1.) How do the visuals respond to the music?
a. How are the verses, choruses and bridges punctuated?b. How do the visuals emerge from a process of synaesthesia?
Slow music - 27 shots in one minute is slow paced. The verses focus more so on usher switching from close ups of his face and the sad expressions to mid-shots of his body actions - he's seems depressed - hunched over, hands in face etc. It also cuts from shots where he is lip singing to other shots where is walking in slow motion and looking outside intently. Throughout the video he seems isolated - the girl fades in and out of shots- from others and seems depressed. The video portrays a feeling of pain, sorrow and heart break. The chorus switches from both his focus and on the woman. Some of the lyrics matched the visuals of the video - in the chorus it says ' let it burn' and the video show the swimming pool which she has dived into setting itself on fire - this implies that the relationship is over. The fading woman and her in the back ground implies that she is not part of his life any more and now he is alone.
2.) To what extent does it follow a narrative?
a. what parts of the story can we and not see?
b. Why is part of the story withheld?
There is lots of slow motion which emphasises his pain. The first few scenes shows him alone at home. The woman is first featured at 0.22 seconds and is then featured in short clips with him and without him throughout the video. Some clips of them together are shown as a memory - this is done by fading the woman out of the shot as she walks away. The video is amplifying as it doesn't show direct visual in the video to the lyrics although the video implies that they were together and now they are apart and its painful for him. The video is very dark and depressing looking. Lots of shot of him looking down instead of straight on. He looks really sad.
He reinforces his star image - he has a posh apartment with a swimming pool and a flash car.
3.) What kind of image is the star presenting
a. How does it fit in with the overall story of that star?
Shows that he is wealthy - he has a posh apartment with a swimming pool and a flash car. He wears sunglasses in doors even though its a dark, gloomy, depressing setting.
Its a love song about his loss
4.) How are cinematography, mise en scene, editing used in the video - are there any significant features worthy of comment and why are they used?
Mise en scene - the shots are really dull which gives an insight ito his sadness. The woman is edited in slow motion which implies that she's a memory. When the camera is on him he is normal paced. The shots of him are dark, lots of shadow, close ups of eyes and lips - shows sadness, expressions.
The visuals of fire on the swimmng pool and the bed indicate that he's letting the memories of her burn.
5.) Is the video literal, disjunctive or amplifying?
Amplifying - he is showing that he is sad, depressed he wants the memories of her to go. He misses her.
It is not disjunctive as the video implies that he's letting her go.
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