Song:
Artist:
Director:
Producer:
Reasons for analysing:
mise-en-scene:
Both James Blunt and the unnamed couple are in the same room
despite them being filmed separately. When the couple are shown, it is daytime
and the room is brightly lit with white furnishings and bed covers etc. When
Blunt is in the room it is at night time, the room is in dark lighting and
furnished with darker items, Blunt himself, however, is wearing the same
clothes as the unnamed man. This questions the man’s existence and suggests
that he was just an apparition of Blunt created by the unnamed woman’s (played
by Mischa Barton) imagination due to her missing him.
cinematography:
Throughout the video there are several shots embedded between Blunt’s performance and the narrative of the couple. These shots add an abstract aspect to the music video and provide connotations of emptiness and being alone. It could be argued that the abstract shots themselves provide their own story/narrative. The first abstract shot that can be seen is leaves floating in water. This shot connotes drifting apart and it could be argued that the leaves are a representation for the couple’s love, old and withered. The next abstract shot that provides many connotations is the long shot of an empty room. Although the fact that the room is bare provides connotations of loneliness, it could be suggested that, because the room and the small amount of furnishings it has in it are painted white and white is a colour that represents new, this could be symbol of a new start. The next abstract shot that follows is a tracking shot of green leaves on a tree. Without the first abstract shot, this shot would seem fairly pointless. The fact that the first abstract shot shows leaves that are all old and withered makes a harsh comparison to the leaves in this shot as they are green and full of life. This connotes new beginnings and a new lease of life, which also reinforces my original suggestion that the abstract shots have a story of their own.
editing:
Another factor that suggests the unnamed man is an apparition of Blunt created by the unnamed woman's imagination is the use of an eyeline match. This eyeline match is used when the viewer can see a close-up of Blunt laying on the bed who then looks up at someone/something on the other side of what the viewer knows is an empty bed. The video then cuts to the unnamed woman sat on the other side of the bed getting dressed. This also suggests that both the man and woman are a flashback of Blunts. The editing used at 2.17 also suggest that Blunt is having a flashback as we see a long shot of the couple embracing which then cuts to a medium close up of the same shot this then cuts back to long shot of Blunt on his own in the same position the couple were previously in which also, purposefully, coincides with the lyrics "I cannot live without you".
Throughout the video there are several shots embedded between Blunt’s performance and the narrative of the couple. These shots add an abstract aspect to the music video and provide connotations of emptiness and being alone. It could be argued that the abstract shots themselves provide their own story/narrative. The first abstract shot that can be seen is leaves floating in water. This shot connotes drifting apart and it could be argued that the leaves are a representation for the couple’s love, old and withered. The next abstract shot that provides many connotations is the long shot of an empty room. Although the fact that the room is bare provides connotations of loneliness, it could be suggested that, because the room and the small amount of furnishings it has in it are painted white and white is a colour that represents new, this could be symbol of a new start. The next abstract shot that follows is a tracking shot of green leaves on a tree. Without the first abstract shot, this shot would seem fairly pointless. The fact that the first abstract shot shows leaves that are all old and withered makes a harsh comparison to the leaves in this shot as they are green and full of life. This connotes new beginnings and a new lease of life, which also reinforces my original suggestion that the abstract shots have a story of their own.
editing:
Another factor that suggests the unnamed man is an apparition of Blunt created by the unnamed woman's imagination is the use of an eyeline match. This eyeline match is used when the viewer can see a close-up of Blunt laying on the bed who then looks up at someone/something on the other side of what the viewer knows is an empty bed. The video then cuts to the unnamed woman sat on the other side of the bed getting dressed. This also suggests that both the man and woman are a flashback of Blunts. The editing used at 2.17 also suggest that Blunt is having a flashback as we see a long shot of the couple embracing which then cuts to a medium close up of the same shot this then cuts back to long shot of Blunt on his own in the same position the couple were previously in which also, purposefully, coincides with the lyrics "I cannot live without you".
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