This is the opening shot of the music video, and I think it is extremely beautiful and really does set the tone of the music video perfectly, giving the audience a clear understanding of what they should expect to see.
The camera travels forwards, getting closer to the singer, Niall Horan. The camera goes from a long shot, where the audience can see the profile of his body, to a mid shot where direct mode of address is used. The color palette consists of light browns and oranges when indoors, this colours connote nature, warmth and deceit, creating a sense of enigma to the audience. |
One shot that they used many times during the music video, is the one where the audience can see the profile of the singer sitting next to a window. The features of the singer are barely visible, it's almost a silhouette, this reinforces the sense of enigma that is provided with the color palette, working effectively in sinergy.
I quite like this idea of having the silhouette of the singer, to connote mystery and create a sense of enigma. When doing further research, I found out that this technique is a stereotypical convention of pop music videos, mainly the ones that are about breakups or sad moments. Additionally, all throughout the music video the rule of thirds and the golden ratio was used to frame the shots. The rule of thirds draws the viewer's eye into the composition, instead of just glancing at the center. On the picture on the left, you can see clearly how the director took advantage of this rule and placed the singer in one of the intersection points, making the viewer concentrate only on the singer and not really pay attention to what's happening on the background. The Golden ratio/ Fibonacci Spiral is similar to the rule of thirds, but following the golden ratio (1.61803398875). Some photographers and directors prefer following the Golden Ratio than the rule of Thirds as it creates more astonishing pictures. |
This music video is about a girl that's sad after, what the audience will suppose, a break up.
The connotation of sadness is conveyed by the color palette which consists in really dull skin toned colors; the props, for example the performers outfit, she is wearing clothes and a hairdo that connotes lazy which will reinforce the idea of sadness and depression; and the performance of the singer. The cinematography of this music video is quite simple, with various close-ups and extreme close ups, creating a relationship with the audience and intensifying the emotion. |
Extreme close-ups and close-ups are a stereotypical convention in pop music videos with a sad narrative or a narrative about a breakup. This is why i think it will be a good idea to use this technique for my music video.
The lighting in this music video is very soft, as in it is not very contrasting. They have clearly used 3 point lighting, with a key, fill and back lighting, however the intensity of these lights wasn't strong especially the key light. This lighting creates a sense of reality creating a stronger connection with the audience. |
I believe one of the most successful things in this music video is the use of GCI to create the snow effect. This links the music video perfectly with the lyrics of the song, as the singer sing "I go back to december all the time". I wish I could do something similar for my music video, however I do not have the equipment or editing software to do such thing. But I'm still going to think about how I can link my music video with the lyrics of the song, by doing something similar to what the director of this music video did. |