Ellie Goulding Analysis
Transcript of Ellie Goulding Analysis
Ellie Goulding
“LOVE ME LIKE YOU DO”
Background
Song released: 7th January 2015 Video released: 11th Febuary 2015 Actors: Ellie Goulding, Jamie Dorman, Dakota Johnson
Writers:
Max Martin
Ilya Salmanzadeh
Savan Kotecha
Ali Payami
Tove Nilsson
Producers: Max Martin
Ali Payami
Director: Recorded:
Georgia Hudson
MXM Studios-Los Angeles
Soundtrack for most popular movie of 2015, 50 Shades of
Grey
2.58 million streams
over 7 days
Topped the charts in various countries including Australia, Germany, Ireland,
Austria, New Zealand and Switzerland
Spent 4 weeks at number 1
on the UK Singles Chart
Made 172, 368 units in the first week of
sale
The single managed to
peak number 3 on the US
Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Godwin states that each genre has a particular characteristic that defines its genre. A key convention of pop videos is the element of performance, meaning
the video is usually either performance-based or, concept or narrative based, including the artist
performing throughout. The ‘Love me Like You Do’ music video is narrative based and Ellie Goulding is
playing a character role. This adopted Godwin’s theory about videos demonstrating genre
characteristics as the clip has the artist performing through the duration of the video.
In the video Ellie Goulding walks into a mansion and begins to wander
around. Between shots of Goulding walking around the mansion there is
footage from the movie ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’. While in the
mansion Goulding meets a man and they begin to ballroom dance. This part of the video is intertwined with
scenes of the movie in which the two main cast members are also
ballroom dancing. This illustrates the synchronisation between the music
video and film.
Music Video Overview:
Mise-en-scene
Location - Mansion
At the beginning of the video, Ellie Goulding enters a huge, extraordinary mansion, illustrating the characters social class and high status. This location contradicts Ellie Golding as she is a vulnerable girl in simple clothes, in contrast to the large
environment she has been placed in. She is in an empty room, representing how mysterious and scary love can sometimes be due to the unknown, as we don’t know where we will end
up. In the shot we can see that at first Ellie Golding enters the mansion to wonder around and take a chance to look at what
is there, by entering the rooms. However in the end she begins to dance with a man (similar to shots from 50 Shades Of Grey),
who she then starts to fall in love with.
Location - Parking
Another location that is used throughout is the empty car park. We are able to identify that Ellie Goulding is
on her own and during these scene and is singing. This location isolates her from the shots used within the music video. This setting can represent the idea
that people can experience loneliness in a relationship without the second person with whom
they are sharing their life with, and it portrays to the audience that woman are vulnerable and do not feel safe when they are alone, they need a male figure in their life to in order to protect them. This enables the
audience to feel pity towards her.
Lighting – Low Key While watching the music video we can see
constant use of low-key lighting, which is used to create shadows and make the feature in the shot stand out from the
background. Therefore this type of lighting creates and adds a romantic atmosphere to
the music video. This represents the uncovered side of the love and relates to a
movie as its all about the secret, hidden behind true love. The light creates the
atmosphere as well as the intimacy between the characters, in regards to their love and privacy. This can suggest the strong bond between the couple, and illustrates that they may have secrets which are hidden from each other, and possibly the society
they live in.
High-key lighting can be noticed when the music video includes scenes from
the movie 50 Shades Of Grey. The scene illustrate a normal life of
ordinary people who are from different classes. There is a natural source of lighting being used, therefore this
creates the realistic atmosphere of the video and narration of it. Audience can find the positive aspects of the movie
and find out more about characters life which creates a positive attitude
towards them in the video. This type of lighting portrays the authentic life of
others, which allows audience to relate to the characters.
