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From watching the offical video of 'I'm not the only one' by Sam Smith it clearly displays the majority of it (70%) narrative- based and the rest of the video as an artist performance (30%).
To conclude I feel as though the music video allows the audience to connect emotinally with the lyrics through the use of the lyric and visual relationships that are carried on throughout. The narrative helped to assist the pure emotion that the artist was feeling during the time of writing every word and the performance they gave was truely believable and genuine.
SAM SMITH- 'I'm not the only one'
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The title of the music video is clearly illustrated at the begining of the music video where it states 'SAM SMITH I'm Not The Only One' in the opening shot. In additon to the title of the song being shown within the actual video, the director is also mentioned shortly after.
Sam Smith is known for his Indie/ Rock singles that he has released over the past 2 years and this video portrays the genre through the way i which the artist is dressed during the performance shots within the video. Sam usually sticks to the same sort of style in relation to his image, styling his hair in a rock style quiff, dressing himself in a blazer, trousers and wearing smart shoes. He definitley brings characteristcs through from the indie and rock genre which puts this kind of edge on the video.
Throughout the entire music video there is a strong connection between the lyrics and the video displayed on screen. The lyrics and visual relationship allows the lyrics to be put into a real life situation so that the audience can imagine and create an image in their heads of the message the artist is trying to deliver. An the begining of the video theres a section whereby the lyrics from the song represents the action that is being displayed within the video.
You and me, we made a vow
For better or for worse
I can't believe you let me down
But the proof's in the way it hurts
For months on end I've had my doubts
Denying every tear
I wish this would be over now
But I know that I still need you here
[Chorus:]
You say I'm crazy
'Cause you don't think I know what you've done
But when you call me baby
I know I'm not the only one
You've been so unavailable
Now sadly I know why
Your heart is unobtainable
Even though Lord knows you kept mine
[Chorus:]
You say I'm crazy
'Cause you don't think I know what you've done
But when you call me baby
I know I'm not the only one
I have loved you for many years
Maybe I am just not enough
You've made me realize my deepest fear
By lying and tearing us up
[Chorus 2x:]
You say I'm crazy
'Cause you don't think I know what you've done
But when you call me baby
I know I'm not the only one
I know I'm not the only one
I know I'm not the only one
And I know...
I know I'm not the only one
The lyrics 'You and me we made a vow, for better or for worse' are sung from 1:07- 1:15 and at this time (1:15) a shot of the woman taking her wedding ring off is shown on screen. The relationship between the lyrics and visual is shown clearly in this section as the idea of a wedding vow represents the wedding ring which is the main focus at this point. Also within the same clip there is further relaionships between the lyrics and visuals on the screen, when Sam sings 'You and me we made a vow', the shots alter from the woman and man so that we get an understanding of who the song is about and who it is refering to.
LYRICS
In addition to the relationship between the visuals we see on the screen and the lyrics, within this clip we hear 'But the proof's in the way it hurts' as the woman grabs her heart. This shows the pain that she is going through in relation to the situation between her and her partner. By acting out some of the lyrics that are as heart felt as these it allows the audience and those listening to feel the emotion that Sam Smith, the artist, is trying to deiever through his voice.
At 1:36- 1:40 in the music video the lyrics are 'Denying every tear' whereby the woman acting physially wipes her tears from her face. This allows us to see the emotional pain that the woman is facing due to the situation that she is in. It draws more attention to the fact that she is crying by moving her hand towards the tears rolling down her face. The focus of her crying is now what the viewer sees making them connect with her more.
Towards the end of the music video when the video switches from performance to narrative and the lyrics 'you say i'm crazy, cos' you don't think you know what you've done' are sung, the relationship between the lyrics and visuals show that when 'you know what you've done' appear the video shows the womans partner becoming intimate with another woman, displaying betrail, relating to the negative aspect of what he's doing behind her back.
In addition to the relationships between the lyrics and visuals displayed throughout the music video there is also a strong link between the music and the visuals shown too. There are clear signs of the music cutting in time with the video in order to make the music video overall flow from one shot to the other without it looking disjointed and out of time. By keeping in time with the beat of the music each shot is able to alter to the next in order to build up the story that the music is trying to tell.
In this clip there are a number of examples of the shots altering and changing in time with the beat of the music. After every 4 seconds the shots change in order to create and build up to the speed of the music. However, when the music increases in speed the duration between the change of shots decrease so that the pace of the video accompanies the beat of the music well.
There are multiple close ups of the artist, Sam Smith throughout the entire duration of the video when the shots change from the narrative of the music video to the live performance given by the artist. This allows us to see the real emotion that the artist is trying to portray in the lyrics of the song and I think the close up shots capture these well due to the clarification of facial expressions. The close up shots allow us to see iconography of the artist and details of his image. Similarly to his other music videos he has kept the same image; thhe way he dresses with a blazer, trousers and styles his hair it shows that the genre he is trying to be a part of is being kept the same.
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