Music Video Analysis (PG 3/3)
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James has the most screen time though the whole video, although it becomes less during the chorus where the instruments are shown more, he is still seen the most. He gets more again as the second verse starts, the other instruments fade out and the lighting becomes low key again, with bright lights pointing at the camera, creating lens flare.
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His face and head is almost always seen if he is in frame, it doesn’t get cut off like the other people playing instruments, reinforcing the idea of him being the main figure.
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During the crescendos of the song, the camera rotates quickly around him, there is very fast paced editing, rapidly cross-cutting between close ups of him and the other instruments being played. As he finishes singing, it goes back to the low-key lighting again, the camera movements and pace of editing slows significantly and he doesn’t look into the camera anymore. He’s almost ignoring its presence, like he is deep in thought.
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I like the way only half of his face is lit at some points, because it makes him seem a lot more emotional than if he was light brightly. I also think the glowing, ‘sun burst’ transitions fit well with the coloured panels seen behind him, and make it flow well, in comparison to if they were just cuts.
The video doesn’t have a narrative, other than starting off slowly, picking up pace during the choruses and verses, then slowing down again for the end, in time with the music. Cutting to the pace of the music helps give it energy, and establish the mood you are trying to create. Much like his other song, Let it Go, this finishes with only one guitar being played, giving it a sombre feel, so we can try to emphasise this by slowing down the pace of editing and camera movements towards the end.
James Bay - Hold Back the River
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The video starts with an extreme long shot showing the countryside during the winter, with the trees having no leaves and a slight fog falling across the hill. We see a man walking around his car. It then cuts to a medium shot of his car, and he kneels down behind it. The next is a close up of his hands, holding a hose pipe, wrapping a sock around it, showing the exhaust beside him. At this point, we suddenly realise he is attempting to kill himself. The must hasn’t started yet, you can just hear birds chirping in the background, and it has already set the tone of the song.
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The music starts with a close up of the hose pipe going into the window and fumes starting to come out the end of it, followed by a close up of the man sitting in the seat, slowly tracking forwards towards him as the fumes continue to billow into the car. He has the ‘1000 yard stare’ so we know he has accepted his fate, and wants to die.
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We see an over the shoulder shot of a woman wearing a white dress, (and it becomes clear that it’s a wedding dress in the next shot) looking at the car from a distance. She is out of focus, while the car is clear, showing that she is focused on him. The use of slow-motion as she runs towards him, with her dress blowing around and that she doesn’t have any shoes on suggests that she’s ran away from her wedding to meet this man. They both looked shocked to see each other.
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The camera cuts when she turns around, revealing lots of men in suits running down the hill towards her. The close up of one man looking very angry suggests to us that he is the groom that has been ditched, and suspected that she might do something like this. The slow-motion throughout the scene makes it seem so much more intense and sad, as their actions last longer than they would in real time, and so are emphasised.
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Their car journey is only a short portion of the video, but it seems to be long by how they change after each cut. The woman starts playing with the sock he used earlier to get a better seal around the exhaust, making light of the situation, then she is suddenly asleep. When they get into his house, she slowly runs her finger down one of his paintings which looks like blood splattered and then realises how sad he has been.
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There is then a montage of relationship stereotypes, such as waking up smiling at each other, playful things like throwing socks at each other, drinking, going to the beach during sun set and kissing passionately. A shot-reverse shot shows them staring at each other intently, with the shallow depth of field emphasising their focus on one another, in combination to cross cutting between them and earlier when she looked at his paintings, linking the two scenes together.
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When the man is shot, he slowly falls down, revealing the groom from earlier, holding a shotgun. This reveal is so powerful, and a close up shows his anger turn into instant regret as he sees the woman fall to the floor also. After this, it continues the montage of them being happy together, suggesting that it’s all over. It then fades back up showing him crawling over to her, leaving a trail of blood behind him, and holding her hand for what we assume is the last time.
