Night Changes is a song by boy band group One Direction, it has a unique music video as it is shot in a pov from the date of each one of the boys, its meant to place the viewer in the shoes of this date and although many other music videos have the artists singing into the camera, directly addressing the viewer, this video takes that to another level by giving them a body to portray themselves through.
A story is told throughout the video making it narrative driven, yet performance video is implemented through things such as direct address. Harry, Niall, Liam, Zayn and Louis are all playing themselves yet this may be seen more as a characterization of themselves.
Although it’s a unique idea this does not mean that it doesn’t stray away from the common occurrences found in pop music videos, including singing/lip-syncing which can break the intended realism the video is trying to create, yet this may engage the audience in a way that makes them focus and connect to the song on a deeper level as many of the lyrics accompany the visuals nicely, such as the opening shot where we are walking with Zayn in a restaurant, the line that plays here “going out tonight.” sets up that the video will be about going out while the visuals set up the main idea of the video.
Each Date is different allowing for different lighting and scenery between each one. With Zayn we are in a restaurant and the lighting is warm with a dominance of 3 colors, black, yellow and red, With Liam we are at a fairground and here an abundance of color is used in the form of the lights on the rides, With Harry we are skating on an ice rink and the most common color we see here is a piercing blue further exaggerating the theme of the ice and cold, Louis has the most different scenery as his date is the only one that takes place during the day time, it is the most natural of all the scenery because we can see trees and greenery as well as he sun, Its being isolated in a way from the rest, it makes it stand out due to the brighter surroundings, while With Niall we are at a house which is the most relatable place out of the video and this homely feeling is emphasized with the naturalistic lighting from the fireplace. The Scenery differing between each member is done to make them feel distinctive. And with 5 different stories to be told in a short amount of time many jump cuts are used.
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