Voyuerism - Laura Mulvey

Goodwin stated that woman in music videos are objectified as they are put in small amount of clothing and are used to attract attention from a male audience. Another theorist, Laura Mulvey, supported this theory by writing about 'scopophlia'. Scopophlia is the pleasure gained from looking or watching something or someone and in this case it would be gained by watching a music video. A video that supports this theory is Rihanna's "Stay". She spends the entire video presumably naked inside a bath and although everything is covered it is still provoking a male audience into watching a song that actually has a lot of meaning behind it.

 



In my opinion I think that the song is very moving and the video could have gone many other ways in terms of narrative yet Rihanna interestingly choose this style, which I think only provides emotion rather than the story that the song is expressing. This particular style does not suit me, likely because I am female, yet a male audience may enjoy this due to the voyeurism in the video. This is not to say that females cannot enjoy the video but I personally think that there could have been a strong narrative used in this video but this style was chosen, possibly to gain a male audience. This supports what Mulvey expressed as the camera can be considered as the 'male gaze' as Rihanna is always in the centre frame and is clearly seen to be undressing.

 

In contrast to Mulvey's theory, the male body can also be displayed in videos to attract female attention. Typically if both a female and male character are present the female character will take the role of reacting to the male body and how much of it is showing. However a video where the entirety of it is just the male body is Panic! At The Disco's "Girl/Girl/Boy". All the three minute video shows is the main singer with no clothes on lip-syncing and spinning, but similar to Rihanna's video nothing is shown yet it is still clear what the video is suggesting.

 

 

There is no narrative for this video, yet a small outline of the song is about sexuality which is why he is likely 'naked' and just like the 'male gaze' this video likely attracted just as many women as Rihanna's attracted men. Similar to Rihanna's video this video could have had an interesting plot yet this was the chosen theme for the video and in some ways it makes sense as the song is linked to sexuality yet so much more could have been done.

 

Something interesting I noticed about each video was the comments left on YouTube video. On Rihanna's video people commented about how meaningful the song was and how it had helped them through tough times in their life however Panic! At The Disco's video comments were all about the amount of clothing, which was none, the singer was wearing. Most of these accounts had a female name or icon and were commenting on how attractive the singer was. A drastic difference. I did not find a single comment on Rihanna's video about the amount of clothing she had as the song is what stood out to that particular audience, who also happened to be female. This could have been because males are less likely to comment on this particular kind of content but it was interesting to see the difference.

Overall Mulvey's theory applies very well to these two videos as it attracted the opposite gender to the video, however from what the comments suggested more females were attracted to the male body which is the opposite of a majority of the both Goodwin and Mulvey's voyeurism theory.

Performance Shots - McBusted: Air Guitar Analysis

Performance shots are used in many videos of all sorts of genres as they allow the audience to see the band in action and can create a facade that the viewer is watching them perform like they would if they were watching them live. Many performance shots are similar in the fact that it is just the artist or band lip-syncing their song, sometimes with added props or instruments so I decided that I wanted to find a performance video that brought something new to performance shots as I know them. I remember watching, one of my favourite bands, McBusted's "Air Guitar" when it first came out and it came to mind when thinking of a new performance shot.

 

For a majority of the video McBusted are seen in a hall and are playing their instruments and lip-syncing while being surrounded by and cheered on by a crowd of, presumably, there fans. To match the song lyrics the instruments and sometimes even a band members body disappears, just like a air guitar would not actually be there! It is a clever use of performance shots that still match the lyrics of the song in such a interesting way.

 

 

 

 

My favourite shot in the entire video is when the band is 'teleported' to a field with no instruments. This could be a metaphor for how the hall filled with their fans is actually all in their mind as they play their air instruments. The editing on this particular scene is amazing as it is so smooth and all of this scene is still a performance shot and it adds something new to the video rather than them simply standing, singing and playing their instruments.

 

 

This video is really creative and if my group and I decide to use performance shots I defiantly want to add something new to the shot, just like McBusted have done, to make the sequence more visually interesting.

