Written by: Miranda Lambert & Blake Shelton
Director: Trey Fanjoy
Genre: Country
Structure: Abstract/Narrative
Its difficult to clarify the structure of this music video, but I would place it inbetween abstract and narrative. As the hidden meaning of the song is a narrative but the style in which its represented is abstract. If the target audience didn't know the backstory to the song, then it would appear as an abstract music video only conveying the theme of death and loss.
The artist, Miranda Lambert, wrote this song with her husband, Blake Shelton, who is also a famous country singer. It is about a personal experience Shelton had as a teenage when his older brother was killed in a car accident. Shelton let Lambert record the song because of his emotional connection to the song. According to Lambert: "Blake said he couldn’t record it for himself or sing it onstage every night, but he would be honored for me to."
The narrative is developed through connotations, symbols and motifs that aren't obvious to the viewer. This gives the music video much more depth and represents the theme of death in a much more unique and personal way. This way only the artist's most loyal fans will understand the meaning which makes it very personal. I will talk about these symbols separately.
The white horse - The use of the horse in the music video could symbolise the spirit of her lost one. So looking into the meaning of the song it is symbolic of her husband, Blake Shelton's brother, so her brother-in-law. Although the character that Lambert is playing is emotional over this death, it suggests that Lambert is either playing a character that has someone or she is conveying her husband's feelings of his brother's death. The way Lambert interacts with the horse in the video shows familiarity, which emphasises my main point that the horse is a spirit. As many graves are shown at the end of the video, the horse kneeling on the ground shows respect and suggests that its spirit may have known some of the other deceased. Finally, horses are very beautiful, graceful, kind, peaceful and associated with hope. So its appropriate that a spirit is presented in this form as it means that the deceased person is resting in peace.
The two young boys - The two young boys in the video are playing until one of them suddenly disappears, the other boy is left alone and appears upset and hurt. The meaning of this song clearly represents the reason behind this symbol. The boy to disappear is obviously a representation of Shelton's older brother who died when he was younger. The younger boy to be left alone is supposed to be Shelton as a child. This was created in order to make the audience feel what the writer, Shelton, was feeling when his brother passed away. This tactic is very successful in making the video memorable and drawing in the audience. Another bit of evidence to suggest that my previous point on the horse being a spirit, is when there is a close up of the brother, who is upset that his brother has disappeared. Straight after that shot, there is one of the white horse running, running represents freedom so this backs up my previous point.
Although the video conveys a darker tone than the typical country music video, it still shares the same natural conventions. The setting is a common convention as country videos are usually associated with nature, in this video, the same setting is kept throughout and it is in a woodland. In most country videos, the artist is either in a field or a wood in a part of the video at least. The season this video was shot in also represents the sadness and tragedy of the song's deep meaning. Typically, country music videos are shot in the summer as sunlight is associated with happiness, which suggests that the average country song is upbeat and positive While it follows the setting convention it could be argued that this is unconventional in the sense as the video is shot in the winter.
Another unconventional feature of the music video is the artist's choice of costume. Usually, due to most country music videos being shot in the summer, the choice of attire is usually appropriate for this season e.g sundresses, plaid shirts, jean shorts, jeans, cowboy hats etc. A very common and important piece of country-style clothing, cowboy boots, are also omitted due to the nature of the video (themes of death, deep meaning etc) It could be argued that the clothing is only different to adjust to the season in which the video was shot in (winter), but at the same time the costume isn't at all suitable for winter.
In terms of mise-en-scene, the major and only setting for this music video is the wooded forest. Like I mentioned earlier, a nature based setting is a common convention of country music. There is strong pathetic fallacy with this setting as the weather reflects the mood. Alongside the dark, leafless trees and the snow, which you would usually associate with depression and sadness. There is also the use of mist or fog. As the song and video is about death, the fog is very good at representing the sadness in the music video. It also makes the setting much more ethereal and spiritual, as fog in some way is similar to how you'd expect ghosts to look.
Looking closely into costume, it is Victorian inspired. It includes black laced boots, a long white ruffle dress with a corset, and a black lace coat and jewellery including a ring and a choker necklace, she also has a black lace parasol. Analysing this costume further, it seems to be a "mourning" choice of attire (people wear black when someone close to them has passed away). But linking to John Berger's theory of "Ways if seeing" this makes me see the attire in an entirely different way. While the costume seems respectful, it is provocative as it accentuates the bust area. This makes it seem that the her gaze is meant to entice the viewer despite the song being very serious with no suggestion of this.
