One Direction (The story of my life) Music Video Analysis

This music video is very narrative lead. The whole video is a reflection of the lyrics and how they are incorporated into the narrative.

The video perfectly mixed the old (being the older family photos of the singers) with a currant narrative of them inside the building developing said photos.

The way the video switches from the main narrative to the flashbacks, brings the audience into the video and thus the singers real lives. This firstly helps the audience to engage more with the video. It also helps to establish a more profound and deeper connection between the band. The audience believe that they are taking a step into their real lives and therefore they feel like voyers, however because of the maintained direct address which makes them feel more involved and their stories and less than spectators.

Another way that the video establishes a relationship between the band and the audience is through the performance aspects of the video, where all of them are singing and looking straight into the camera, and also in multiple occasions the camera is moving (never static) and the audience is played below the group circling them while it is intercut with pictures from their childhood. Showing how in a way they are put into the mind of the bands (the building a metaphor for their brain) and therefore establishing a more personal connection, while still showing that the band is humble. The pictures hang above them, the pictures are their childhood, when they were 'normal' therefore implying that however big they get as pop stars they are still humble and that they know where they have come from. Therefore creating a better personal connection to their audience as they may have similar upbringings and they could see the band as something to look up to and aspire to, as they came from nothing and became something.

Music Video (With Visuals)

The beginning scenes before the music starts playing will be a montage of a funeral, in black and white ending with the singer putting down a photo next to a grave stone. This will link to the last scene in the music video which will be a shot of them taking said photo.

Once the instrumental begins the audience are introduced to the singer and another female (Not explicitly saying what their relationship is so the audience can make it up themselves, that can suit it themselves. If they believe them to be a couple or just friends) hugging and saying hello to one another.

Then a close up of the singer playing the guitar to accompany the instrumental that the song begins with. The camera will then pan out from the close up to see the whole singer, her head being kept down the whole time.

{Visually/Camera moment similar to Ed Sheeran} 

Accompanying these lyrics:
"Yeah

Say you love me for life
I could do you so wrong and be right, still

You never made me sacrifice, yeah

You know that you're my saviour, you're mine

Yeah, you're mine" 

The video shifts back to the singer alone with her guitar singing along to the words, still sitting down in a chair, but now looking into the camera.
(Made up of a few different shots at different angles)

{Visually/Camera moment similar to James Bay} 

Accompanying these lyrics: 

"I'm a victim of my pride, yeah yeah yeah

Put my foolish face aside, yeah yeah yeah

Somehow someway 'cause you love unconditionally, eh"

The video shifts focus back onto the pair as they go into an arcade, and the singer loses a game (of pool or bowling ?) to her companion and pretends to be upset but they end up resolving it and embrace into a hug.

Accompanying these lyrics:

"You take it all, take it all, take it all, take it all, hm

Take it all, take it all, take it all, you take it all" 

The video turns to black and white again, and we see the singer distraught with blood on her hands on her knees on the floor.

{From 2.41 Onwards, when Tony is reacting to Peters death}

Accompanying these lyrics: 

"Looking at what you bare, know I let you have it

Every single piece, know I got what you need, so

You take it all, take it all, take it all, you take it all"

Again we revert to the original story line and now we have both people at a restaurant laughing and blowing straw wrappers onto one another.

Accompanying these lyrics: 

"You never blame me

For all of my ways before I was tame

And you came in the picture, my bad if I hurt ya, hm"

The video turns back to the singer by herself with the guitar, but now she's beginning to stand up.

{Similar to the pervious both previous video, of Ed Sheeran and James Bay}

Accompanying these lyrics: 

"I'm easy to love when I'm all good

Know I'm hard to trust when I'm fucked up, yeah

But somehow someway you love me unconditionally, so"

They are both getting ready to watch Back to the future (1980s reference for the older audience).

Accompanying these lyrics: 

"You take it all, take it all, take it all, take it all, hm

Take it all, take it all, take it all, you take it all

Looking at what you bare, know I let you have it

Every single piece, know I got what you need, so

Take it all, take it all, take it all, you take it all"

Now reverting to black and white, first we see a shot of the singer holding her companions hand in hers, she gives her a piece of jewellery and her hand stops moving. Then we have the singer sitting on a bench, blank faced as she stares off into the distance trying to contemplate what has just happened to her companion. In her hand a piece of jewellery that belonged to her companion.

Accompanying these lyrics: 

"In the words of a wise man, yeah

Don't know what you got 'til you lose somebody

Hold up while I work on this

I'll figure it out somehow someway for you"

Shot of both of them on the old fashioned phones, either a split screen or just simply switching from one of them to another.

Accompanying these lyrics: 

"You be so good to me, even when I don't say sorry

You be so good to me, swear that I'll take it easy"

The video turns back to the singer by herself, now she disregarded the guitar and she standing up singing into the camera.

{Similar to the pervious both previous video, of Ed Sheeran and James Bay}

Accompanying these lyrics: 

You take it all, take it all, take it all, take it all, eh

Take it all, take it all, take it all, you take it all, yeah

Singer standing in a black dress. 

Accompanying these lyrics:
Looking at what you bare, know I let you have it
Every single piece, know I got what you need, so
Take it all, take it all, take it all, take it all, hey
Both of them having fun as the park, playing on the swings, and sliding down the slides. 

Accompanying these lyrics: You take it all

Take it all, take it all, take it all, take it all

Take it all, all Take it all, take it all, take it all, take it all

The singer Performing the lyrics again.

{Similar to the pervious both previous video, of Ed Sheeran and James Bay}

Accompanying these lyrics: 

Looking at what you bare, know I let you have it

Every single piece, know I got what you need, so

They take the photo that is in the original first shot of the music video.

Accompanying these lyrics: 

Take it all, take it all, take it all, take it all, hm hm

The singer gets up and walks away from the grave, with a smile on her face remembering all the good times that they had together, just as the audience just witnessed it. 

Theory analysis of my video

Blumler and Katz, Uses and Gratifications: 
The main reasons that people would watch the video would be to identify, because everyone has experienced loss and therefore they can identify with the message and the narrative of the music video. Another reason people would watch the video for education and to inform people about loss and how to cope with it, and how there are a lot of different ways to deal with grief.

Reception Theory:
Preferred: The audience will relate to the narrative of the video, they will understand the narrative. They will feel empathy while watching the video, empathising the emotions within the video and empathising to that feeling of loss.

Negotiated: The negotiated reading would be that, the audience will see the message behind the video. But they would still believe that it is not the best theme to be exploiting in a music video.  

Oppositional: The oppositional reading would be, the idea that the video is abusing the theme of loss for the purpose of entertainment and for the purpose of promoting the artist and the song. The audience would think that, it is not an acceptable theme to have within a music video.

Cultivation Theory:
The main hegemonic messages, are the messages of loss. And also the idea of friendship and the different bonds between people and how meaningful life is and not to take it for granted. The idea that time is short and that everyone should make the most of it, and lie their lives to the fullest while they still can.