The music video uses a reverse chronological narrative to tell the story of a couple from young to old. It shows their relationship progress from early passion to retirement, including scenes of them with children and receiving difficult news in the garden. The settings and costumes change appropriately throughout the stages of the couple's life to represent the passage of time. Lighting is used symbolically to reflect the mood in each scene. Props like a birthday cake and love letters further the narrative and make the story more relatable to viewers.

1. MY CHOSEN SONG
REVIEW
By Lewis Robinson

3. Type of Music Video
The music video for ‘Wasn’t Expecting That’ is solely a narrative video.
The narrative is symbolic throughout, this helps the viewer to
understand the lyrics further with a visual reference to what is being
sung. It also gives helps to give context and an accurate representation
of the scenario to the viewer. In this image below you can see the
woman who is crying at a letter. The viewer gets the perception that the
woman has received a letter possibly diagnosing an illness. The artist
sings, “How did I mis-read the signs” this suggests that he didn’t pick
up on the symptoms that she had before she was diagnosed. This is an
example of the symbolic narrative in which gives a good understanding
to the viewer.

4. Setting 1
The first setting is in a retirement home. The video is in reverse
chronological order, the video begins with them as an old couple
in their retirement home. The first setting gives the viewer an
understanding of the lives that they are currently living, attention
to framing also shows elements of their past lives and happy
memories such as birthday parties. The image below shows a
family celebration at home. They have used this location as it is
relatable, the viewer immediately understands that it is the last
step before she dies.

5. Setting 2
The second setting that can be seen in the music video appears to be
outside their home in a back garden. The garden is beside a lake, the
soft ripples of the water are calming and soothing at clearly a hard time
for them. In this scene, the woman is comforted by the man as she gets
some bad news. The natural lighting in this setting clearly shows the
emotions on both actors faces, this helps the viewer understand how
the situation is making the actors feel. This location is in the back
garden of their home. It is relatable as the viewer has already seen
them in their home. This also links to the lyrics, the artist sings, ‘Did I
misread the sign, your hand slipped into mine.’ this is shown then the
actors hold each other for comfort. He misread the symptoms that she
was having before she received the devastating letter.

6. Setting 3
The third setting in the music video shows a young girl dancing and playing with her
mother. The setting is an outdoor location with lush green trees. This may also be
the back garden of the house. The sun is shining brightly creating a haze of light
around the young girl making her seem special and angel like. The girl is the
daughter of the actors that can be seen in settings 1&2. The young child is the
priority of the scene which is demonstrated by the rays of sunlight covering her
body. This is illustrated in the image below. This location is the same as scene
three. This scene is used here to how the viewer the good memories and times that
have happened in the back garden. Thea artist sings,’ A month tuned into a year
and wasn’t expecting that’ he is singing about the age change of his daughter and
how she has grown so quickly, this can be seen in the video as when she spins
around she gets older. This is shown off by the positive light coming from the sun.

7. Setting 4
The next setting is in the actors bed room, attention to framing shows how baby
focused the bedroom is. The floor is covered with baby related items such as
teddies, toys and blankets. There are 4 scenes that are shot in the bedroom,
they all include the baby. This setting gives background information on what the
actors go through on an evening, two nights are shown in the bedroom, the
viewer can see the baby is keeping the them awake, as a result of this in the
following scene the actors are arguing with each other. The baby is clearly
effecting their relationship together as a result of the stress levels of staying up
all night long. This setting is relatable as many couples have been in a similar
situation when they have had kids together. The artist sings, you spent the
night in bed you woke up and you said, well I wasn’t expecting that’. This could
be because she didn't know how hard it would be with having children over
night. This is also shown in the music video

8. Setting 5
The next setting is in the hospital, this scene shows the birth of
the child. In this setting the viewer can see the hospital
equipment and staff which makes it clear that it’s a hospital. This
scene is full of close up shots, these help the viewer understand
the pain that she is going through. The close ups make the
viewer more empathetic, some people have been in that
situation themselves so can sympathise with the situation. The
viewer can see that the narrative is still going backwards in
reverse chronological order.

