Music Video Deconstruction 8, This ain't a scene, it's an arms race, Fall Out Boy

The music video “This ain’t a scene, It’s an arms race” by Fall Out Boy is a performance based video.

The video starts with the band finishing a song and walking through the crowd which are cardboard cut outs which could be seen as they are not a very popular band. The video then shows the band working with a supposed super producer and the band are in a studio surrounded by the stereotypical coloured gangster. This shows the typical tensions between races. Also we could say that the singer is slightly nervous because he is seen as slightly nerdy and very uncomfortable with the situation he is in.





The close ups and different cuts on the vocalists facial features and hand movements show that he is nervous and is ridiculed by the coloured men in the room. The opinion of the black men in the room soon changes when the change in pace of the song comes along.

The editing of the video from scene to scene is divided by newspaper/magazine articles of the bands progress or stories of a specific member. This brings a sort of plot to the video or shows the audience the events that the band has been going through.

There are very little effects used in the video to give the audience the impression that it is a realistic event that happens to the band. The styles of the band change throughout the video from nervous uncomfortable, to a more stereotypical Emo, Rock look. The colour scheme changes with the style change in the video. It starts of very dark and plain then goes to the very opposite with light and colourful colours when they are in the hotel room. This could suggest to the audience that the band have progressed and become more confident with their songs and music.

The last part of the supposed dream of one of the band members along with lyrics has included a random group of people which entail; a random girl dressed in pink who stands out because she is at a funeral, people wearing antlers, a man in a space suit and a man dressed as a vampire. The lyrics tell the audience that the people who weren’t fast enough should join in the singing so that they can feel as if they are part of a group. This random group might confuse the viewer or might make them think that the band feel as if they are along with the misfits of society.

In conclusion the video is a band performance with a slight plot or history of the band. There is very little use of special effect which allows the audience to feel the video is more realistic than made up. The variety in shots and cuts used make the transitions and keep the plot moving throughout the song. The change in pace in the song also shows changes in the events that occur in the video.