Artist: Mumford & Sons
Song: Lover of the Light
Genre: Alternative Rock
Structure: Narrative
'Lover of the light' was the second single release from Mumford & Son's second studio album. The single was released on 5 November 2012, the day after the video was uploaded to YouTube. With 8 million views on the video sharing website it is the bands 4th popular video. In short, the video centres fully on a blind man (Elba) who puts aside his cane and runs free, ending with him at the edge of a cliff shouting. This focus solely on the life of one individual is something I hope to carry on to my music video, this can be seen by my previously uploaded concepts.
After analysing the text I have drawn up a number of points which will help in the production of my own music video. Starting with cinematography, it was a somewhat recurring theme to show close ups of the characters face. This was done in an attempt to create a bond between the audience and Elba. It allowed his emotions to be clearly established and kept the audience watching. The fact the camera was physically close to Elba meant that the audience felt emotionally closer too. An example of a use of this camera shot is between 0:22-0:32. It quickly establishes the mood of the video especially when compared to the close up, in Elba's dream, at 0:16-0:19 which shows a much happier character as he dreams of being out in the open and problem free. These two are critical examples of how a close up shot can straight away create the mood of the video/scene. Other comparisons, in terms of camera framing, between Elba's reality and his dreams is the distance between camera and character. In his house the camera is always a mid shot or closer. It shows that his disability has him trapped. However, this completely changes when cutting back to his dream at 1:47 and shows Elba portrayed in a long shot. This is used to show that when asleep he is completely free. At one point, in Elba's house, we are shown a high angle shot which places the audience above Elba and looking down on him. This connotates that because of his disability we are higher in society than he is. We have our vision and he does not. Longer shots are also favoured in the seconds half of the video, when Elba build up the courage to leave the house unaided. Again showing his freedom and determination to not let his disability hold him back examples at 4:13 and 4:30. His freedom is also reflected at this point by the constant camera movement and the faster edits.
In terms of mise-en-scene it shows strong links to the previously established genre conventions, such as dark costumes and low lighting. However at 0:54 a lot of lighting is used to connotate Elba looking up to the heavens, wishing for a better life. It is the mise-en-scene which helps establish the narrative and it's link to the lyrics. At 2:30 the use of the dog in shot conjoins with 'Hold the one you love'. This is done to show Elba's love for his guide dog and show that it's all he has. In terms of helping to understand the narrative, this can be seen shortly after when Elba goes up to his guide dogs lead and his cane before rejecting both and leaving alone. This use of mise-en-scene in props allows us to understand the thought process of the main character as he basically goes with his heart over his head.
After analysing the text I have drawn up a number of points which will help in the production of my own music video. Starting with cinematography, it was a somewhat recurring theme to show close ups of the characters face. This was done in an attempt to create a bond between the audience and Elba. It allowed his emotions to be clearly established and kept the audience watching. The fact the camera was physically close to Elba meant that the audience felt emotionally closer too. An example of a use of this camera shot is between 0:22-0:32. It quickly establishes the mood of the video especially when compared to the close up, in Elba's dream, at 0:16-0:19 which shows a much happier character as he dreams of being out in the open and problem free. These two are critical examples of how a close up shot can straight away create the mood of the video/scene. Other comparisons, in terms of camera framing, between Elba's reality and his dreams is the distance between camera and character. In his house the camera is always a mid shot or closer. It shows that his disability has him trapped. However, this completely changes when cutting back to his dream at 1:47 and shows Elba portrayed in a long shot. This is used to show that when asleep he is completely free. At one point, in Elba's house, we are shown a high angle shot which places the audience above Elba and looking down on him. This connotates that because of his disability we are higher in society than he is. We have our vision and he does not. Longer shots are also favoured in the seconds half of the video, when Elba build up the courage to leave the house unaided. Again showing his freedom and determination to not let his disability hold him back examples at 4:13 and 4:30. His freedom is also reflected at this point by the constant camera movement and the faster edits.
In terms of mise-en-scene it shows strong links to the previously established genre conventions, such as dark costumes and low lighting. However at 0:54 a lot of lighting is used to connotate Elba looking up to the heavens, wishing for a better life. It is the mise-en-scene which helps establish the narrative and it's link to the lyrics. At 2:30 the use of the dog in shot conjoins with 'Hold the one you love'. This is done to show Elba's love for his guide dog and show that it's all he has. In terms of helping to understand the narrative, this can be seen shortly after when Elba goes up to his guide dogs lead and his cane before rejecting both and leaving alone. This use of mise-en-scene in props allows us to understand the thought process of the main character as he basically goes with his heart over his head.
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