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The slow track forward to the man lying in the hospital bed as he sees an employee making a bed across from him, thinking it’s the woman’s, shows his pale, still, defeated face. The next shot shows him sitting in a chair on his own, looking out the window, and we think it’s all over, after cutting to a close up of him staring blankly again. Finally, the woman puts her arms around him, as she wears the sock on her hand, like earlier, and we know it’s a happy ending. The mise-en-scène of the miserable, plain hospital makes you definitely think that she didn’t survive, losing all hope, right up until the moment where she hugs him from behind.
After having analysed so many videos already, and seeing what effect slow-motion has, I think it is a must for when we make our video, especially since our song we have chosen is gloomy. Also, slow tracks forwards towards a character from a medium to a close up shot while they hold the same facial expression really helps sell and reinforce their emotions, especially combining the two. Furthermore, a shallow depth of field does this, and can make you focus on one very particular thing in a scene, such as the woman’s finger moving down the painting slowly. I find this video inspiring because they convey so many feelings, and play with your frame of mind in such a short time period, really making you attached to the characters and feel happy for them when you see the ending.
Kodaline - High Hopes
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Winhouse is wearing provocative clothing, revealing her tattoos, with a low cut top. She has a lip piercing and lots of makeup on, while the other women we see are more modest, wearing long coats. There are multiple different close ups of her as she sings emphasising her over applied make up, and wide eyes. Close ups, especially with a character looking slightly to the side, instead of directly at the camera is a good way of showing their emotions.
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She walks slowly and suggestively down the stairs, turning to slowly face the camera. Other characters are seen in medium shots, and focused on less, sometimes literally too. While we will be using depth of field to draw our audience’s attention to things, we will avoid sexualising our characters, as it doesn’t fit to the theme of our song.
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Winehouse throwing the flower onto the box is repeated which emphasises the action, especially since it lands on time with the music. Furthermore, she is the last one to throw dirt onto it too, after everyone else has left, reiterating her importance.
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It being set in a graveyard makes it seem eerie and mysterious. Some shots through the trees, looking at them as the cars drive down the pathway makes it seem as if they are being watched. Also, the casket isn’t the right size for a human, so you wonder what could be inside it, and why it has had such an effect on Winehouse.
Much like Adele – Someone Like You, of the same genre, the whole video is in black and white. This furthers the emotions trying to be conveyed by the artists of this type of music. We will consider using black and white for our video, and as it can be applied so quickly, we don’t have to worry about spending lots of time doing it, meaning we have more time for feedback from others.
Amy Winehouse - Back To Black
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Most of the shots the members of the band are seen in are low-angle, and this may be to show the rotting ceiling and flashing lights. There are a few shots helping establish that they’re inside a very old, seemingly deserted church. There is a lot of dust surrounding them, which reduces how far we can see.
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There is a lot of slow-motion being used at the start as the singer walks towards the rest of the band, and we see the church members welcoming the talker. I like the close up of the light, with the water bubbling inside of it, as a drip runs down the side of the glass. Also, the low angle looking straight up as water drips from the ceiling. This helps show how run down the building is.
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The singer gets most screen-time, but it is fairly evenly spread between the other members. Performance is focused on, but there is also the narrative of the people praying and going crazy. They are causing debris and dust to fall from the ceiling onto the band performing. The band and people upstairs clap together, furthering this link. There is a lot more slow-motion for the other people, showing them dancing, similar to how OneRepublic does.
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As the music builds in intensity and gets to its chorus, the dancing and stomping increases, building to the finale, when one of them falls through the floor into where they were singing / playing. They look up to the people through the hole in the floor, starting silently, as you can hear the electricity form the swinging light.
I am certain that we will use slow-motion in our video, as so many I have analysed have used it. I like the way there are close-ups of the water running down the wooden beams, foreshadowing that someone will fall through, because the building’s so weak.
OneRepublic - Counting Stars
