Media Coursework

1. Sam Smith – ‘Stay with Me’
Representation-
The narrative of the music video is about a ‘one night stand’. I believe it to be
under the genre of ‘Pop’ however split into the sub genres of ‘singer-songwriter’
and ‘soul’. We see him leaving the woman in bed as he escaped
the house without disturbing her. However the sensitivity of his conscience
and reaction towards the situation is apparent through emphasis on emotion
and facial expressions; not being able to keep eye contact. Again we see his
emotion playing on his mind as he is walking down the middle of the road,
showing the world passing by, he is barely acknowledging it. This not only
disconnects the viewer from the video but also shows that he is disconnected
from the real world, so caught up in his own troubled mind. The reaction from
him challenges the stereotype of masculinity in the music industry, compared
to someone like Justin Timberlake, Usher or Drake who are very much
sexualizing women and show complete insensivity towards girls feelings,
lacking conscience.
The juxtaposition of the flashbacks showing the bed sheets show he is still
thinking about the past night, suggesting inner conflict within himself. There is
a shot of his earing, which is a cross; again evoking a sense of conflict within
his own troubled mind, reflecting on his previous choices. The light piercing
through behind him into his dimly lit flat evokes a sense of hope upon him,
freeing his soul of guilt. The dimly lit flat reflects his unsettled blurry
conscience, and the light frees his guilt just for a second.
The plain walls and backgrounds of the rooms in his flat are used to again
emphasis to show his emotion, as the lack of décor around him prove how
strong he is feeling and how his mind is full, leaving no room for accessories.
The religious connotations of the gospel choir and light in the chapel shift this
music video and song into the soul genre. It also suggests his mind and
thoughts being lifted by God, leaving him a free man.

2. Sam Smith – ‘Stay with Me’
Media Language:
Editing-
The editing fits perfectly with the rhythm, structure and connotations of the song. It is
slow, steady, same length cuts with no quick, short dramatic cuts. This reflects the style
of the song. The steady pace on continuity editing as he walks down the street forces
the viewer to relate because it is so natural, making our eye follow.
Camera Shots-
The music video opens with an establishing shot of London, it showed everyday activity;
expressing how the world still goes on although he feels like his ‘world’ has stopped due
to the circumstances of his inner emotion and guilt.
The panning close-up shot o the bed sheets implies the ‘one night stand’. This continues
when we see a close of his clothes, and shoes on the floor, as he picks them up and
dresses to sneak out of the house evoking ‘role reversal’. Normally in typical sexualized
videos the man is not depicted as ‘sensitive’ and ‘vulnerable’ however in this specific
video these typical views are challenged by different shots and representation.
The extreme long shot of him leaving the house, finalizes what we already knew, as well
and showing him to be reflecting and regretting his decision to leave.
There is a tracking shot, following him down the road, exaggerating the fact he is caught
up in his emotion, completely oblivious to the world going on around him. The constant
and frequent close-ups and extreme close-ups of the facial expressions, cause us to feel
a great amount of empathy and feel sympathetic towards him as we see how troubled he
is. There is a shot of a mirror behind him as he is in his flat; to me this created a sense of
reflection upon himself, as he doubted and questioned how his behavior influenced who
he was.
Body language is a key factor in this video in portraying his feelings to us as an
audience; there are multiple medium shots, suggesting he cannot stand tall, holding
pride and greatness. The emphasis on the hand holding the chest shows he is self-conscience
and feeling vulnerable, almost physically torn apart from the stress of guilt
and upset. Although there is a contrast at the end of the video, when he is in the chapel,
signing with the choir. He seems to be standing under light, beaming through above the
choir, achieved by a tiled shot, showing superior and authority. This suggested that his
mind was freed from guilt and troubled emotion, possibly because he was voicing his
problems through music to be heard in a way that made him feel satisfied.
For me I think this is what making your own music, like singer-songwriters do is all about,
freeing your emotion through lyrics and not words.
I also think we can see his emotion has been freed at the
end because there is a long shot of just his face, showing
eye contact with the audience, making it personal,
allowing the viewer’s mind to be at rest as well.