9. Setting 6
• The next setting in the music video is in the hallway of the
house. In this scene the viewer can see the house has not yet
been adapted to the family life just yet, in the scene it is clear
that the woman is in a lot of pain and is about to give birth. The
love they have for each other is clearly shown as they are arm
in arm on the way down the stairs, and also by the cuddle at
the bottom. The narrative remains in reverse chronological
order in this setting. This scene may be relatable for the
audience as they have potentially been apart of this or have
had to do this for their other halves. This makes the audience
more empathetic towards the actors.

10. Setting 7
• The final setting in the music video is in the bedroom, this
setting has been used before but in a solely different context,
this time the bedroom is clearly a loving and passionate place,
not full of baby related items. They can be seen to be kissing
and wearing minimal clothing under the covers. This shows
how the relationship started and how they acted around each
other. This is relatable to the viewer and my target audience as
they have most likely been in this situation with someone else.
This is usually in the beginning stages of a relationship where
the couples are madly in love with each other.

11. Male Actor
The male actor can be seen throughout the music video. The reverse
chronological order shows the evolution from old to new. This is confirmed by
the costumes that he can be seen wearing throughout the music video. From
left to right of the screen shots below the viewer can see how the costumes
changed throughout the music video in accordance to his age. All the clothes
accurately represent the age bracket meaning that those viewers can relate.
The evolution ensures that at some stage all people can relate to the
costumes and what is going on.

12. Female actor
The female artist throughout the music video is wearing a variety of
clothing. The reverse chronological order shows the evolution from old
to new. From left to right you can see how the costumes have
changed. The viewer can relate to all of the items of clothing throughout
the video. As there is a different costume for each age, everyone
watching the video can relate to it. the clothing also represent different
stages in their relationship, for example in the early stages, they were
sleeping close with no clothes on, as the relationship progressed you
can see the changes through the use of costumes.

13. Lighting 1
At the beginning of the music video there is dark. The dark
lighting reflects the mood and atmosphere at the beginning
of the video. The video has a negative beginning as this is
the end of his partners life. As the video progresses the
lighting gets brighter to reflect the positive things in his life
time.

14. Lighting 2
The candles in the next scene give a clear illumination of
his partner. The background is dark , this reflects the
negative things that have happened in his life such as the
letter which makes her cry, however the lighting shows that
the family has pulled together and are now enjoying there
last moments together. This is clearly a happy scene, this is
shown by the candles lighting up the happy face of the
actor.

15. Lighting 3
In this scene lighting reflect how the actor is feeling. The
lighting is natural because its outside. However the light is
fading to darkness. The actor has clearly been given some
bad news, the fading light represents how her life is going
to go.

16. Lighting 4
The viewer can see that the children in their life are clearly
the highlight of their life. The viewer gets the impression
that the child is the most important thing in their life. This is
shown by the sunlight shining down on her. There is a light
haze created around her. Which shows her significance
and importance. The lighting tells the viewer straight away
that the scene is positive.

17. Lighting 5
Lighting is used in the bedroom to portray the difference
between night and day. They have purposefully darkened some
scenes to emulate night time. The viewer can tell when it is
morning as the sun can be seen seeping through the window
onto the bed. The dark night scenes could also reflect the mood
at the time, both actors are shown to be up all night with the
baby. The warm yellow lights create a positive mood in this
scene.

18. Lighting 6
In this scene the lighting is bright. This is unusual as this is a
upsetting and painful scene for the actors, however the lighting
was bright. The background of the image below is bright, the
viewer gets the perception that there is something good about to
come into their lives. The baby is clearly going to light up their
lives. There is bright lighting in this scene reflects heaven in a
way, like an angel is being brought into their life.

19. Lighting 7
The last prominent lighting scene that can be seen in the
music video are fireworks exploding behind them. This
demonstrates the love and passion explosion. The lighting
demonstrates that nothing around the actors matter, as
long as they gave each other their lives will be bright and
full of happiness. They can be seen as silhouettes in this
scene, this is romantic with the fireworks.

