There is a cyclical structure present in the video. We are first introduced to the ending of the story and when the actual music video ends, the cyclical cycle is exposed as we view the beginning of it again, however inverted. The main character is opening his eyes in the beginning, which also represents the start of the video, and then looks at his loss companion. The director’s intention is to have the audience guessing as to what has happened, whether she is dead or alive and how exactly they ended up in the situation they are in. However when we see the end of the video we discover what really happened and see the true version of it, as the main character shifts his eyesight from his dead companion and closes his eyes when we learned he has died due to the gunshot wound. It successfully leaves the audience in awe as we now have insight onto the relationship they had and the journey they endured together which is successfully incorporated through the ‘road movie genre’. Though we also now have knowledge on how things turned out the way it did and to why exactly these characters suffered the tragic ending that was fated upon them.
The two main characters in this video bring great interest and fascination to the viewers because of the mystery that lies between the two of them; and the sudden, destined connection they share due to how they met and the clash and similarities between their characteristics. They happen to share similar personalities due to their rebellious qualities, as we straight away see the male main character write a note to his parents saying that he is leaving for good, and there is arguably little affection shown on this letter due to how straight-forward and brief it is.
The main female character is just the more rebellious as we often see her instigate thoughts and actions of stealing from people that she comes across. Although no matter of how distasteful their behaviour makes their characters seem, the audience still sub-consciously build a connection to the two due to the intimacy the perspective of the camera provokes, and also due to the fact that they have no one in their lives now but each other. A story and theme infamously explored through the also very tragic, catastrophic and legendary tale of ‘Romeo and Juliet’.
There is diegetic sound of the door-open caution alarm however this gets drowned out and faded by the low non-diegetic sound of the alarm clock, which slowly increases in volume and turns into diegetic sound. This is used to slightly disorientate the viewer from the scene at hand and to smoothly transit their attention to another scene. The alarm clock also acts as a signal of the actual beginning of the story and how events unfolded.
The first person perspective to the video creates an immensely strong and vivid immersion, which captivates and engages us into their world. We see the story unfold directly through the eyes of the male main character and therefore we can already feel much more connected and attached to the characters as we feel we are them, since we are placed in his shoes.
Due to this perspective we also see the other main character, which is the woman, in second-person perspective and not only does this allow us to feel closer to this character, we also gain a far more in-depth sense to the companionship that the couple share as we feel we are always with her, and feel that we are residing within him.
The narrative of the story is of a film noir, and therefore we experience the cynical theme as both main characters suffer dramatic and tragic endings. Because the narrative actually has three stories to it as well, the tragedy eventually becomes inevitable and foreseeable
Continuity editing is a technique often explored throughout the music video and it provides an easy, smooth flow, which allows scenes to render effortlessly together after another. The transition of these scenes are often brought together through heavy and intense movements of the main character, such as him lifting his head up and diverting his sight from one direction and area to another, Or even can come from him getting slapped across the face to him spinning in circles whilst drinking alcohol etc.
This technique allows the viewer to always feel interacted with the video and never thrown off, as the events changeover flawlessly and allows the viewer to feel even more immersed and never astray.
The music video takes us through a journey from the eyes of the main character and there are three stories that reside inside the video. They all begin at a defining moment where the woman rips apart the bill from a diner restaurant. It happens slightly but surely in slow motion and that is to suggest the importance of this event as the director wants us to take in this moment, and it foretells how the story will play out.
The first story sees her indeed rip apart the bill although we can see the main character was initially contemplating the thought of whether they should pay for it or not. We can tell this because he reaches his hand out and slowly pulls the bill towards himself, however the woman grabs it from his hand and tears it up. This already forebodes the future events as we then see the same pattern continue and we witness the destructive and tainted force she brings with herself, however the main character is too passive to go against her will and instead acts accordingly to what she does, and her contaminated temptations end up getting the better of him. A key moment of this would also be when she encourages him to steal a wallet from a man (1:30 into the video). The story doesn’t end well for them however and we suspect that they consequently get arrested due to their actions because of the implications of siren lights reflecting in the car and the expression of anguish and terror on the woman’s face.
