Analysis of music video - OneRepublic, Say (All I Need)

This is the music video to OneRepublic's Say (All I Need) their third single from their debut album Dreaming Out Loud.  It was directed by Anthony Mandler who has also directed music videos for several other mainstream artists and bands, for example Rihanna (California King Bed), The Killers, Jay-Z and Mary J. Blige. It was shot in Paris and features all the members of the band walking around the city. The shots of the city are mostly shot in black and white, with the only colour shots being the band performing and when Ryan Tedder, the lead singer and main person in the video, looks at the view of the sunset at the end of the video. The shots of the band performing cut into the story throughout the video, making this an amplification style music video. The cuts between the black & white and colour shots are very effective as it shows a contrast between the story and the source of the music, it also shows a contrast between the locations of the band performing. There is quite bright lighting used in this video to reflect the positive meaning of the lyrics. Throughout the music video there is establishing shots of well-known areas in Paris, for example the Sacre-Coeur at the beginning, with this and the ringing bells gives the audience an idea of a religious meaning to the lyrics. At the beginning, there is an introduction before the music starts which implies to the audience that there is a story to the music video. The bells are introduced with the establishing shot of the Sacre-Coeur, there is then several shots that hint at aspects of story - streets of Paris and Ryan Tedder. When the bells stop there is background noise of the city before the music starts this gives the audience the impression of a story to the music video and an idea of the context before the music starts. The sound of the city after the bells stop almost grounds the story and gives it some reality.



Like in most illustrative music videos the lead singer is the main character in the video, however the other band members feature throughout the video playing their instruments and walking the streets of Paris. The video features typical images of Paris which are interesting for the audience to watch as it is familiar and iconic  - the Sacre-Couer, the metro in the Montmartre area, the Vespa which is a very popular feature of the Parisian lifestyle.

A lot of the shots at the beginning are in slow motion which fits in with the slow rhythm of the music. The use of fading is also quite effective as the shots of the band walking around the city are shot in black and white which adds to the gentle feel of the beginning. Having the city shots in black and white create a strong contrast with the shots of the band performing which is quite effective, especially as the performing shots have a bright almost angelic style lighting. The difference in lighting allows the audience to easily distinguish between the narrative and performance.

The city shots have been edited in post-production and have been given a grainy effect which implies the narrative is set in the past and is either a memory or a dream.

The band are wearing smart casual clothing - jackets, skinny jeans, in quite plain colours so that they blend into their surroundings and look like they belong their. Through their dress you can tell that they are a band because they all look the part. In the video their chic style is indicated in the close-up shot of Ryan's shoes which shows the Lacoste logo. This would appeal to their audience because it shows that they are fashion-conscious and into designer labels, which also shows they are keeping the "star" image of a mainstream band.

The layer effect looks really good on the shots that connect Ryan walking around in the city which is in black and white to the shots of him singing into the microphone which is in colour. Although the colour shots and black & white shots contrast the layering seems to link the two parts of the video together well.

 

Along with the layering of the shots, the use of slow panning dolly shots and slow motion help create a gentle pace for the slower parts of the song. The visuals link into the music as well when the rhythm of the music picks up there is more camera movement and Ryan and his surroundings seem to move faster.



When the music reaches its height at around 3:00 the cuts get faster and more urgent which is matched by Ryan who starts running and it becomes apparent that he is looking for something. At the end of the video the music slows down again and the narrative creates a sense of calm after Ryan stops running and slowly opens the door and walks out onto the roof at 4:00. The shot then turns from black and white into colour which creates a good effect and implies that he has found what he is looking for and he is back in reality. The lighting is very bright with the sun facing the camera making the shot quite orange and vivid which is quite effective after the duller black and white shots of the city.





I've also learnt about pacing the shots and movement of the shots to the music for example using slow motion, slow panning and fades for slower parts of the song and faster cuts and more action in the parts with quicker rhythm.