Intertextuality

Some music videos like to add a reference towards another pieces of media such as songs, films, artwork and fashion. Intertextuality can be either the main part of the video or just small references in the corner of the video for the viewers to find. For example a video that uses intertextuality throughout is Taylor Swift's "Love Story" which is based on Shakespeare's novel "Romeo and Juliet".

The video is based around a forbidden love story and the song even references both the names 'Romeo' and 'Juliet'. The costumes and setting match the theme of 'Romeo and Juliet' which makes the intertextuality very clear the second the video is clicked on, however Taylor Swift has added a small 'modern' section to the video to give the story her own twist.

A video that has subtle references is Katy Perry's "Last Friday Night". The video is fun and enjoyable to watch but their are a few hidden references that have to be looked at closely.

A larger part of the music video is made to look like a film with the credits and opening sequence to make it look like a official movie extract. This is a clever way of presenting a music video with a strong narrative.

A smaller piece of intertextuality is the social media page that is briefly shown at the beginning of the song. The page is called 'Friendplace' which is a small nod towards 'Facebook' as the two pages share many similarities such as users having their own personal profile which they can update with statuses and pictures that people can comment on. The reason it was a made up social media site and not an actual Facebook page could be because of copyright laws or even because it was easier to make a fake site than use a real one.

A, possibly more obvious, piece of intertextuality is the use of Rebecca Black in the video. Katy Perry's song is about partying on a Friday and having fun and Rebecca Black became famous for making a video about Friday. Having her as the main character relates back to her video 'Friday' and she is continuing this theme by throwing a party on a Friday in Katy Perry's video.

The final bit of intertextuality that I could find was the game 'Just Dance' being played during the video. The video clearly states that it is Just Dance as the layout of the game is exactly the same but also the screen has the Just Dance logo on it. This could have been paid for advertisement but it is still a nice touch for fans of the game.

The Codes and Conventions of Music Video Websites

There are many codes and conventions that need to be thought of when making a music video website as it needs to attract a audience and keep them interested. As our song choice comes under the alternative rock genre it was a good idea to analysis some artists under that same category to get an idea on how to layout my own website.

EVANESCENCE - INFLUENCING MY WEBSITE

As they have a similar sound to their music as our song choice I thought that looking through their website was a good starting point. When the home page loaded up the first thing I noticed was the moving banner as it took up a majority of the page.

The banner contained three images: one advertising the band, another informing fans about the fan-base and to advertise their newest video to "My Heart Is Broken". As this is the first thing users will see when they enter the site it is a good place to broadcast their music and what they are doing. This is something that I would like to include in my own website as it works in capturing the users attention. There is also a social media bar that contains links to sites like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube and this is a good way for fans to stay interactive with the band. Something else that caught my eye was the biography link on the page bar. It gives a little bit of background about the band and how they came to be who they are. I think this is a nice way to introduce new fans to the band and make current fans know them a little bit better.

PARAMORE - LAYOUT

The Paramore site is not my favourite yet it has a nice layout to it. The navigation bar is at the top of the page, like most other websites, however it is the home page layout that I like. It is split into sections so the user can easily scroll down to see a particular section of the site. The sections are: instagram posts, blogs, band photos and videos. This is a good way to organise the page into neat pieces.

GREEN DAY - STYLE

The second I clicked on the Green Day website I knew I liked the style of it. The site matches their image and is very appealing to the eye. My favourite part of the site is the small 'X''s next to each section on the navigation, this was present on their albums, "Uno", "Dos" and "Tre" and it gives the sight a bit more personality.

The blue background colour is bright and this compliments the colour of the pink on the 'X''s and the logo. It makes the site look fun but still professional and it reflects the band's personality and gives the fans a overall feel of what the band are like. I love the style of this site and hope I can achieve something similar on my own.

FALL OUT BOY - SYNERGY

The Fall Out Boy website is full of synergy and this is a great way to advertise other albums. The navigation bar contains a box labelled 'LYRICS' which is something I have not seen on other sites. This is a great way to involve fans and advertise their songs. The background of the header is also their most current album cover, another use of synergy.