We then experience the main character rewinding and turning back time in order to attempt to change this outcome and it takes us back to the very scene where the bill arrives at the character’s table in the diner. This time however the main character rips it up himself, and thus we already have insight as to how the story will go.
We see the main character try a new approach in his behaviour however it is for the worst as he basically tries to imitate the woman’s behaviour yet exceed her terrorising persona. This is signified through the contrast of the camera as it suddenly becomes duller and darker in comparison to the first story, and this represents the sinister character he has turned into and to show us how he sees the world in a darker light and his actions portray this. There are various clips showing us how aggressive and vile he has now become as we see him replace his previous actions with ones such urinating on the road, groping and fumbling about with the woman repeatedly and treating her along with her possessions disrespectfully,
and he also suddenly acts much more rash and harsh by being the main instigator in plots of theft and violence; this among many other things.
He eventually becomes so dreadful that we even see his partner slap him and leave him alone as she cant stand being around him for much longer, and she pushes him away in more ways than one.
We see his greedy, sinful ways get the better of him and inevitably lead to his doom as his very own companion attempts to stab him with the knife that he purchased (signifying how it was his own actions that destined his downfall).
The story then rewinds again and we see the main character now finally doing the right thing and paying for the bill with his credit card, and the video gains back its contrast.
We as the audience can establish that the main character is now willing to change his ways and do things for the better due to the outcome of what happened from doing things for the worst. He becomes much more respectful towards people whether it is his partner or people in genial. This is represented through scenes such as him covering his eyes when the woman is dressing, he acts more affectionate and kinder to her and to others,
and for any wrongs the woman does he acts much more assertive and either tries to teach her right from wrong or attempts to make it right again by reversing her actions, (she steals wallet, he returns it back).
However his companion and the only person there for him ironically becomes his downfall. A scene of him holding the woman’s hand foretells this as she decides to let go and run up ahead (perhaps portraying as to how she will always run into danger and he is not prepared to do so anymore).
This is then made apparent as her encounter with a presumably wealthy man, (mise-en-scene factors such as the man’s sophisticated outfit allow the audience to conclude to such a thought)
,who she overdoses with pills bring the main character of making the decision of finally turning his back on her (figuratively and literally) and either calling for the authorities or for medical help for the man. While the main character is dialling a number on his phone his vision gets stunned and begins to blur suddenly and intensely furthermore a jump cut with continuity editing techniques take place, showing the woman with an arcade gun pointing towards the main character is more than enough to suggest what has just happened.
As we see the main character hold blood in his hand from his stomach our ideas are made clear and the woman has indeed shot him. As she throws the gun to the floor and turns her back on him, another jump cut is provided but this time of the main character pointing the arcade gun at the woman, and again we have intense insight to what has happened, and our concluded with our thoughts when we see the woman drop to the floor and the gun in the main character’s hand.
Throughout the video the stories that unfolded became worse and worse as fist they get apprehended by the police, then the main character dies and then they both die. And although the main character became a better person in the last story it still didn’t change their fated future together and in the end their story is one that vainly ended in calamity and disaster.
I really enjoyed this music video because of the subtle yet smartly designed story they implemented into the video. There are no words said throughout the video and not even any lyrics in the song that could suggest what is happening, however the visuals are more than enough for explanation. The concept and incorporation of the first person perspective to the video is another factor to admire as it is ever so rarely seen in music videos and therefore brings something unique and fresh to the table. It can also be proven to provide an incredibly immerse and realistic video, which can emphasise the dramatic scenes very vividly. I believe it was a cleverly produced and directed video as all the shots provided did their part in unwrapping the story and no shots seemed wasted, unnecessary or tacked on.
This is again an excellent choice of text to analyse Enyinna. There are some key techniques used in this video that may prove useful in your own production work.
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