Textual Analysis 2

Mise-en-scene:

• Black room-he is in a bad place-he wants to be alone
• Doorway is the only thing letting light into the room-he is trying to get to the light (a good place)
• Band performance-seems like they are on their own
• Rain- pathetic fallacy-reflecting his mood
• His surroundings are appearing as he walks around the corner as he is remembering them
• The band are now performing to a crowd

Cinematography:

• Low angle-doesn’t want to show the woman straight away
• Camera just shows her legs and then her running her fingers through her hair-sexualised
• High angle makes the band look really vulnerable
• Slow motion-emphasising her appeal
• Split shot-the camera is showing her in minimal clothing and him not paying any attention-trying to block out the memory
• Extreme close up-keeps your attention-hard to look away
• Close-up shows him looking at the ground-he could be depressed
• High angle shows the crowd
• Shot/reverse shot-shows that they are trying to get to each other
• She is in the club he is performing in-camera zooms in like she is walking towards the stage

Editing:

• Woman fades into shot-she is a memory-becomes in colour-good memory
• The colour comes into the shots-he is re-living his memories
• Just as he looks at her she fades away-he wants to re-visit the memory but it won’t let him
• Colour leaves again-he is back to a bad place as he is remembering her
• When he turns around-the colour returns-he is having another flashback/memory
• When the car passes-she disappears-she has been taken away from him-colour goes again
• Slow motion-emphasises how sad he is
• Fast paced editing shows that his memory is happening really fast
• They are alone in a room-when he pushes her-they return to the club-shows it from their perspective-they see it as if it is just the two of them but in reality they are surrounded by other people
• Cuts to him turning away-after all of this-he doesn’t want her anymore

Sound:

• Just the song

Textual Analysis

In this essay I will be analysing ‘How you remind me’ by Nickelback.

Mise-en-scene:

At the beginning of the video, he is sat in a black room. This could represent him being in a bad place about his past relationship. The curtains are also closed; this shows that he just wants to be alone to think about what has happened. The lyrics ‘this is how you remind me of what I really am’ suggests that he cheated on her. In the room he is sat in, the only bit of light is from the doorway. This could be to represent that he wants to get to the light (a good place) but he is currently stuck in the dark (a bad place).

When the band are performing it seems like they are just doing it for the camera, but later on in the video it is revealed that they are actually performing as part of the narrative. This is shown when the crowd are shown and they are on the stage.

When he goes outside, it is raining. This is pathetic fallacy and is used to reflect his mood. He is still upset about the breakdown of his relationship so the rain is there to show that. As he is walking round the corner, his surroundings are starting to appear, this shows how he is remembering what everything looked like that day.

Cinematography:

The low angle at the beginning shows the woman’s legs. This is showing it from his point of view (Mulvey) and how she is sexualised to him. It then shows her running her fingers through her hair. It is only showing shots of her looking sexualised. This is to re-enforce the idea that it is from the male perspective. It is also showing what he misses from the relationship.

The high angle above the band makes them look vulnerable. When people come out of a relationship, they can feel quite vulnerable because they are so upset. When the woman is walking, it is slow motion, this is to emphasise her appeal to him. It also makes it seem like it is a memory of her that he is trying to hold onto. When they are in the bedroom, the shot is split into two. One side of the camera is showing her in minimal clothing and on the other side of him sat on the bed not looking at her. It seems like he doesn’t want to look because if he does, he will want her back. So he is not looking on order to block out the memory of her. He also has his head in his hands which shows him blocking it out.

The extreme close-up of her eyes makes it seem like she is trying to get his attention and hold it. It is even hard for the audience to look away from her and they aren’t even involved in the relationship. When he is walking down the street, the use of close-ups is to show him looking at the floor. When someone is guilty they look down at the floor. This shows that he knows he has done wrong.

When they are in the club together, shot/reverse shot is used. This is to show them looking at each other. It also shows how they are trying to get to each other. When she is shown dancing the club, it seems like she is just in a club, but it becomes apparent she is in the club he is performing in.

Editing:

When the woman walks through the door, she fades into shot. This is to show that it is a memory he is having of her. Whenever she is in shot, the colour comes back, but when she leaves it goes back to being dull. This is to show that he is really missing her. When he looks back at her, she fades away again. He seems to want to re-visit the memory but the memory won’t let him. When she is walking across the road, the car goes past and she disappears. This is to show that she has left him. The slow motion used reflects how he feels about what he has done.

When they are alone, the editing pace increases. This is to show that it is all happening very quickly and it also makes it seem more intimate. It shows them alone in the room but when he pushes her away, they are back in the club. This is to show it from their perspective. For them it seems like it is just them in the room but in reality it is a busy nightclub. In the end when she is in the club with him, she turns away. This is to show that after all the flashbacks/memories he has been having, he doesn’t want her anymore.

Sound:

The only sound used in the video is the song.

Through the use of Mise-en-scene, Cinematography, editing and sound, the video is able to show the how he feels about the relationship and it also shows what could have happened. It never actually states the exact reason but it is implied that he cheated.