LINKIN PARK - NAVIGATION

The navigation bar on Linkin Park's website is one of the most organised that I've seen. Some of the tabs on the bar cause a smaller one to appear so the user can go to the exact page they want to go to. This allows the user to navigate freely through the site and access all of the pages easily. The navigation also matches the rest of the page so it looks good whilst also doing a good job at navigating the site. The page that the site is currently on will be highlighted and the selected tab will also be highlighted so the user will know it has been selected, a good thing to have on a busy website.

Website Analysis - All Time Low

As one of my favourite bands I thought I would look at All Time Low's website and analysis what a website for a band or artist should look and get some ideas for my website.

The home page of the site is also the news page as this is probably what the fans expect and want to see when they first enter the site. The colour scheme was the first thing I noticed as everything is following a similar light blue pattern which relates back to the 'Future Hearts' album cover. The background of the site is their most recent album "Future Hearts" cover on a titled pattern which fans will recognise and know that they are on the right site. This can also be considered synergy as it is subtly promoting their album on their own site. There is a side bar that contains Twitter links and recent videos for fans to have quick access to. At the top of the site is their logo, next to the links, and it is present on every page as it is what identifies the band and that the user is on their site:

The logo is the biggest text on the entire page as it is advertising the band's name and also informing who the sight belongs to and what to expect. The links are neatly placed to the left of the logo and are easy to see. There are six in total: news (also the home page), music, tour, photos/videos, ATL hustlers and the store. Each has its own individual page containing exactly what the label states:

The news (also home page) link displays the most recent happenings of the band and a link that takes the user the iTunes page of their newest album. They also have a YouTube video of a live performance of one of their songs "Runaways" to tempt their fans into seeing them live and showing potential new fans what to expect, presenting their star image. There is also posters for their tour and discounts to advertise their album and intrigue some potential new fans:

Under the music section there is a list of album covers, when they were released and the record label that marketed them. Most of there albums are marketed by Hopeless Records, who are also marketed their most recent album. There is also a link to iTunes to view the tracks on the album and the user can listen to a preview of each song. This preview is to convince the audience to buy the song and will usually be the middle section of the song. The link to iTunes also give their audience an easy and reliable way to purchase their music.

The tours section has all of the tour dates, venues, locations and whether there are tickets available. There is also a RSPV button that leads to a Facebook group event pop-up that allows fans to say whether they will be attending the tour or 'maybe' (there is no 'no' option). This allows fans to interact with each other, talk about the band and the tour, and create a positive word-of-mouth and excitement surrounding the tour. Clicking the link labelled 'tickets' redirects the user to another page where tickets can be officially brought. This is a easy way of buying tickets that fans will know are official. There is also a small link on the tours page that leads the user to Facebook and Twitter which adds some multimedia to the site.

Under the photos/videos there is currently only two available pieces of media to look at, three pictures (the folder has to be clicked on) and the same video that is on the home/news page. This will likely fill up during the tour with more pictures and videos to convince and persuade fans to attend later tours. The pictures available on the site are:

The ATL Hustlers page is advertising a backstage 'type' deal that allows all access during tour. It redirects the page onto a different site titled 'All Time Low Hustlers Official All Time Low Fan Club'. This, as the name suggests, is the official fan-site dedicated to the band. It is very similar to the main website as it provides a news, photos and videos page but also a added forum, community and contest to bring fans together to have them communicate and bring the fans closer together.

The final page redirects the user to the official All Time Low store that allows fans to buy the band's merchandise. There is a navigation bar to make the site easier to browse through which makes the site more appealing to navigate.

There is also a ATL Hustlers page that links back to the same page as the link on the main website. The store is very organised and is easy to browse so fans can find what they want and pay quickly and easily.

Overall the site is very smooth running and extremely easy to navigate. It offers everything that a fan would need and like to see which is the initial aim of a website. I hope to use similar navigation bars and overall layout in our website as it seems to be very effective for this site.

