This is the song me and my performer have chosen as the best to do called 'Home' by Indie artist Gabrielle Aplin. The artist herself has done many songs that can be categorised into mainly Folk, Indie and Pop music. With this diversity, she can appeal to other audiences who are interested in other similar genres, which is helpful for me as I myself know that other people will be interested in my music video/song. This Indie Folk/ Pop song in particular can appeal to other audiences with nice visuals, an upbeat tone and relatable themes.
A close up of her face shows the worry and start of her struggles to make it back home. The long stretch of road symbolises this as the camera follows her. It is important to note that her clothing style is casual wear with a t shirt, jeans and jacket but stylish, in order to fit the singers personality, with a Pop element in her look and fit the mood/tone of the song as she rough rides her situation. Plus, as a first impression of the music video it contains no special effects (except for a subtle tinted filter to the hue and saturation of the video), the scenery is natural and not artificially made and her clothing doesn't make her look provocative or for sex appeal like many Pop music videos contain. All of these hints including the music's style, tempo and sounds make it an Indie song.
As the video continues, an establishing shot of the scenery is highlighted with Gabrielle herself look outward towards the lake and the distant hills. Many shots of the scenery are shown to project her theme of how isolated she is at the start, being away from her comfort zone and searching to find it within a desolate landscape. From some other scenes a lot of establishing or long shots are shown to highlight the scenery and herself as an individual struggling to get back on her own.
Moving on, she finds a shop in order to supply herself with the necessities needed for a long trip. The camera movement seems never to be in a fixed and steady way at most times adding to the natural movement of her and the songs feel. In addition to this, I have noticed that the different scenes mainly jump cut from one to the other, which is a popular editing technique since songs only last between 2 - 3 minuets long and need the necessary footage for the video. For this particular song and video there is more narrative in her journey back home then seeing the artist sing, however she does show a lot of performance being the main character in the video.
Throughout the video it hardly shows the singer herself singing the song and heavily focuses on her trials in surviving on her own without any support. All along, this keeps the flow of the songs lyrics and heightens the message and theme of her goal and remembrance of home as a place of comfort and 'where your heart is centred'.
The narrative can also relate to people who have been in this situation and with it showing the struggles and despair of being in an unknown place, getting into uncertain events, trusting strangers and having no support, money, shelter or food makes home seem like heaven and desirable. Hence, the songs repetitive message of being who you are and knowing how important that is.
Again I have noticed that the video concerns itself a lot with her expressions and her actions towards her isolation and loneliness, which is key to highlighting the songs messages, themes and lyrics.The music and video's mise en scene has also gone from being quite slow and casual, to becoming more happier and upbeat as the narrative continues and she becomes comfortable in her life and situation. This transition helps move the song and story throughout and makes it seem not all is lost with the main character.
Additionally, it gives the song a more joyful beat in it's tempo and mood, so that the audience listening can feel the happiness that the character has for herself. To add this happier mood, the atmosphere has changed when she arrives at the city. Its more colourful and bright with the lights from buildings, she is surrounded by more people and is finally smiling and socialising with others. There is even a back flash on her on the road from the start and now she is running the hope of going home. This helps heighten the importance of being supported by others whether they be family or friends so you don't feel alone and not having to deal with problems in isolation.
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