Perf vid: Avenged Sevenfold

Kyle posted on this one.

ACT: Avenged Sevenfold

TRACK: Afterlife

YEAR: 2008

DIRECTOR: Wayne Isham

GENRE: metalcore, heavy metal

MAIN AUDIENCE: male 15-24

Another good eg of a perf vid, with some fairly simple additional material thrown in. The 3 shots from 0:24-0:27 are a good example to remember: CU of singer to MS with 2 band members in frame to CU again. Camera movement is frequently seen, again this helps create a sense of realism, as if its a genuine live performance, and dynamism. Cutting into a camera movement (eg 0:41, cut from drummer to CU of singer, cam tilting down as part of tracking the singer in CU) reinforces this.
The warehouse setting is suitably 'metal' but seen as not quite enough to keep people reviewing this over and over, so we get some nice SFX and a switch to a white backdrop (with added ghosting effect) at around 1:06. A costume change has also taken place (all still very metal, with tattoos and black slothing much in evidence!), and simple shots of one of the band releasing a bird are very effectively crosscut through this section. When we return to the warehouse setting, shots of a tarantula on a band member's hand help avoid this being a case of just repeating the earlier footage, and provides a neat bridge between the two settings.

Indeed, at 1:35 we see a great example of one of the simplest FX you can pull off IF YOU TAKE ENOUGH COVERAGE: a jump effect by cutting 3 shots, each a little more zoomed out than the last.
Its simple, but the little trick of introducing the tarantula really does render the two sections of warehouse performance quite distinct.

After about 2 mins we get a section of continually cross-cutting between the 2 locations, often applying a revolving wipe effect. A lyric on 'dancing' is used to bring in a 3rd vignette, of another band member dancing - each band member gets their own little scenario, nothing complicated, but these simnple shots make a huge difference to the vid in terms of its entertainment and variety, and its potential for remaining an enjoyable view once seen a few times!

Lovely use of multiple layering from this point. At 2:47/8 we see a neat editing trick: using two shots of the singer in ECU on the mouth, shot from left and right so that each shot leaves half the frame empty - they are briefly combined in one shot.

Just in case there was any risk of avoiding cliche, we get a 4th vignette, featuring a skull and an array of candles!

I also rather enjoyed seeing the drummer's enthusiastic drumstick twirling, something that Motley Crue's Tommy Lee, copying many others before him, made into a cliche nearly 25 years ago with the Wild Side video!

You can see a making of vid here (part 1 of 3).