Textual analysis 2

 

 

Ellie Goulding-Your song 
Written by: Bernie Taupin and Elton John                                                                                               
Director: Ben Coughlan and Max Knight                                                                                                        
Genre: Pop/Rock
Structure: Narrative

‘Your song’ is composed and performed by English musician Elton John with lyrics by his longtime collaborator Bernie Taupin. The song was released in the United States in October 1970 as the B-side to "Take Me to the Pilot".  Eventually making the top ten on both the UK and US charts. Therefore the music video I am analyzing is Ellie Goulding doing a cover version of this song whose version reached number two on the UK Singles Chart in late 2010.

The music video is a shot in a home video look; it depicts Goulding's life on the road with friends. Areas from Goulding's hometown of Hereford can be seen throughout the video, including Hereford railway station. Ellie Goulding shows her personal life to the audience in a narrative making the audience feel more of an intimate feel. All the scenes show life experiences and friends but all results to her talking about the male person who she loves.

 

Ellie Goulding who is the main artist is acting as the main character in the narrative of the music video. It shows the first location on a train, the close up shot of the artist takes up one third of the screen connoting her to be the main character of the narrative. Also through her arm shows the moving nature and woodland in the background therefore implying she is on a moving transport travelling. Plus the high angle close up shot shows the train ticket giving away the type of transport. The editing cuts are fast which connotes her life style and there isn’t a stop and start for her, she’s always on the move. Showing a wide shot of her on another type of transport ,a plane, by her facial expressions and body language shows she is having fun and with friends. It goes blurred at this scene for a half a second giving that feel of the person who is filming isn’t a professional and is a friend. The editing keeps cutting back to her and her friends having a good time giving that feels of flash backs then straight cuts to a close up of her singing along to the lyrics bringing it back to that she is also the artist. The mise-en-scene of her costume shows that she dresses like everybody else making it realistic and creating verisimilitude. Fast editing shots of medium close ups and close up shots of leaves and nature showing the season of autumn and the mise-en-scene of location.

 

The instrumental sound of the piano links to the music video as you can see this action making it synchronous sound. It isn’t just Ellie’s hands playing, there is another pair of hands playing with her this is shown through the close up shot with deep depth of field then another shot a few cuts after this, us as an audience look like we are looking in on her secretly, this is shown as a wall takes up ¼ of the screen in the mid wide shot her partner is playing and she has stopped. Adding the male character develops the narrative more. The prop of a cat shows they have a pet by this is a conventional pet for a couple before having children. This links to the lyrics ‘I’d buy a big house where, we both could live’. 

 

The use of cinematography of close up and medium close up shot’s is always looking at Ellie and shows her facial expressions of laughing and smiling and looking at her partner connoting positive attitudes towards her and the relationship. The body movement of Ellie looking back and the eye contact to the camera implies her partner is the one filming. The locations are all outside and the long shot of the park showing a woman feeding the ducks shows the audience there having a nice day out. The costume of Ellie wearing green wellingtons shown in the long shot editing to a close up shot of her  foot wear in a small river connecting to the season and location choice. It straight cuts to Ellie singing in a studio as the camera pans slowly to the left showing that whilst she is singing the song she is thinking of all these memories making the narrative have more of an ideology and emotion on a higher and deeper level.  Medium close up shots of two trees that her and her friends have carved names and initials onto connoting her childish side and is trying to leave a trial of territory to show that she’s been there. ‘ I hope you don’t mind that I put down in words’ cuts back the studio whilst singing this links the production and her personal experiences together .

 

A conventional feature is that the editing fits in to the beat and shows that as the dialogue and beat/instrumental slows down the editing does. The mid shot at 1.40 seconds shows that some of the scenes are a held hand camera from a friend therefore gives reason for the blurred and unsteadiness of the camera shots. Depth of field shallow and deep is used a lot to make the audience focus on a specific object. At the start of the music video a medium close up of her Doc Martin boots where shown then at the end at 2.53 seconds they are shown again and pans to the left.

 

Over all I believe that this music video connotes positive attitudes about Ellie Goulding’s life and inside to the things she gets up to and it implies that she does the same as someone who isn’t famous and in the public eye. Also matching the lyrics to the narrative gave more of a vocal voice to the story. The cinematography of the held hand camera involves the audience more and makes them feel more important as it makes you feel like you was on that day out and making you feel one of Ellie Goulding’s friends.