Written by: Hayley Williams and Taylor York
Producer: Justin Meldal-Johnsen
Genre: Power pop, pop rock and new wave
Structure: Abstract
Label: Fueled by Ramen
This song is a song by Paramore an American rock band. The music video has no narrative to the lyrics but instead includes the band riding round on BMX bikes inside a house, a room full of balloons with them performing on a boat and Hayley Williams singing surrounded by ballet dancers dressed in white. A narrative is usually typical of pop/rock music videos, yet this video has an abstract structure which breaks the typical conventions of this genre and the 'love' lyrics.
In relation to mise-en-scene, the establishing shot of this music video is a large room full of white and blue balloons surrounding the band on a blue boat. The blue and white balloons are to represent the sea, which is why the boat is also in the middle of the room. This scene could have connotations of Hayleys feelings for her boyfriend, for example, she may feel that in love with her boyfriend that she has drifted off, but it could also represent a dream, meaning that Hayley is head over heels for her boyfriend. In the boat, Hayley is holding a umbrella The umbrella and the sea all have connotations of the weather, and this could represent that she loves her partner through any weather, no matter how tough their relationship is. In this boat we also see the other two male band members and their clothing. One male is wearing bright yellow skinny jeans and a leopard print top with a black body warmer, whilst the other is wearing black skinny jeans with just a leopard print top. These items of clothing stand out a lot, and this could be for the reason of making the band stand out in the busy background. the clothes are also bright, connoting feelings of happiness and joy, which the song is about. The next scene is of Hayley in bed in her bedroom. Surround her are dozens of birthday cakes with lit candles. These are representations of how long the couple has been together, and they also link in with the diegetic sound of the lyric "can't count the years on one hand that we've been together". The colours of the bedroom are pinks, blues and yellows, again these colours have connotations of happiness, calmess and love, these colours are also the colours that Hayley is wearing, with her pink skirt and her blue pink and yellow jacket. Next, the music video shows us the scene of the band riding round the mansion on BMX bikes. The fact that Hayley is the only female band member and she is riding on the bikes with the males, shows the audience a bit of her personality, and shows that she is different to other girls. In relation to theories, this can be associated with Tessa Perkins stereotyping theory, because Hayley is not stereo typically dancing around in hardly any clothes on, she has nice a respectable clothes on, and she is acting completely different to other typical women in music videos. This also goes against Laura Mulvey's male gaze theory, as Hayley is not dressed sexually for men. For the chorus of the song, the scene shows the audience that the band are in a huge empty room, with very dim lighting, and the male band members are riding around the room on their BMX's, where as Hayley is singing towards the camera performing. Around the room there are sparks and flashes of lights on the wall, which looks a lot like fireworks. This is representing again Hayleys feelings and how her and her boyfriend have a spark in their relationship. Hayley in this scene is jumping and dancing about a lot, and this shows her excitement for her boyfriend but, it could also be representing her as being a firework, as that is how she feels when she is around her partner. The next scene shows Hayley in a large room with bright white lights at the back of the room. Around her are women dancing dressed as swans in white. In this scence, Hayley stands out very much as she is wearing pink,blue and yellow in contrast to white like the dancers. This is a representation of Hayley being different to other girls, and it represents her not being boring, plain and the same as everyone else. This is very appealing to the female audience as they want to be seen as different too, so they look up to Hayley to make themselves feel different. Towards the end of the video, the band are stood outside on a field with sparklers and there are fireworks erupting in the sky. Hayley and the male band members are dancing about with happy facial expressions, and this is relating to the mood of the song, which is happy and contentment.
In relation to cinematography, the establishing shot of the music video shows an upwards tilt from the balloons to the band sat in a boat. This upwards tilt helps the audience to recognize the surroundings and location of the music video, helping the audience gather their first individual interpretations of the video and song. Within the scene of the bedroom, there is a pan shot used across the room to then view Hayley. This pan shot also shows the audience the location where Hayley is, and it also shows her surroundings, for example the birthday cakes in the room which are to represent the years they have been together. The medium close up of Hayley laid on the bed shows the audience her happy feelings, and also her clothing. The way that the audience can see her feelings is setting the atmosphere of the music video, which is clearly happy. Seeing Hayleys clothing also determines the atmosphere because of the colours which she is wearing. Onto the chorus, the long shot of the scene shows the audience the full location of the room, which enables us to see the male band members riding on their bikes, Hayley singing and also the firework lights on the wall. The long shot also gives the audience more to look at, providing more entertainment. The scene when Hayley is dancing with the swan dancers around her shows a long shot downwards tilt. This shot shows Hayley to stand out more, and it also looks as if she is singing up towards the sky, representing how in love she actually is with her boyfriend. At the end of the video, the camera pans off from Hayley towards the night sky after she has sang the last lyric. This pan helps the audience to concentrate on Hayleys loving feelings, and leaves the audience feelings happy and joyful. As the last thing the audience see is fireworks, they are seen to be exciting things, so it is going to leave the audience also feeling some excitement.
In relation to sound, at the very beginning of the video, there is a non diegetic sound starting from low to high volume almost sounding like a drum role. This sound could be a representation of a film starting, and give the audience the feeling of they are about to watch a video that has a full story line, and something that they will enjoy watching. Throughout the song, the constant repetition of the song title "still into you" re in forces the mood of the song, and it constantly reminds the audience of the narrative and what the song is actually about. The lyrics "recount the night that I first met you mother" and "on the drive back to your house I told you that I told you that I loved ya" are pointless meaningless lyrics to people who aren't in a relationship, because they won't be able to relate to it, but people who are in relationships will be able to relate to this video an song, and thy will enjoy doing so, as it may remind them of a loved one.
In relation to editing, at the start of the video, the music video opens with a special effect that is a central swipe across the screen. This has connotations of when being at a cinema and a film starts on the screen. This special effect also relates to the non diegetic drum role sound that I referred to earlier. These together have connotations of a theatre show starting. Also at the beginning, there are special effects of the song title flashing on the screen in pink, yellow and blue colours. This special effect gives the audience something to look at whilst the instrumental is still happening. The colours again are also seen throughout the video, and these bright colours being shown at the beginning of the video connotes love, happiness and calmness as they are very light and bright colours. throughout the video there are fast jump cuts to match the upbeat song. This is to keep up with the pace of the song and tie the music and the video together. Around the middle of the video during the 14 second instrumental, the edits within this slow down, and this is because the music calms down and becomes quieter. These slow jump cuts make the audience appreciate what is going on in the music video for that amount of time, and it also forces on them to feel happy and love feelings.
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