Genre and Performance analysis of Decade: Brainfreeze

Sticking with the same genre of my chosen band, this band are a classic example of genre conventions of Pop Punk. Decade have filmed a music video in their own studio, for simplicity. There is no narrative, other than them playing their instruments. Pop Punk doesn't necessarily require a narrative story in a music video - it's usually solely performance based, as narratives can become quite vague or unnecessary. It's true that there is a sense of vanity in Rock/Punk/Metal and various sub-genres, that the focus is on them, not a story line. Nonetheless, the video has some great examples of atypical shots and the kind of thing to expect.

[0:06] My personal favourite: the sweeping dolly shot, at the drummers level.
Drummers aren't a focal point, they're stuck at the back. The guys with the guitar and the mic are in front, and they're granted more attention. However, this shot allows the whole band to be in the shot, but focus on one particular member.

[0:19] Everybody looking at eachother: The whole point of pop punk, is that it's young, energetic, and friendly. Friends that have decided to make a band. The whole smiling at eachother thing reinforces that it's more about playing songs they like, and enjoy, than anything else.

[0:29] Mandatory guitarist eating microphone shot: When back up vocals are featured, there is always a shot of the back up vocalist singing them. It's a strong feature, and should be entirely cut to the beat. It should be kept to a midshot, or a side on shot.

[0:35]
1) Jumping: Jumping is vital, band movement is a definite requirement in a music video based entirely on performance, and jumping is a recognisable and most obvious form of this. Jumping shows the energy and enjoyment of the genre; they're fully immersed in playing the song and having fun with it.
2) Slow motion playing: When changing into a breakdown, bridge or middle 8 that's comparatively softer or slower, it's not surprising, like in this case, to see some slow motion. Not for a prolonged section of time, but it is an effect that accents something like a band jump perfectly. Too much could ruin it, so it needs to be used within reason.

[1:13] Avoiding eye contact with the camera: the whole point is that the camera is omniscient, and catches them from all angles or positions. A huge shot variety is required for this, but typically, the band pretends the camera isn't there - like they're practicing or just having fun, and it's being documented. It preserves the natural feel of them playing, prevents it looking like they're forced to play.

[2:02] Instrumental intricacies: Any point in the song where a musician plays an interesting fill or solo, that becomes the focal point at that moment, it's usually included. For example, the drummer is playing a fill to carry the chorus into a middle 8, and it just marks a change. The focus is remaining on the instrument and the music yet again; the narrative is entirely made up of them playing their song.

[2:39] Generally, preference of the instrument and the outfit is chosen over the member's face. This is a touch that I like, and this video uses perfectly. It donates adequate and equal proportions of the shot to each member, or maintaining them all within the frame. There is no dominant member in the video.


The editing is so fast paced, due to the upbeat nature of Pop Punk, and this song especially. The usual variety of shots are wide midshots showing most of the members, or sweeping dolly shots that portray them all individually within the same shot.

This fits in with the genre expectations set by the fans, who don't ususally recognise the band as the people, but as the collective group, and expect to see them play as they would onstage, the video reflects their persona on stage entirely. So to see them stationary, with almost 'wooden' presence betrays the ideas or visual portrayals the fans have for the band.