This document analyzes the music video for James TW's song "When You Love Someone". It discusses several techniques used in the music video to convey meaning and emotion:
1) The video cuts between older and younger versions of the artist to indicate he is looking back on advice to his past self.
2) Lighting is drained of color in sad scenes to visually depict loss and sadness.
3) Camera angles like high shots make the artist seem depressed or small, while mid shots allow empathy with emotional lyrics.
4) Composition and shots emphasize themes of isolation, broken families, and hope struggling to prevail.
2. Music Video Analysis of: James TW – ‘When you love someone”
“Son you should know” – The time cuts of which present the audience with an
older then younger boy indicates that James is looking back on his past and giving
himself advice. This complies with Goodwin's theory of how the narrative/video
links in well with the lyrics.
The over the shoulder shot emphasises the idea of a narrative and clarifies that
there is a division between the narrative and artist shots. As well as this, the high
angle shot looks down on James of which could connote an idea of depression
and/or littleness
In this shot, the lighting plays a key role. By draining out the colour, the lowly lit
scene gives off a subtle, visually metaphorical feeling of loss and a feeling of
sadness as the two kids experience a childhood trauma.
Furthermore, the blocking of the shot creates a division between the parents an the
children as the door emphasises the idea that their relationship could easily be cut
off.
As well as this, the mid/low angle sot allows the audience to empathise with the
children – especially the daughter of who’s emotions are heavily referred to in the
lyrics of the song – to develop a stronger sense of sad emotion.
Show edits/cuts through time to add a sense of depth and meaning regarding a larger story.
Use this idea of using the lighting to depict the mood. By doing so it gives the audience more space to interpret the mood of the
music video, adding a more personal touch.
We could also utilise the camera angles to add emotion or even emphasise it if we are struggling to portray it in other ways. As
well as this, we could focus on linking the visual narrative to the lyrics of the sing in order to make the video synchronise nicely with
the actual track.
Summary of what we could use in our music video.
3. Music Video Analysis of: James TW – ‘When you love someone”
The composition of this shot is relatively impactful on the audience, the idea of
distance is being created through the ‘zoom’ like camera pull. The back window of the
car almost acts like a screen furthermore, the young boy in the centre of it defies
many composition rules. Ending up presenting this shot as badly composed which
therefore emphasises its connoting sense of a broken family.
Furthermore, the shot centralises the boy of which could connote that his wellbeing is
now the main focus of his life and he Is now in a state of isolation .
This screenshot conforms to Goodwin’s principle of the record label demanding shots
of the artist. Throughout the clip, the narrative is disrupted by many shots of the artist,
James TW. This not only creates an identity for the artist but also constructs an
intertextual reference; the idea being that the artist is reflecting on his childhood.
The light coming through the window sheets could create a connotation of hope and
happiness although the narrative shows a broken family. This hope struggles to
prevail through the sheets as the sheets could metaphorically represent the
prohibitions his father has on seeing him.
Summary of what we could use in our music video.
Not necessarily conform to all the rules of composition of which therefore will create an unorthodox feel about the clip and song as
a whole.
Use this idea of intertextual references to help add an extra feature to the narrative as well the fact it includes the audience as it
helps them to understand the characters within the music video more.
Finally using the idea of composition to tell a story as much as the editing, mise-en-scene and lighting does.
