Chris - Video Analysis 2 - Daniel Powter

Video - Daniel Powter, Bad Day




Narrative and Performance based - the video comprises of shots of Powter playing a piano and the daily life of a boy and girl over 3 days. The main feature of the video is the relationship the two have due to a wall they each draw on to communicate. The final drawing on the wall is a heart and the situation in the drawing comes true at the end of the video when the boy saves the girl from the pouring rain by providing an umbrella as a taxi appears.

Location - the video starts with each in their bedroom and then we follow them to work on the subway, at work, on their lunch break in the same location where Powter is seen playing the piano.
In the subway where both characters sit and wait for the train a poster behind them says smile, which neither of them do.

Editing - Continuous editing to give the illusion of continuous action. Split screens are used to show the comparison between the boy and girl for example in the very first shot of the video shows a split screen with them both asleep in their respective beds.

Camera - there are multiple close ups used on Powter and lip synching is clearly evident in the video to add to authenticity that it is his song and he can sing - first person mode of address. Also we see Powter playing the piano himself to show he isn't just a singer but is also a pianist. The first shot of Powter playing the piano where we see his face he has his eyes closed which creates a sense of passion he has for the song and that he is thinking about the words he is singing.

• Birds eye view shot in the bedrooms as if the audience is a fly on the ceiling.
• Panning shot from Powter's hands on the piano to his face.
• Mirror shots of the boy getting ready in the morning - exhibitionism, sense of looking
• Shot of boy at the window then camera pivots down to see the girl walking after the boy has looked down.
• Shots between calendar and a water dispenser to show the 3 days and how the level decreases
• Shot of the boy then zooms in on the girl in the opposite office block to show that he is thinking about her.

Relationship between visuals and lyrics -

• "you go for a ride" - on the subway
• "they laugh at what you say" - workers laugh just before this line
• "you had a bad day" - both the boy and girl are being moaned at by their bosses