JENNY FORREST
MUSIC VIDEO ANALYSIS 2
ARTIST: PALOMA FAITH
ALBUM: FALL TO GRACE
RELEASE: 2012
GENRES: '10 POP
Do you think of her?
When you're with me?
Repeat the memories you made together
Whose face do you see?
Do you wish I was a bit more like her?
Am I too loud?
I play the clown
To cover up all these doubts
​
Perfect heart
She's flawless
She's the other woman
Shining in her splendor
You were lost
​
Now she's gone
And I'm picking up the pieces
I watch you cry
But you don't see that I'm the one by your side
'Cause she's gone
In her shadow is it me you see?
'Cause all that's left is you and I
And I'm picking up the pieces she left behind
​
I found a photograph behind the TV
You look so happy are you missing the way it used to be?
And I have changed this room around more often lately
It's clear that we
And these four walls
Still known as hers and yours.
​
Perfect part
She's flawless
She's the other woman
Shining in her splendor
You were lost
​
Now she's gone
And I'm picking up the pieces
I watch you cry
But you don't see that I'm the one by your side
'Cause she's gone
In her shadow is it me you see?
'Cause all that's left is you and I
And I'm picking up the pieces she left behind
​
Are we liars in denial?
Are we smoke without the fire?
Tell me please is this worth it?
I deserve it
​
'Cause she's gone
And I'm picking up the pieces
I watch you cry
But you don't see that I'm the one by your side
'Cause she's gone
In her shadow is it me you see?
'Cause all that's left is you and I
And I'm picking up the pieces
She left behind
​
Ooh, I'm picking up the pieces
Of a broken heart
Who will save them?
Who will save them?
I'm picking up the pieces
Ooh, I'm picking up the pieces
Somebody save me
Somebody save me
Oh, oh, ooh, ooh.
In this scene, there is a correlation between what is being shown in the music video and the lyrics. On screen, the viewer sees the male in the foreground looking at a burning fireplace in the background. The lighting is dark and so the male is not clearly seen, and the light of the fire dominates. The lyric sung during this scene is "Are we smoke without the fire?", and so is synchronous.
The music video opens with a long, establishing shot of the side of a mountain, dominated by grey, dark clouds. This lighting initially sets the mood and feeling of the music video, that the artist of theme of the song will not be upbeat. This establishing shot is then followed by a series of quick-paced cuts which add to establishing the location, those involved within the storyline of the video. With these, the shot is a close up of the front, and then side, profile of Paloma's, and then the man's, face. 4 quick paced cuts of statues, which we assume are near the location of setting, set the pace of entire music video.
CAMERA ANGLES/COMPOSITION/MOVEMENT
EDITING AND SOUND
MISE-EN-SCENE
The introduction of the lyrics of the song is with a medium close-up of the artist's face as she begins singing, looking into the distance. From the shot beforehand, we can assume that her eyeline has followed the male who walked away in that direction. This shot is looking through a window, as there is a slight flare of lighting caused by the reflection. The lighting in this shot remains very dark, with the artist being the only thing in focus. Her hair and face stand out, pulling the viewer's focus. The intensity, passion of the lyrics, and mood of the video so far draw the viewer even further, as we anticipate where the music video will go next.
There is a theme throughout the music video where eyeline match is important. There is a close-up shot which is followed by a shot of whatever they were looking at. At the beginning of the music video this is from a dog, which turns its head in the direction of the male, and then by an older man, whose attention is drawn towards the main artist from his newspaper.
The break from this verse back to the chorus is long, and so the absence of lyrics, and non-diegetic sound of a clock ticking and sounds from the dining room is illustrated in the music video by following a waitress who delivers food to Paloma and the male. This has a lot of screen time, making the viewer anticipate the beginning of the next lyric. The orchestral music which had played behind the song up to this point begins again, and the camera begins to pan down in an over-the-shoulder shot, but cuts away to a drop of water. The editing of this splash means that the shot has been slowed down, and so the effect of it is exaggerated. Non-diegetic sound means that there is also a loud bang when this happens. The song that continues after this, beginning the lyrics of the chorus, reaches an increased volume and intensity, and so the drop acts as the climax of the song.
The lighting in this music video varies, but is mostly dark, to fit the sombe mood of the song. We first see this in the establishing shot, as stated above. This makes it clear that the weather is overcast and cloudy, explaining the slight darkness. However, scenes filmed outdoors are notably lighter than those indoors. Features such as the artist's ginger/red coloured hair, the paleness of some faces and brightly coloured costumes lighten up the scenes, and draw the attention of the viewer straight away. In one scene where Paloma is looking out of the window, her face is lit by the sunlight whilst the rest of the room remains dark, giving a juxtaposition.
There are quite a few locations filmed in this music video. The establishing shot reveals the location of what seems to be a stately home, and so all of the scenes are filmed inside or around the house. We see the artist sat on a bench outside on the house grounds, but many shots are from inside, in a reception-looking area, a dining room and a bedroom. In addition, we see Paloma singing from a car, as well as getting to and leaving the home in this car.
For the main artist, we are presented with two outfits. Both are quite private and reserved, and fit in with the overall mise-en-scene that is conservative and 'in the past'. Paloma's first outfit is a red and blue lace, three quarter length dress, with her makeup including a red lip. Altogether this is really bold and jumps out from the dark setting. She is clearly the main focus, although here she spends most of her time watching or waiting for the male. She wears this outfit inside the house, and the second outside of the house. The lace presents a classy look, made more fitting by the suit worn by the main male in the video throughout. The second outfit is nude coloured, and fits the theme through the gloves and button-up coat. The nude colouring and nude lip colour present a more 'toned down' look. She is alone in scenes where she wears this outfit, and so there is less of a need to stand out, as she will be the focus in shot regardless. The difference in these two outfits is that in shots in the first outfit, the main artist is not singing, and so she expresses herself and makes herself known through the bright and bold outfit. Whereas, in the second she sings to camera and so can express and fully be herself here, and so expresses herself through the lyrics of the song. Both outfits also oppose the dark lighting throughout the music video, ensuring Paloma stands out throughout. Other characters such as the two maids and the waitress are dressed in stereotypical outfits to fit these roles, so that the viewer makes this association straight away. These stereotypical costumes are what we'd assume these people wore in the past in this scenario, adding to the 'going back in time; theme of the music video.
The sound in this music video are both diegetic and non-diegetic, and this is split 50:50. In some scenes, where the artist is dressed in cream and is alone, she sings to the camera, whereas there is non-diegetic sound when the artist is dressed in blue and red. When we see the artist singing, she is clearly passionate about the lyrics as her hand gestures and body language, where she throws her arms in the air for example. As a solo artist, she is the only contributor to the song itself, and others are just characters to add to the storyline.
The pacing of this music video is fairly constant throughout, where the cuts aren't exceptionally quick but not all are slow. The lack of fast-paced cuts and longer shots privilege Paloma with more screentime, maintaining her as the focus of the music video. Longer shots also make it easier for the audience to follow the storyline of the music video, as well as adding drama when the climax arrives. This is also done by quicker paced shots seen especially at the beginning of the music video. The scene below where Paloma is singing is a single shot last 15 seconds, exceptionally long compared to other music videos.