Lighting – High Key
Costumes
Ellie Goulding is wearing a black dress during the dancing shots, whereas in the scenes from the movie the main female actress has got a pastel pink dress. This illustrates the contrast between
the scenes and portrays the difference between the 2 characters. The woman in pink dress is represented as innocent and vulnerable, whereas Ellie Goulding is wearing black which indicates a
sense of mysterious and secrecy. This symbolises the 2 sides of the love and the different personalities. This means that love can be simple and clear like a girl, but also it can have secrets and hidden meanings. This shows the audience that love is a learning/ discovering process, which
is different for each individual and develops over time.
The costumes in the music video are casual, representing the realism
of the scenes and narrative and they illustrate the characters
personality, so audience can follow the narration and understand what role each character is playing. The times are modern therefore all of the costume used are fashioned
around this decade.
When we see shots from the movie, we are able to identify the different social class between the two characters from the film, due to the costumes they are wearing. The girl wears clothes which
illustrate middle class culture and portrays her as being an innocent girl from a small town. Whereas the male wears an expensive and stylish fitted
suit, showing he is a businessman and comes from the higher class. This
indicates to the audience that love can happen to anyone, no matter what their social class, culture or background they
have.
Props
The props used in the video represent luxury, as we can see
there are crystal chandeliers in the ballroom which are expensive,
whereas the characters who are dancing in the room illustrate
simple, real love which is true and free. The audience can see the
difference between the two things, therefore this proves Levi-Strauss
theory of binary opposites as in the scene we have 2 opposing features.
Props are a feature that enhances a music video and makes it look more appealing to the audience.
In a scene props add importance and indicate a specific representation in regards to the narrative of the video. For example, when we first see Ellie Goulding at the beginning we can see that she is
carrying a bag, which represent that she is searching for something, therefore she enters the
mansion with hope that she will come out with something special. In this song she finds love, therefore the audience gain positive attitude
towards her and makes them wonder s to what is going to happen next. The props that are used in this music video look expensive and indicate the
high social class and importance of the characters and the audience are able to identify that this
video may have cost a large amount of money to produce.
Sound
Within this music video we can see a strong relationship between the sound and the shots, as these two things are syncronised with each other. This means that when the music is slow,
the lyrics are sung at a slower pace and the shots do not change as fast, whereas when the music speeds up, the pace of shots and the way
in which the lyrics are sung also change. This allows the audiece to follow the song and understand it more effectively. When the
chorus is sang the tesion in the lyrics increases, therefore the shots also speed up to which adds passion to the song, allowing the
viewers to feel the emotion which is being passed to them through the use of characters.
Editing
Editing techniques used: While watching music video we can straight away notice a montage technique being used. In the video scenes from
the movie are showed, which link to the music and its meaning. This song is the soundtrack for the ‘50 Shades of Grey’movie, therefore the music video is trying to promote
it by including scenes from the movie. The montage represents the similarity between the two different scenarios, and proves Andrew Godwin’s Theory of
narration which is used for the story in both the movie as well as the video. We can identify a strong narrative
between the characters when they are dancing, as the cross-cutting technique has been used to portray
similarities in love from both settings. The video portrays a message that love can happen to anyone by matching 2
individuals who are in the same situation. This indicates a positive attitude towards both Ellie Goulding and the music
video, and portrays the beauty of love. Both cases represent a sense of mystery that is hidden behind each story, which suggests that each couple have a different
love story according to their personality and needs. They have different forms ways of generating happiness in a
relationship.
Montage
The music video also uses face pace shots. This is where the pace and time taken to for
scenes to change from one to another increases to add a sense of realism, and
movement. This occurs especially during the two dancing scene, as the characters are
moving fast in order to be synchronized with the music. These shots can represent the intense affection between the couple, and illustrates that the audience need to pay
attention and focus, while watching the music video. Additionally, the video portrays the different aspects of love, not simply the
positive side. Love can enhance an indviduals energy, however it can cause chaos and misunderstanding. Fast shots, build up
tension in a scene, and entices the audience into following the narrative.
