside the club/bar, walks in as two performers are finishing off their song.
• Walks up on stage but is hardly noticed, receives a small round of applause. Arguing can be heard in the background.
• The lyrics “I'm Broken” coincide with the video as he is being ignored by everyone in the club which represents this ‘broken’ feeling he has.
• The sound from the club can be heard whilst he is performing, makes it seem as if the song is being played live.
• A fight breaks out during the song. But he continues as if nothing is happening, representing a cold and heartless approach as he is ‘broken’.
• The people in the club/bar seem to reflect the representation of the song and lyrics.
• He walks off stage to zero applause.
• Extreme close ups on the singers face to show the emotion and lip syncing. 
• Performance based music video. 
• Club/Bar located in the country side somewhere in the US. All the people in the club are dressed like stereotypical red-necks and farmers. Vehicles outside the club are pick up trucks and 4x4s, typical off road and rural vehicles. Motorbikes too, people in the club dressed in leather jackets and boots, have a strong manly look about them with tattoos and posture. 
• Country song being played as Jake walks into the club.
• Jake dressed in all black, leather jacket, skinny jeans.
• Camera focuses on his face, his hands pulling the guitar strings and the peoples reaction in the club. 
• It's as if Jake isn't even playing there, he is being completely ignored with only 3 people who the camera seems to focus on more actually paying attention, the rest of the people in the club ignore him, representing that he is alone and 'Broken'. 

Music Video Ideas For Selected Song (Homework)

Foals - Late Night

My ideas were to make sure that the music video I would create would reflect the emotion and feeling from the lyrics and the music. The song title is 'Late Night' so I based my idea on a dark rainy night with fog descending. I had an idea that a man would storm out the house in anger, smashing the window of a car and getting in it (hot-wiring) and driving off. The idea would be that he is driving away from the place he was at, so maybe a city or urban area. He would drive off to a dark deserted area, he would switch the radio on and the song 'Late Night' would begin on the radio, he would turn it up and the music would then take over as the main non diegetic sound being heard.

As the song gets louder and quicker, I linked the fact he was driving a car to it so the car would then go faster and faster as the song reaches its climax. The car would be driving through dark deserted areas that are mysterious and lonely, connoting a 'Late Night'. I would have extreme close ups on the man in the car to represent his emotion, there would be a tear dropping from his eye with the camera focusing on and moving down following the tear as it falls from his eye(s). Also the camera would focus on his lips to show a sync with the lyrics. I also had POV shots of the road he was driving on and it getting faster and faster to show the speed and pain he was in. The man in the car would be wearing dark clothing, black shoes, black skinny jeans and leather black jacket over a black t shirt; the reason for this is to once again connect and link the song name and lyrics to the music video being called 'Late Night'.

The lyrics in the song are very depressing, they contain lines such as "Empty veins", "I know the place but not the way", "Do you hear my fear, it's coming after me", "I thought you were somebody to pull me to my feet again when I was in doubt" and "Calling our your name". I wanted to make sure the music video would link to these lyrics so it gave the viewer a better understanding. I pictured the man in the car undoing his window and shouting "Calling our your name", I thought it would add great effect as it is a late night and he is calling out to somebody but there is no one around as it a late night and in a deserted area.

The ending for the video was that after all the lyrics had been sung and it was just a little guitar solo at the end I had pictured the driver loosing control of the car and smashing it in to a tree. I wanted their to be a coincidence and connection as he dies in the middle of nowhere, on a late night with no one there "Calling out your name", but nobody is in sight, the lyrics would link to it as if it was some kind of fate.