The video begins with a group of men in military-like outfits, with emeli standing waiting to be brought/invited in. She is brought in with men by either side and greeted with an applause, although she doesn't appear to be happy. Close up shots are used of her deflated face and low angle shots are used of the men in the room to highlight their importance/power. Another shot is used showing a man pulling the petals off a flower - also symbolic as if he is destroying something that was natural pure and beautiful.
Emeli is stood alone surrounded by these men when she is given a contract and a pen and tells the men 'no', they appear shocked with one telling her to sit down asking her to reconsider. As we cant hear any dialogue, the important conversation is placed in words on the screen with a basic background. There is then a close up of the discomfort in emeli's face as the men gather round studying her. High angles are used on Emeli to show her lack of importance, whilst low angles for all the men around her emphasising their importance.
There are patronising shots included where a man places his hand on emeli's face lifting it up to look at him and another where his finger is pointing in her face.
Then, words come up on the screen as if the man is talking. He tells her she has a great talent with the brightest of futures, all that is required is her consent. It is here we finally can see the true meaning behind the song. These men are those that make 'dreams come true' in the music industry, they have the power to lift and smash her career yet she is a money making scheme for them and that is why they want her... under their conditions. Emeli responds telling them they want her surrender to which they reply "we want your co-operation". This shows the dangers in the music industry, to the artist they are surrendering their true wishes in order to be successful, where the mogulues see it as cooperation.
Through the powerful shots we continue to see Emeli's discomfort, and then we see an uplifting side where she tells these men she wants the power to be herself, freedom. They mock her as they tell her freedom is no use when you live in the gutter. This emphasises the power these men have within the industry as well as their control over the artists, they make them successful, however it comes at a price. We see the men make a decision infront of her as to what will happen should she refuse their offer, we see manipulation as they tell her her audience is waiting.
This is extremely powerful, it makes us feel sad for the artists in these situations and the way the MV has been filmed makes us truly feel her pain. She sings the final chorus holding the pen as a symbol of submission after a short silence in the song for the audience to absorb what is happening. This is the only time where Emeli is in the room full of men miming her lyrics, she sings/says
"I'll be your clown, behind the glass, go ahead and laugh cause its funny I would too if I saw me"
We then see her being taken out of the building as it appears that she has signed the contract.
The message behind this song shows the dangers of the industry. There is an incredible use of angles to show importance or lack of, as well as insecurity and powerlessness. There are two locations, one in the room full of men a.k.a the 'meeting place' and the other in another dark room where it is just Emeli with a black backdrop. The simplicity of locations works amazingly as it contrasts with how complicated the message behind the video is. Most of the lipsyncing is done where emeli is in the room on her own however theres some silenced dialogue we cant hear as we see the men talking and laughing.
The casting and characters are also very well done. We see a range of different men from all over the world showing this power and control in the music industry isn't limited to one country, its global. The men casted have an evil look about them in their laughs, manipulation and patronising ways and this only adds to the effect of feeling sorry for the main character - Emeli acting as herself.
There are no credits but, ironically, text stating all rights are reserved to virgin records. Which lets us know this problem is a reality in the industry. Finally, the video is filmed in black and white which adds to the pureness of the problem, it shows how emeli's decision is very black and white, she either surrenders to her dreams or runs free from them. It gives us less to focus on in order to focus on the story.
Overall, I absolutely love this video from the powerful message it contains to the way it was filmed. For example when the short pieces of dialogue appear on the screen we can read it rather than hear it, meaning we can take it in more. It is all very clever and I want my music video to have elements this video does in terms of meaning.
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