MANNY - Analysis 1 - James Morrison - The Pieces Don't Fit Anymore

Narritive of Performance Based?:
This particular video is wholey performance based, this is becuase it is one of his later videos and he does not need to establish himself as a singer/guitarist.
The video is about him trying to lose his memories of a past relationship. The character has distanced himself from means of interaction in various ways; he sits at home with yellow lighting, there is a set focus so anything out of range will appear blury, there are no other characters in the video, the camera uses long shots to make him appear insignificant. All of this coupled with his slow movement anchored by the sad tone of the song.



Location:
The director uses 2 different places for the entire video; his home and a lake. We can tell where he is due to common objects, for example we identify it is his home via the lighted tree in the background and the use of a kitchen sink.
We clearly see he is at a lake, becuase it is a lake.



Editing:
The director has used very long shots through out the song, this allows us to figure out the narrative easier. Furthermore as there is no performance involved we focus on the singer himself.
However the video is not filmed in chronogical order, this is an example of continuity editing. Whereby each shot needed is filmed at the location at the time, then edited to look as if it was filmed as it is played.



Camera:
The camera uses a large number of Close ups and Big Close ups to further convey the emotion the singer is trying to come across with. Another way the camera is used to show emotion is by blurring focus to look distant and out of touch with anything else that is going on in his life. More over if we do not see a big close up or a close up we see a long shot to make him appear alone.



Lighting:
Whilest at home the camera uses alot of incident light which give warm colours which add to a sense of the home, whilest oustide there is a stark comparison as a cooler colour palette is maintened from the ambient sky light. I find that the different lighting temperatures show the characters mood transition, how he was at home he was wallowing within himself, while outside when he has finally come to get rid of his memories and get over it the cooler colours make him seem cleaner cut. He then knows he can get on with his life.



Mise-en-scene:
The make up and scene selcetion is key in a sad song in setting the mood. Here we see whilest he is at home, he has heavy bags under his eyes; constructed via warm colours and high shadow definition. Further more he hasn't shaved which tells us time has passed, ie a couple of days. He wears what a typical 20 year old wears, it is nothing glamorours or extravogent.



Lyrics & Visuals:
Much of the singing is in time with Big CLose Ups and Close Ups, as the aim of the song is for the consumer to relate to the singer, saying he knows what you've been through as well. He looks directly in the centre of the camera. A long shot where you do not see clear facial expression would not give the same effect of sadness.