A-Level Media Studies
Amber Run- I Found
This music video is completely narrative, it is based around an unusual love story that occurs after a kidnapping takes place. 2 men kidnap a mans daughter for ransom, one of the men fall in love with the daughter and escapes with her. The song itself is in the indie genre and the music video really links with the lyrics.
There are a few settings used in this music video, the main one being a secluded place in a forrest. This setting is used during the section of the video where the daughter is being held hostage, the use of this setting showcases the isolation of the daughter and also demonstrates fear.
Another setting used is a very large house, the use of the house especially shot at a low angle makes the audience feel on edge and unsure about what is happening. The house itself, due to the size and overall look represents wealth which after already seeing the charaters gives the audience an idea on what will be happening throughout the narrative.
Throughout the entire clip we only see 3 characters, an older man, a younger man and a woman. The older man obviously has the power in the relationship, we see this through his body language and his presence through the video. He is always leading the way and tends to have a larger amount of shot space when it comes to blocking, he also has a completely different look, for example he has long grey hair and is always seen wearing a red leather jacket. The use of these costume choices make him seem intimidating and aggresive, especially the use of the red in the jacket.
The second character, the younger man has more of an innocent almost frightened feel. We can tell that he is more niave than the older man, we see this not only through his outfit but also through his use of body language. He comes across a lot more sensitive through his looks towards the daughter and his overall nervous body language. His outfit is a lot more simple than the oldermans, he is wearing a very stereotypical 'criminal' outfit that consists of black everything. The use of this shows that he is careful and cautious, which is very different compared to the older man who isnt afraid of making a large impression through his outfit choices.
The daughters outfit is very minimalistic, this is because at the time of her kidnapping she was in nightwear. Her costume consists of grey shorts and a white vest top, the use of this outfit connotes vulnerability. This is because she is showing a lot of skin, usually the use of wearing little clothing is done to make the character look like a sexual object, in this case it is done to make her look bare and fragile. We see that the character is very scared, this is through the use of her body language, most of the time that we see her she tends to be curled up in a feotus position. This makes her look small and helpless.
Whenever we see the older man, it tends to be through a low angle shot. This is because we want the audience to percieve him as intimidating and powerful, the use of this shot allows us to do this. Although this level shot is used whilst filming the older man, towards the end of the video when the couple escapes we see the man at a high angle shot, this was done to show that he had been defeated. The use of the high angle shot connotes vulnerability and weakness which is exactly how the older man is feeling.
During the shots containing the daughter, we mainly see her in eye level shots which are either in a close up or long shot. The use of the camera work in this case makes the audience feel concerned and allows them to form a relationship with the character. The use of the close up creates a more intimate relationship between the character and the audience, this is because it allows the audience to see the facial expressions of the character resulting in them being able to feel the same emotions that the character is feeling. At the end of the clip, during the scene where the younger man and the daughter are running away together we see them both through a long shot, the use of this shot at this time connotes freedom. This feeling is exentuated due to the fact that we can see a lot of empty forrest surrounding them.
During shots containing the younger man, we see him through long shots or mid shots. The use of these shots allow the audience to form a distant relationship with the character, not based on intimate shots like the daughter. This is done by production because they don't want the audience to feel intimidated by this character, they want them to form a confusing bond with him. The audience have feelings of confusion because they know they are not supposed to like the character due to his actions, yet they still do.
CGI is used a couple of times in this video to create a sense of confusion and to portray the effects of drugs. Whilst kidnapping the daughter and escaping the older man a drug is used to make a person helpless. Once the person has been drugged we see rainbow like fuzzy swirls through a POV shot. The use of this technique and shot creates a sense of confusion and realism for the audience.
At the start of the video slow motion is used, this was to show the calm crashing of waves. This is done in slow motion to give a calm and relaxed feeling. Shortly after this, it is ruined by hard hitting scenes. The use of slow motion before the hard hitting scenes made them more effective, essentially the waves represent the calm before the storm.
At the beginnning of this track a piece of non-diegetic, synchronous sound is used. This is done during the scene containing the crashing waves, the use of this sound continues to give the effect of the calm before the storm resulting in the audience feeling relaxed and content.
The lyrics in this track are based around the feelings that the younger man is experiencing, they talk about the initial kidnapping and how they are using the daughter as 'A warning sign' but as the song progresses he begins falling in love and how it all makes sense. The use of these lyrics send the audience on an emotional rollercoaster, mixed with slight confusion.