The cinematography in the video is very smooth, so it seems to have been shot with either a steadicam or a track. Since the majority of the shots of Lambert are of her walking, the track is designed to keep the shots still on her and allows the audience's focus to be completely on her. The smooth cinematography gives the music video a very ethereal and spiritual tone, which is suitable as the song and the video is essentially about death. It fits along with the spiritual symbol of the white horse to give an unearthly tone to the music video.
As the artist, Miranda Lambert, walking is the focal point of the music video in terms of cinematography. A wide variety of framing is used in the video on her in particular. I've noticed close-ups are used to show her expressions and reaction to things that happen in the video. For example, at the beginning when she sees the white horse (or spirit) and looks closer and realises it is gone. Another example is her smile when she sees the two boys playing which represents happiness between them. The most emotional version of the close up is when Lambert reaches the graveyard and sees the grave of her loved one. Unlike previouses uses of the close up, this one has a slight zoom in which allows us to feel the pain that she is feeling as the zoom represents the sudden change of her emotions by seeing the gravestone. Lambert also uses direct mode of address by looking straight into the camera while singing the most emotional lines, like "You went away, how dare you! I miss you" Medium close ups and medium shots are also used while Lambert is walking, but for no reason but to establish her presence. Although another notable use of a close up is when the boy's brother disappears, the camera goes in on his face to show and emphasise the pain he's feeling of his brother's disappearance.
Aside from the framing, angles is also used. A high angle is used a few times in the music video, most notably at the the end when she leaves the graveyard. This represents Lambert's character as vulnerable and small now her loved one is lost. It could also say that she has lost her strength and confidence and has become weak as a result of her being alone and isolated due to the death of her loved one.
In terms of editing, the video is cut in continuity, which means it is telling a story with narrative continuity. The smooth flow from shot to shot helps the audience make sense of the actions as well as being able to keep up with the story. Continuity editing also creates realism as the edit is invisible so the action appears real instead of constructed. The verisimilitude is very important for this music video as the aim is to make you feel the same way as the character is feeling. The more real it appears, the more likely the audience is to believe it and engage with the emotions of the song.
Another editing technique I picked up on was the use of slow motion. This isn't entirely obvious but I noticed this starting with the horse. I felt that this was used to again make the video seem ethereal which fits in with the song and music video's theme of death. To add slow motion effectively in a way where the artist is still lip-syncing in time, the artist has to lip-sync to the song twice as fast. The slow motion doesn't just represent the theme but it also fits with the pace and rhythm of the song, as it is of a slow rhythm, there is more realism.
Improvements to make:
Structure: Abstract/Narrative
Its difficult to clarify the structure of this music video, but I would place it inbetween abstract and narrative. As the hidden meaning of the song is a narrative but the style in which its represented is abstract. If the target audience didn't know the backstory to the song, then it would appear as an abstract music video only conveying the theme of death and loss.
The artist, Miranda Lambert, wrote this song with her husband, Blake Shelton, who is also a famous country singer. It is about a personal experience Shelton had as a teenage when his older brother was killed in a car accident. Shelton let Lambert record the song because of his emotional connection to the song. According to Lambert: "Blake said he couldn’t record it for himself or sing it onstage every night, but he would be honored for me to."
The white horse - The use of the horse in the music video could symbolise the spirit of her lost one. So looking into the meaning of the song it is symbolic of her husband, Blake Shelton's brother, so her brother-in-law. Although the character that Lambert is playing is emotional over this death, it suggests that Lambert is either playing a character that has someone or she is conveying her husband's feelings of his brother's death. The way Lambert interacts with the horse in the video shows familiarity, which emphasises my main point that the horse is a spirit. As many graves are shown at the end of the video, the horse kneeling on the ground shows respect and suggests that its spirit may have known some of the other deceased. Finally, horses are very beautiful, graceful, kind, peaceful and associated with hope. So its appropriate that a spirit is presented in this form as it means that the deceased person is resting in peace.
The two young boys - The two young boys in the video are playing until one of them suddenly disappears, the other boy is left alone and appears upset and hurt. The meaning of this song clearly represents the reason behind this symbol. The boy to disappear is obviously a representation of Shelton's older brother who died when he was younger. The younger boy to be left alone is supposed to be Shelton as a child. This was created in order to make the audience feel what the writer, Shelton, was feeling when his brother passed away. This tactic is very successful in making the video memorable and drawing in the audience. Another bit of evidence to suggest that my previous point on the horse being a spirit, is when there is a close up of the brother, who is upset that his brother has disappeared. Straight after that shot, there is one of the white horse running, running represents freedom so this backs up my previous point.