Vision For Noxa

When preparing our music video I decided that I wanted a visual representation of Noxa and how she would be dressed in our music video. I decided to jump on a game that would allow me maximum creativity when it comes to creating characters: the sims 4. Although the face, body shape and skin and hair colour does not matter in terms of this character creation I still enjoyed making my vision of Noxa. The outfit that I gave her was not exactly as my group had planned as we want her to have a long flowing white dress but as I did not have one that I found suitable I decided to put her in a short cream/white one as a substitute. This is a sped-up version of my create-a-sim. Enjoy!

Carol Vernallis's Theory

Carol Vernallis has a theory on music videos called "The Kindest Cut: Function and Meanings of Music Video Editing". Her theory explains that there are 4 main aspects of a music video:

• Narrative
• Editing
• Camera Movement and Framing
• Diegesis

NARRATIVE

Vernallis states that a music video is a response to the music, meaning the song comes first and the video is based around the sound and lyrics. She also states that the narrative of a music video does not need to be complete, this is shown through artistic narrative that leave the viewer questioning what they have just seen. Other narrative stories can leave the audience hanging by not completing the story or answering the questions that they raised in the video. A video that leaves many unanswered questions is Green Day's "21 Guns". After researching the plot it turns out that the couple in the video robbed a bank and the police are shooting their apartment but this plot is very unclear and requires several re-plays to fully get a understanding on what is happening:

EDITING

The editing of a music video typically has to match the tone and beat of the song and the most common cut to achieve this effect is the jump cut. Unlike a film a music video requires a different method of editing as continuity edits are not needed as much as they would be in a film. Rules such as the 30 and 180 degree rule do not apply as strongly and the transitions between texts are something noticeable, however this brings back the viewers attention.

CAMERA MOVEMENT AND FRAMING

Vernallis believes that music videos contain camera angles that move in time to the music and more extreme shots, such as close-ups and establishing shots, to show the characters emotions and expressions in more details to get a better feel of the song and how the character is reacting to the lyrics. There is always a theme amongst all of the shots which usually relates back to the lyrics. This is similar to the unanswered questions. A video were there are many close-ups and long shots is Eminem's "Love The Way You Lie". The close-ups of the two characters capture their emotions and how they are reacting to the story, Rihanna and Eminem also have some close-ups where they are serious faced to match the tone of the song. Eminem also moves in time to the music when we is shown in the field to help create a sense of rhythm and pace within the song:

DIEGESIS

Diegesis is the world created inside a video and how the characters react and behave to match the narrative that is at play. Characters may move in time to the music and the video and shot could hint or show glimpses of a characters personality and their mood from the way they are presented but will never fully disclose who the character is and why they are the person that they are in the video. This similar to the narrative as there can be many unanswered questions about the characters presented in the video.

Star Image - Richard Dyer

Star image is the concept that artists create a certain 'image' through the way they are presented, both through their looks and behaviour. Nearly every artist presents themselves in a certain way, whether it is positive or negative, and this is what can attract or send away people depending on their taste. For example One Direction's image is very different from Linkin Park's and they both have very different fanbases:

Linkin Park's fans are older and both genders whereas the One Direction fans are all young, impressionable girls screaming out for them. Linkin Park's fans may also relate a lot to the band and identify themselves with the band and in some cases could project themselves. One Direction's fans mostly have a emotional connection to the band and will go many lengths to show that.

Having an image is important for any artist as it is the first thing fans will think of when the artist is mentioned and is what will attract new fans. Image is also what can gain the star some publicity. For example a negative image will likely gain a lot of press coverage and even thought it is negative it will turn people towards that artist. A big example is the change of Miley Cyrus from 2008 to 2015:

Miley gained a lot of publicity because of her new images and because of this attention she gained many new fans that liked this new image. However she did lose some fans because of this but overall that change has made more of a name for her and not many artists are willing to dramatically change their image like she did. People, particularly adults, saw the '2008 Miley' as a role-model and under Dyers theory this would have meant that parents would have liked their child to identify with her (self identification) and to have a emotional connection with her (emotional affinity) and in some cases imitation would have been a good thing, however since Miley has changed her image parents have decided that they no longer think she should be idolised and imitated.

