Warm Me Up

The Audition – Warm Me Up Analysis

About the Band...Artist– The Audition

Chosen Song Title – Warm Me UpRecord Label – Victory Records

Band Members – Danny Stevens - Vocals and GuitarSeth Johnson - Lead Guitar

Timmy Klepek - Rhythm Guitar, BassRyan O’Connor - Drums, Percussion

(Joe Lussa – Bass until 2009)Albums – Self Titled Album, Controversy loves

Company and Champion. (All in Your Head – EP)Genre – Alternative/Punk Rock

Warm Me Up

Narrative...The narrative at a first glance of this video seems to fit well with the lyrics as they can be

read as being just about sex, this is seen not only from the title being Warm Me Up but, one of the first close up shots we see is of a couple kissing on a bed.

Other shots like this can also emphasise this point, A close up of a girl laying on a bed, and a mid shot of another couple hugging.

Narrative...However the true narrative to this video is that a group of college kids discover a new

drug that is extracted from a flower, the only way to make it is to boil the flower in water into a tea.

This is shown by the shot at the beginning of the video where the whole shot is blurry, this is the representation of the flower being boiled. It also creates a kind of enigma for the audience as it is not obvious what it is.

After people start drinking it, it turns against them and starts like an epidemic, making people lose control of themselves and become taken over by the drug. This is shown by the range of fast cut, close up shots of the story line in between the band being shown.

Each of these shots reveals a bit more of the story line, for example, the mid shot of a group of teenagers drinking this tea, the blank expressions in each close up of the girls and also, one of the final shots of the lead male in the narrative.

This shows a hand coming over his shoulder, which in the shot after his turns out to be an imaginary hand, this is caused from drinking the drugs.

Target Audience... The target audience of the video is for quite obviously, fans of the band, as you are

constantly shown various shots of individual members of the band, but also mixed in to these shots are long shots to the whole band, and that they play their own instruments.

The video is also aimed at the teenage audience because of the subject of the lyrics, talking about sex, relationships and also the narrative about drug addiction and its outcomes.

Another audience for the video is fans of the video games, because the reason behind this video was that it was made as a third media outlet to promote a new game called ‘OBSCURE 2: The Aftermath’.

Representation, Forms and Conventions...The video fits the genre of the band by showing alot of close up of Danny Stevens,

the lead singer, quite obviously singing and addressing the viewer through direct eye contact with the viewer.

Long shots are also used to show the whole band playing their instruments, but also extreme close ups of the guitars being played, to show greater detail of their profession.

There is an example of this when there is a guitar solo at 2:13, and it is only of the guitarist through out the whole solo, putting the main focus on the playing of the music and its importance.

Also, when the rest of the band kicks in, alot of the members start head banging (moshing), which is a cliché stereotype of ‘rock bands’.

The representation of teenagers in this video is fairly negative, with the reference to drugs, however this is balanced out by the lead male in the narrative acting mature throughout the video, trying to steer his college friends away from it. Although, peer pressure is shown, as eventually, he takes it himself.

Lighting and Editing...The lighting in the video is fairly dim throughout the whole video to show the

mystery and the unknown, dark effects of drugs. Also the lead singer first walks into shot, his head is down and he is wearing a long

hooded coat, this also creates an enigma and a sense of the unknown.

All the way through the video, many of the clips of the game are shot with a circle frame around them, this gives you minimal view of the action going on, on set. This emphasises the illusion of being effected by the drugs.

Many of the shots have a smooth transition between them, this makes the video flow better overall, this in itself make the video seem more complete.

This is broken down towards the end, when the shot length becomes alot shorter, using a fast cut montage which shows us how the drugs are taking effect and the ‘aftermath’.

When the band is shown at the end, the shots are continually moving and shaking, adding to the confusion of the fast cut montage.

Institutions...

By Natasha Lubbock

‘“Warm Me Up” is loaded with insinuations and sultry secrets that reflect their growth in their artistic and personal lives.’ - Victory Records.