Although the video conveys a darker tone than the typical country music video, it still shares the same natural conventions. The setting is a common convention as country videos are usually associated with nature, in this video, the same setting is kept throughout and it is in a woodland. In most country videos, the artist is either in a field or a wood in a part of the video at least. The season this video was shot in also represents the sadness and tragedy of the song's deep meaning. Typically, country music videos are shot in the summer as sunlight is associated with happiness, which suggests that the average country song is upbeat and positive While it follows the setting convention it could be argued that this is unconventional in the sense as the video is shot in the winter.
Another unconventional feature of the music video is the artist's choice of costume. Usually, due to most country music videos being shot in the summer, the choice of attire is usually appropriate for this season e.g sundresses, plaid shirts, jean shorts, jeans, cowboy hats etc. A very common and important piece of country-style clothing, cowboy boots, are also omitted due to the nature of the video (themes of death, deep meaning etc) It could be argued that the clothing is only different to adjust to the season in which the video was shot in (winter), but at the same time the costume isn't at all suitable for winter.
In terms of mise-en-scene, the major and only setting for this music video is the wooded forest. Like I mentioned earlier, a nature based setting is a common convention of country music. There is strong pathetic fallacy with this setting as the weather reflects the mood. Alongside the dark, leafless trees and the snow, which you would usually associate with depression and sadness. There is also the use of mist or fog. As the song and video is about death, the fog is very good at representing the sadness in the music video. It also makes the setting much more ethereal and spiritual, as fog in some way is similar to how you'd expect ghosts to look.
Looking closely into costume, it is Victorian inspired. It includes black laced boots, a long white ruffle dress with a corset, and a black lace coat and jewellery including a ring and a choker necklace, she also has a black lace parasol. Analysing this costume further, it seems to be a "mourning" choice of attire (people wear black when someone close to them has passed away). But linking to John Berger's theory of "Ways if seeing" this makes me see the attire in an entirely different way. While the costume seems respectful, it is provocative as it accentuates the bust area. This makes it seem that the her gaze is meant to entice the viewer despite the song being very serious with no suggestion of this.
The cinematography in the video is very smooth, so it seems to have been shot with either a steadicam or a track. Since the majority of the shots of Lambert are of her walking, the track is designed to keep the shots still on her and allows the audience's focus to be completely on her. The smooth cinematography gives the music video a very ethereal and spiritual tone, which is suitable as the song and the video is essentially about death. It fits along with the spiritual symbol of the white horse to give an unearthly tone to the music video.
As the artist, Miranda Lambert, walking is the focal point of the music video in terms of cinematography. A wide variety of framing is used in the video on her in particular. I've noticed close-ups are used to show her expressions and reaction to things that happen in the video. For example, at the beginning when she sees the white horse (or spirit) and looks closer and realises it is gone. Another example is her smile when she sees the two boys playing which represents happiness between them. The most emotional version of the close up is when Lambert reaches the graveyard and sees the grave of her loved one. Unlike previouses uses of the close up, this one has a slight zoom in which allows us to feel the pain that she is feeling as the zoom represents the sudden change of her emotions by seeing the gravestone. Lambert also uses direct mode of address by looking straight into the camera while singing the most emotional lines, like "You went away, how dare you! I miss you" Medium close ups and medium shots are also used while Lambert is walking, but for no reason but to establish her presence. Although another notable use of a close up is when the boy's brother disappears, the camera goes in on his face to show and emphasise the pain he's feeling of his brother's disappearance.
Aside from the framing, angles is also used. A high angle is used a few times in the music video, most notably at the the end when she leaves the graveyard. This represents Lambert's character as vulnerable and small now her loved one is lost. It could also say that she has lost her strength and confidence and has become weak as a result of her being alone and isolated due to the death of her loved one.
In terms of editing, the video is cut in continuity, which means it is telling a story with narrative continuity. The smooth flow from shot to shot helps the audience make sense of the actions as well as being able to keep up with the story. Continuity editing also creates realism as the edit is invisible so the action appears real instead of constructed. The verisimilitude is very important for this music video as the aim is to make you feel the same way as the character is feeling. The more real it appears, the more likely the audience is to believe it and engage with the emotions of the song.
Another editing technique I picked up on was the use of slow motion. This isn't entirely obvious but I noticed this starting with the horse. I felt that this was used to again make the video seem ethereal which fits in with the song and music video's theme of death. To add slow motion effectively in a way where the artist is still lip-syncing in time, the artist has to lip-sync to the song twice as fast. The slow motion doesn't just represent the theme but it also fits with the pace and rhythm of the song, as it is of a slow rhythm, there is more realism.
Improvements to make:
- How it appeals to target audience
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