In the alternative rock genre a band that has changed their music genre over time but kept their image the same is Green Day. There are many fans that are disappointed with their recent music which falls under the alternative rock rather than punk but I think they have still portrayed themselves well and are still the same band only with a different style, not image. Something that comes to mind when I think of Green Day is both performance, partying and emotional content which are both shown in nearly all of their videos. Green Day's songs touch on some very serious topics which are matched with the visuals shown and they are designed to make the viewer feel strong emotions and all of their videos display this kind of content. If the video does not contain emotional content it will contain a party scene or a wild scene at the least. My favourite example of emotional content is "Wake Me Up When September Ends" and wild scenes is "Holiday":

The actual band's image is the same with dark clothes and hair and they have kept this image up for a long time and that is what people think of when the band is mentioned to them. They still look exactly the same, in my opinion, and I think that for a 10 span of time they have developed and stuck with their style and image.

Goodwin's Theory

Andrew Goodwin stated that there is a theory behind music videos that involve 6 different points:

• Genre Characteristics
• Relationship between lyrics and visuals
• Relationship between music and visuals
• Star Image
• Intertextual References
• Voyeurism

As the genre of out chosen song is a alternative song with a hint of rock to it I wanted to find a song of a similar genre and see if it matches Goodwin's theory. I chose Paramore's "Only Exception", the song is more of a rock song that ours but it still falls under the same genre:

  

The genre characteristics of this type of music are that there will be performance shots, which there are plenty of. The singer is surrounded by the musicians whilst she holds the microphone and sings which is a common feature of music videos of this genre.

The lyrics of the song explain that the person in the song will never fall in love because of her parent's marriage falling apart, however she falls in love with a man and he is the 'only exception' to this rule. The visuals follow this and tell the story of the woman and how she decides to stay with him through a unique set where each door leads to the next part of the story development. The visuals do not precisely follow the lyrics as the performance shots break the flow of narrative but the story is linked to the idea of falling and realising you're in love.

The scene with her father could link back to the theme of love as the main protagonist loves her parents, as her father is the parent shown it is likely she prefers him, which shows a different kind of love and that she will still love her father even though she never wants a romantic partner.

The music and visuals are interesting as overall the colours are fairly faded but not so much that the scene looks washed out. Love songs usually contain a lot of pinks and reds and there is a particular scene where these colours are used but overall the visuals are fairly normal. As a sad sounding song with happy lyrics the visuals are not overall sad, except for the sad looks given from the character, yet the visuals are not extremely colourful like a happy, positive song would be. A small detail that stands out to me is during the wedding scene the singer is wearing black, a contrast from all of the white surrounding her, and black is typically associated with darkness and depression, whereas white is pure and clean. I think this could be a small detail to show that the song is representing both the happy and sad times that can be experienced when you are in love.

Paramore's image is that they are a rock band with a female lead, they use many performance shots and have a very dedicated fan base. Although this video was created almost 5 years ago their loyal fans still adore both the song and the band and have watched the band blossom into who they are today. Their image today is still very similar to how it was back in 2010 and they still have a alternative rock style to their name which they still maintain, even after some members left. Some fans have stated that Paramore has turned into a pop group and dislike their more current music but dedicated and loyal fans will buy the songs despite the change in genre as they have watched the band grow. The band's image continues to show in both fast song (Misery Business), sad songs (Now), happy songs (Ain't it Fun) and the slower songs like Only Exception.

PARAMORE IN 2010

PARAMORE IN 2015

When watching the video again, I tried to spot some intertextuality however I could not spot anything. A small piece of information that links back to Paramore's fans. During the scene where Haley Williams can be seen lying on letters, these letters are actual letters that fans sent them. The band selected their favourite and placed them in the video and although it does not reference a TV show, film, piece of art or any other intertextuality, it does give a small nod towards their fans and their appreciation.

This video is very tasteful and at no point are gender sexualities exploited like voyeurism would suggest. Each outfit covers up everyone's body in the video, this might be because it would not match the song or visuals but also because it does not suit the band's image. However during the scene where Haley Williams is lying on the bed of letter her legs are being shown and the camera gradually shows more of her legs, this could be interpreted as the male gaze following her body down to her legs. Her body language is very open and inviting to the audience and the bird's eye shot could show her vulnerability about falling in love yet this could be taken in many different ways. Despite the music video not displaying any sexual content there is still a scene that could be interpreted as voyeurism due to her dress showing off her legs.
 