Fast Pace Shots
The audience are able to identify the end of a video as a Fade-away transition is most
commonly used. Fade in or out are typical editing techniques for pop music videos,
especially when there is a clear narration being used. In this case the director ends the video with this transition so the viewer understand that the song is finished however it is not the end of the story, the couple carry on leading a
normal life creating a sense of realism. After the video has ended the audience may begin to
imagine what will happen next, in regards to the couples love story, enhancing their thinking. The video promotes the film with little detail, which
creates hype for the audience to see the full movie to find out what happened to the
narrative.
Fade-away
Camera Shots
Furthermore, the extreme close ups tend to be used when the artist is singing the song, allowing the
audience to form a connection, which they can relate to. According to Andrew Goodwin close ups of the artist are a demand in a typical music video, as the viewers are able to understand the character and their personality,
establishing their role in the video. These two shots reflect the characters emotions as well as the lyrics that are being sung within the movement of the lips of the artist. This allows the audience to see the love that the
character is feeling, and portrays their true identify.
Close-up/ Extreme Close upWhile watching the music video we are able to notice a range of Close ups and Extreme close ups of the characters and their body parts during the dancing scenes. This represents the significance of love and illustrates how important it is to notice that little things when being in a relationship. Close ups allow the audience to identify the individuals facial expressions and emotions, which
are a reflection of the lyrics that are being sung. There this proves Goodwin’s theory as there is a relationship between the visuals and lyrics. Viewers are able to gain a better experience and
follow the narrative of the video in a clear manner. A [positive attitude is created, and the audience are enticed into watching more.
When using this shot, the director tries to show the characters from the waist above, therefore
the audience can still focus on them while giving the impression of the location they are in. During
some shots we see that Ellie Goulding is in the ballroom dancing, therefore we have overview of the setting, whilst still being able to identify her actions, and expressions. In the room it is only the two characters presents, which indicates a
sense of privacy, and suggests that every relationship needs their own time and space, in order for it to be successful. A sense of intimacy
is created which is symbolic for love and illustrates that the person they are with are the
only thing that is important to them in that moment. Realism is a key factor in the this scene when the characters are alone in the ballroom as real love is emphasised because it is not seen by or influenced by others. This indicates the level of intimacy for the person who you deeply love
and care for.
Mid-shots
The high-angle shot is being used when the female is represented as
the vulnerable person in the relationship.
This follow the stereotype that female are less powerful as they are controlled by men who they depend
on for support. Therefore this portrays the fact that woman are addicted to man when they are in love, they cant live without them. This enables the audience to feel
that the female character is scared of being alone as you are able to identify from the look in her eyes.
This shot illustrates the tough side of love which can be a mystery that is
unknown for some people.
High-angle shot
There is a strong relationship between the lyrics and visuals, as it show the clear narrative and presents the characters love story. The lyrics describe that the woman cannot survive without the man as he is the reason why she is living. He is the one that can make her happy and change her emotions as he is
everything for her: ‘You're the light, you're the night. You're the colour of my blood. You're the cure, you're the pain’. The story goes on and shows the passion and intense love between the characters: ‘Love me like you do, love, love, love me like you do, touch me like you do…’, this show that she still wants their relationship to be like how it was in the beginning when they first met. This indicates that
she is addicted to him and needs him to fulfill and complete her life. This is reflected through the lyrics by the dance due to the fact that two people are needed to fulfil the purpose of ballroom dancing.
Relationship between the lyrics and visuals
What we will use in our Music VideoWhen thinking about our music video we need to take in
consideration some of the key factors that are vital to portray the narrative of the story. Analysing and comparing this music video to Andrew Godwin Theory has proved that certain elements are
essential when wanting your video to be successful. The performance of the characters is important due to the fact that it increases the realism of the video, and improves the characters relationship with the audience. For us the most significant factor
that is needed for our video is an effective setting, and synchronization between the characters and the music.