Lewis Mokler - Word By Word

‘Word By Word’ is in the ‘singer-songwriter’ genre aimed at people between 14 and 22, this is because the lyrics best match people and their situations at that age. The song is about a guy and a girl liking each other, but are at the stage just before dating, so are afraid to make the first move, so they go to hold hands, but one pulls their hand away and other examples similar to that.

A wide range of camerawork is used in this music video, a two shot is used throughout the video, when it cuts back to them sitting each side of a brick wall, which links in with the lyrics that say ‘I want to know you…brick by brick’. The use of the wall shows them two both sides of it and then you can see both of their emotions and feelings towards one another. Other examples of when the two shot technique is used is when they are both on walk with each other down a country lane and then it shows both of their expressions and you can tell that they both like one another, but neither want to make the first move, so you can see them both going to hold hands, but one pulling their hand away at the last second. They have used the two shot purely show the chemistry between one another and how they both feel about the other person, so the love song has a love video as well.

Another example of camerawork is the use of panning when the camera fades from one scene to another. They have used panning, because it goes from his face, showing his expressions and feelings to pan past the wall and then onto her facial expressions, which show her feelings. This is used, because you then get a view of both sides when they’re not with each other, you can tell they both like each other, but are at the stage where neither will ask the other. The whole video is a love story and shows them getting closer to one

another. When you see them either side of the wall it shows that they are both thinking about each other and shows that neither know what to do, so with the use of panning, you can go from one to the other in one movement rather than cutting, but because the wall is there they don’t know each other is there, so the wall signifies the barrier between them and is the thing blocking them from one another.

The music is synced with the video, so when he is singing, the words are in sync with his lips moving and when the chorus comes on about the bricks, the wall scene comes on, so it links the lyrics and video together, making it conventional of the genre. There isn’t any diegetic music in this video, but there is non-diegetic music, as the song is added on over top after the video has been made.

For editing they have used numerous shot-reverse-shots, this is when they are yet again either side of the wall and it snaps from him to her and then back again, this is still to get the view from both sides. It shows what they are like when they aren't together and from the video it looks like they aren't as happy without the other there with them. This shows that they both like each other and want to be with the other, but the wall which is acting as a barrier is stopping them, it's almost portrayed as being the only reason stopping them. They have used the shot-reverse-shot because it shows both sides of a conversation, but in this videos case they aren't talking, it is just to show their expressions, which helps create a picture an helps the viewers to see their thoughts almost.

Another example of editing they have used is the beginning and ending. At the start there is a small fade in which starts when the backing music starts, it isn't very noticeable, but it's just to start the video off. Then at the end there is a full fade out, this starts and then the music also fades out, so when it turns fully black, the music stops

at that point too. These techniques have been used because it starts and finishes the story in the same way and it is all like a dream, from darkness to a story and then when the story ends the darkness comes back.

For mise en scene they have used normal clothing that teenagers would where, so jeans and jackets, everything is conventional and stereotypical of normal teenagers, so it’s just a normal video and doesn’t have any strange clips or clothing etc. The setting of the video is a living room when they are messing around or cuddling and this is when panning is used. The other settings are a country lane and this is when they are on a walk together. The final setting is the area where they have built the wall. All the mise en scene is used to create a normal, cute and romantic video; this helps the story to be believed. Use of high key lighting creates a warm and nice feeling, whereas low key lighting on the wall scene, creates a sense of thought.