music video research - james blunt ~ you're beautiful

song/ artist:- you're beautiful ~ james blunt



visual style/ mise-en-scene:-
the camera shots are used very effectively in this particular video, james in on what seems to be a cliff, somewhere very cold hence the snow, alot of closeup shots are used to capture the emotion on his face when he is singing the lyrics, but it gradually zooms out to show the still landscape that james is quietly sitting, showing the scale and vastness of the setting and how it is so plain and un-exciting but yet very effective and sensual in relation to the song. the way he places out all his belongings and objects in his pockets, raises questions and creates uncertain purpose for what he is doing, making the audience more intrigued, they can make observations about what is going to happen next creation shock and unexpectancy when we eventually do find out. when james does jump off the cliff the camera is zoomed right back to show the sheer scale of the water around him and the height of the cliff, so that when he does hit the water the splash looks so small, because of the scale of how big everything is around him, it emphasises how small he is and how he feels singing the song.
narrative/ techniques used:-
there is no particular story but we conclude with how the action in the video is the causation of what james is singing about, he is telling the audience about a girl he saw, the love of his life persay, and how he will never see her again or how they will never be together, so he decides to leave it all, because he cant go on without her, he does this by stripping and jumping off a cliff into very cold water, supposedly attempting to end his suffering. Although this is a terribly over-dramatic, and exaggerated action in relation to the song, its a shock to the audience, and thats what creates the mystery of the video in relation to the song.

this is a unique video because i feel that the whole setting and scenery and performance in the video is so simple, yet so effective in terms of contrasting it in relation to the song, it makes sense but at the same time doesnt makes sense, and thats why i feel its so unique.