20. Prop 1
The birthday cake is a prop used in order to represent a
celebration amongst the family. The cake tells us that it is a
birthday and that it is hers. It shows s the family is still enjoying
life even through the rough times. There are lots of candles in
this scene showing that there is a celebration going on. This is
confirmed by the happy emotions on her face. Lots of candles
also show her age.

21. Prop 2
• The letter in which he is holding in her hand tells the
viewer that something serious has happened. This is
confirmed by the sad face that is clear on the female
actor. This prop helps with the narrative progression, the
viewer can see that she has received some bad news.

22. Prop 3
• This prop, (the teddy) represents the care and love that
the young girl receives from her parents. She is sat next
to two teddies showing that she has plenty of toys and
comfort items.

23. Prop 4
The polaroid camera is the next prop used in the music video.
They are together in their bedroom taking photos with each
other. This shows the viewer that they are in the beginning
stages of their relationship, the novelty of each other hasn’t yet
warn off. It also shows that their relationship was set in the past.
The camera is relatable as most people have seen or used one
of these, especially the older generation.

24. Prop 5
The paint brushes are used in a flirtatious fight between the
actors. They are attacking each other with paint, this shows that
they are flirting with each other. This shows at this stage their
relationship is still full of passion and excitement. This is
relatable as most couples go through this stage. Most people are
or have been in a relationship where similar things have
occurred. This makes this prop relatable.

25. Prop 6
• The viewer sees the dog in the basket and presumes that
this is a gift from him to her, this is because the female
actor is jumping with joy when she sees the puppy. This
shows the viewer that they are thinking about starting a
family. Most viewers get a dog before they start a family,
this makes this scene relatable.

26. Body Language
• The body language changes throughout the music video,
the viewer can see the progression between the emotions
and situations of the characters.
• The first one shown is a slouched posture, like the actor is
upset with their current situation.

27. Body language
• In this shot body language shows how happy the actor is.
The viewer can see that she is positive, she is enjoying
herself. This is shown by the upright posture and her arms
in the air.

28. Body language
• In this scene the viewer perceives that the woman is
angry with the man. This is clear as she has a dominant
posture and has her hand pointing at him. Also the viewer
can see that he has his hands up and has a slouching
forgiving posture like he is trying to calm her down. The
viewer can see the facial expressions on the characters,
he is trying to calm her with a soft loving face where as
she is clearly angry and is shouting at him.

29. Camera angles- Extreme close up
• The extreme close up shot shows the emotions on the
characters faces. They can see exactly how they are
feeling at that current situation. This camera angle allows
the viewer to et a greater understanding of the scene, it
also makes them empathise with the actors, they may
have connections with the actors situations making the
video more relatable.

30. Camera angles- Mid shot
• The mid shot gives the viewer the best of both worlds in
terms of getting an understanding for the charecters and
also the setting. They use this shot frequently in the music
video. It is used in the birthday scene. It is crucial that the
viewer can see the happy emotions that run through the
event. The mid shot also enables the viewer to be able to
see that it is a birthday party. This confirms the happy
emotions.

31. Pop Genre Codes and Conventions
• Love themed lyrics- This code and convention is used throughout the
entire music video. The love filled lyrics represent the relationship in
which the actors have with one another. The love themed lyrics help
the viewers relate who have been through similar situations.
• Song structure- the following structure is used:
Instrumental intro, Verse 1, Verse 2, Chorus, Instrumental, Verse 3,
Chorus, Instrumental, Bridge, Chorus.
• This structure above is massively relatable by the viewer as it is used
world-wide in all pop music. The structure is very easy to follow
making it easy for the viewer to understand and learn the song. The
simple and generic structure also allows the producers to form a
narrative easily.
• I am going to develop on trend costumes throughout the music video.
This is because the characters in the music video are of a young age
and like to wear on trend costumes. I also want my target audience to
be able to relate to the music video, as they wear on trend costumes I
will ensure that my actors will.