Video Analysis

The video starts off with slow tilting and panning, revealing Ellie Golding’s silhouette with the shallow depth of field, blurring the chandeliers in the background. The next few shots are wide angled, revealing more of the luxury building, following her head movements, as she looks up at the ceiling, still keeping the same slow pace. The lighting of the building is low key, yet her face and blonde hair stand out against her dark clothing and the bluey grey colours of the ornate building work. Although it is in slow-motion, her mouth moves along with the song at its regular speed, meaning she would be singing much faster for when the slow it down in post. This is hard to get right and requires many takes especially if your actor isn’t actually the singer for your song, so any slow-motion shots we will be doing, won’t involve our actor singing.

We then see a man getting dressed, choosing a tie and putting it on, but we don’t see his face completely, only up to his nose. This makes him seem mysterious, and you realise that Ellie is singing about him. He is the “you.” Soon after that, we see another women getting ready, and then know that the song is about those two characters. The woman is shown to be nervous, with her wide eyes, and high angle looking down on her, as she looks up at the skyscraper. This is reinforced in the next shot which is low angle of the building, making it seem much bigger than it is, and taking up most of the frame. High and low angles are very effective at showing who has the power in a situation, and in helping create a sense of vulnerability.

While all this is happening, it cuts back to Ellie walking (still in slow-motion) through the regal building, looking at the marble decor and statues surrounding her. At the start, the main focus is on her, but as the characters are introduced, she doesn’t have as much screen time. We see the woman going into the building for an interview, with a final close up of his hand and his back as he sits down, before his face is revealed, releasing the tension. The cuts between shots and changes in location are very frequent, making it hard to follow at points, especially if you haven’t seen the film.

There is an over the shoulder shot of him looking down at the woman, into what we assume is the same building that Ellie was in earlier, this time with the chandeliers lit up, and the woman walking into the room. Which is followed by Ellie walking around it, and then cutting to them dancing for only a few frames, and then him walking towards her where she works. (I assume the man intentionally went there after knowing for a while) There is constant cross cutting between Ellie and the two other characters, showing her singing, still with slow-motion, and various scenes of them together, looking into each other’s eyes and kissing. As the song gets to its chorus, the couple dance in various locations, and Ellie is seen less occasionally. This continues for a long time, mixing both parts that move slowly and quickly.

There is a sub story involved in the video too, between Ellie and another man, which shows them dancing and her being picked up in his car (rather than a helicopter) but it is not as heavily emphasised. More focus is put on the characters from the movie, and Ellie, not the other man, as ultimately, this is a promotion for 50 Shades of Grey, and her celebrity endorsement is used to advertise it. She is the first and last character you see in the video.

This video is stereotypical in the sense that it’s promoting something other than the song, as often that’s what music videos are made to do. We’re not aiming to do this, so it’s not helpful in that way, but it is cinematographically. I very much like the use of slow motion to show Ellie’s passion and emotion and that it is consistent throughout. The way the room is dimly lit and doesn’t have much contrast, yet she stands out against it, really helps focus you on her, so lighting and attention to colours in costume and props is very important if you want your characters to stand out. Finally, I find that keeping the man mysterious by using close-ups of his hands, and only revealing parts of him to build tension is effective. If we decide we want to involve another character, but have them remain elusive, we should do it with a similar style to this.