 

Overall the video ties in well with Goodwin's theory. Most of the arguments that Goodwin stated in this theory can be applied in this video and prove his theory to be correct. There are some contrasting points, such as the amount of voyeurism displayed in the video and how much the lyrics match the visuals, but overall this music video could be applied to Goodwin's theory.

Alternative Rock

Our song choice 'Narcissistic Cannibal' - the EarlyRise cover version - starts as a soft sounding song that gradually becomes louder and more extreme. This makes our song choice fall into the alternative rock genre. Alternative rock is a sub-genre of rock music as although it has a smaller fan-base it is still hugely popular. Some famous alternative rock bands (or artists that have published a alternative rock song at some point) include:

• Nirvana
• Green Day
• Linkin Park
• Muse
• Thirty Seconds to Mars
• My Chemical Romance
• Blink-182
• U2

These are just a small selection of artists that have created alternative rock music at some point during their music careers. To get an idea of what alternative rock video include and how to make ours similar or to stand out I decided to research my genre in more depth.

 

Record Label Research

Every song that is released and sold to the public has a record label that manages the distribution and marketing of an artist and/or band and their music and music videos. One particular artist can release each song with a different record label each time depending on the song and the artist publishing it. There are many famous record labels, one example being Capitol Records.

Capitol Records is based in America and is owned by the Universal Music Group. Many rappers, such as Cee-Lo Green and Snoop Dogg, have used this record label to market their songs as well as singers like Katy Perry, Kylie Minogue, Lady Antebellum and many more. This shows that famous record labels likely result in a hit song.

However if our music video was to have to be part of a ready-made record label it would be a smaller label that handles alternative songs. This way they would know how to distributed and market our video to a specific audience that would be interested in alternative music and through word-of-mouth they could pass the video on.

One record label could be Sub Pop. Sub Pop mainly deals with rock music, which is a small element of our song choice, but has also marketed alternative songs. The reason this label stood out to me was because it seems like a company that is interested in marketing that particular genre of music and look, overall, like a friendly label.

Another company that I think could market our song is Hopeless Records. I have heard of Hopeless Records as they market the band All Time Low's album 'Future Hearts'. They publish each song on YouTube and market merchandise for each of the artists and bands that they cater to but one of the main aspects of Hopeless Records is that they only have around 15 artists in their label meaning they could possibly concentrate on one at a time.

Final Song Choice!

We have finally chosen a song for our music video and I am very pleased with our song choice: Narcissistic Cannibal by EarlyRise. This song is a female cover of the original version by Korn featuring Skrillex and Kill the Noise which was a dubstep-type song, however the EarlyRise version is a alternative song and is slow and has a sinister element to it which is what we wanted. There is also no video for this song, that I could find, so we can take many different approaches to the how the video should look.

I originally found this song about a year ago when looking for the trailer of the video game "Beyond: Two Souls" and stumbled across a fan-made trailer that was to this song. As a fan of the game I loved the song and relate the lyrics back to the game whenever I heard it. Therefore when picking a song I was thinking about the game and thought of this song. I showed it to my group and am very pleased that they too liked the song! The song has so many possibilities for a music video and I cannot wait to start filming and drafting the video!

Music Genres

There are many types of music genres and usually a music video will follow the song's beat and lyrics. Some popular music categories include:

• Alternative
• Blues
• Classical
• Country
• Dance
• Hip-Hop
• Jazz
• Pop
• R&B
• Rap
• Rock

There are many sub-categories within each main category such as singer/songwriter but most genres fit into another. The song that our group is considering to do is difficult to put into a genre as it is a slow song yet there is a yelling singing section so I would possibly put it under the alternative category. The song we are considering is a cover and the original is a electronic/dance song so the cover is a completely new genre.

