Initial Research- Existing Products (Sam Smith- I'm Not The Only One)

Another music video that I have researched 'I'm Not The Only One' by Sam Smith. The song is from the singer's point of view about being cheated on and lied to. The music video begins with an establishing shot and the title of the song before playing a short opening of a couple.

The music then begins. The beat of the song doesn't have a strong relation to the visuals (e.g. the shots don't fit in exactly to the rhythm.) However, certain shots correspond with the lyrics. For example, '...made a vow, for better or for worse...' is played over the footage of a wedding ring and 'denying every tear' is played over a close-up shot of the women crying.

The narrative of the story defiantly links in with the lyrics of the song and the visuals clearly convey the story. The artist doesn't feature greatly in the music video and is not part of the narrative, which does not support Andrew Goodwin's theory of 'star image'. He is singing in the background of one of the scenes, but this doesn't confuse the narrative.

This music video is a good example of how narrative can be the strongest element of the video instead of the artist taking part.

Mise-en-scene
The setting of the music video is in an American suburban house, a stereotypically 'perfect' place with white picket fences, clean surroundings and an idillic place to live. The setting is a significant symbol in the music video because it contradicts to the imperfect narrative. Like the Beyonce video, 'I'm Not The Only One' also has a consistent theme of 50's style. The costume, hair & makeup, car and setting are all stereotypically associated with that decade. The 50's style is appropriate for the lyrics and music video because in that era, women were seen as weak and powerless, and in this video the main female character is helpless to change her situation and has to maintain her role of being the 'perfect' housewife.

Camera shots/ angles/ movement/ composition
A lot of the shots are hand-held to represent the female's shaky and weary emotions and direction. There are also a lot of close up shots of the female's face to show her emotions. These shots are significant to the music video because it creates the narrative. There is also tracking shots used to show that the female character is the protagonist and the main character that the audience empathises with.

Editing
Most of the shots have a slow motion effect which compliments the slow and sad vibe of the song.