Music Video Analysis - A Great Big World: "Say Something"

When talking to my group we discussed using a slow song but some issues were raised when we talked about editing. Slower songs require slower editing and that can cause the audience to lose interest and after watching a few videos we decided to think about whether we wanted to use slow song. However one of the videos we watched was A Great Big World's "Say Something" and I wanted to go back and analyse the video in more detail.

The song itself is full of emotion and has a very moving message to it: "I am here for you". Many people spoke about how sad the song was when watching it but I think there is more behind it and want to find out what it is that makes this video so emotional. When reading through the comments of the video many people were explaining their loses as the song lyrics trigger this emotional train of thought and the video itself provided images that would make maybe people feel sad. Every scene in the video takes place in the same dark and open spaced area which creates a certain atmosphere.

The opening scene starts with one of the singers from A Great Big World playing the piano in the same dark and empty room. To me, this brings out the theme of isolation due to the mist and darkness that fills the room so that nothing else can be seen. Both the piano and the singer blend into the background suggesting his own isolation in the scene.

The second scene that is introduced is two people, presumably a couple from the way they are dressed, lying on top of a mattress bed before quickly cutting back the the piano scene and the singing begins. The editing here is very smooth as it introduces a new scene but quickly cuts back for the lip syncing and then having a close-up on each of the couple's face. The man looks angry or tense whereas the woman is upset and facing away from him. This could suggest maybe narrative plots: Is the male the dominant character in the relationship? Have they fallen out of love or where they ever in love? Is one of them abused? There is also a short cut from the woman's face to a water droplet falling which I like to interpret as a tear drop, which represent the current situation of the relationship. The woman also sits up and looks over at the man but he remains lying down, looking away from her. This scene can be interpreted in many different ways which is why I think many people could relate.

During the previous scene there is a cut back to the singer and a shot introducing Christina Aguilera as the female singer. The close-ups on both singers shows there serious faces to match the somber feel of the video. A new scene is then introduced: a young girl sitting alone on her bed. The space around her is dark - which could continue with the theme of isolation - yet she is wrapped up in white sheets. I believe that this is a symbol for her being the light in the darkness and the dark in this particular scene could represent fear. The girl then hides under her covers and a short, and dark, clip plays of two adults arguing. I missed this scene when watching the video for the first time and I think it gives a lot of meaning to this scene. The adults are most likely arguing, something that no child likes to hear, so the young girl flees to her bed but when the arguing continues she hides under the bed. Everything about the girl is related back to the colour white: her clothes, her bed sheets and her bed posts showing her innocence about the whole situation, which is matched by her hiding under the bed. Under her bed is a dog and I think that the dog represents the girl. Dogs often want the attention of their owners - in the girl's case her parents - and in this case when the parents argue she hides just like the dog.

The next scene, in my opinion, is the most emotional. A hospital bed is shown with an old woman lying inside, beside her is, presumably, her husband who is crying by her bedside. The theme of this scene is love and loss and it is presented beautifully. The edits are smooth and are in time with the piano making the sequence flow. Each edit back to the elderly couple shows the true sadness of the man and how he cannot cope without his wife. The sequence is the most relatable in the entire video as it links back to the song lyrics "say something, I'm giving up on you" and captures true human sadness within a couple seconds. The shots in this scene are similar to the first one. Shots of each character's face and many of them together except, unlike the first one, the man in this scene actually shows sadness towards his partner.

The next scene is back at the piano and it reveals that all of the stories are in the same room and one by one the emotionally hurt person in the scene walks over to the centre to be group together as one. This scene is beautifully edited: the woman in the first scene gets up and walks away leaving the man only to watch her go, the young girl is offered a hand which she takes. They all then have their own walking away shot to match the line of the song "I'm saying goodbye" - a powerful line matched with powerful visuals, each character is leaving the one they love because it is time to say goodbye.

This video is one of the best videos I have ever seen and it has completely changed my opinion of slow songs. This video proves that a slow song that have a good pacing, a narrative and performance shots and still make the audience feel all sorts of emotions and that is exactly what this video does. The editing and narrative and overall look of this video is something that I strive to have in my own music video and I will defiantly be re-watching this to get more ideas during the planning phase.