The music video for 'Picking up The Pieces' by Paloma Faith is shot in an old fashioned location with a huge country house. Most of the music video is shot outside or inside, showing the two different characters Paloma is trying to portray throught the video. The video for the song is very narrative, and tells a story about the worrys of her lovers previous relationships. Even though Paloma plays both of the two chracters clear differences in surroundings and probs can be seen, also through the colours used when shooting the different character sections for the music video. However the whole video is made to look extremley vintage and give off a 60's feel.
At the start of the video the surroundings are very dull, the lighting is dim so represents the surroundings in a bleak way, the setting looks miserbale but when the camera catches the car coming up the track the lighting used is different straight away suggesting that through the video we will recieve different atmospheres and opinions.
Whilst in the very vintage car, giving off the impression that they are a posh rich couple, the camera looks over at Paloma from the view of a person sitting next to her who we see is a man. Suggesting he has a caring side, as it seems as if he is checking up on her and making sure she is ok. When the car stops we are taken up to a window in the house where a shot is used looking out of the window and down onto the car, giving the impression that someone is already in the house watching them, or later into the song we could percieve from that shot that's it's the other lady character paloma is playing looking down onto the relationship she used to be in.
The male character is in full focus of the camera when he angrily gets out of the car, highlighting his strange behaviour. As the music video is trying to portray the old fashioned theme it really emphasises that the couple arent happy in their relationship, as back in that time any real gentleman would have gone round and opened the door to his lady. It was seen rather unusual if you didn't do that back then, which creates the impression that the rest of the video is going to be unusal and go against norms.
A close up of Paloma in the car is used after the male exits the car, this catches her emotional reaction to the males behaviour it suggests that Paloma knows already that something isn't exactly right in their relationship. After this close up Paloma starts to sing, the pace in the song matches the follow shot used of the male walking through the house which creates tensions and suspence for the rest of the music video.
When Palomas on the bench outside compared to her surroundings she is represented to be very small and innocent, portraying that she could possibly be englufed by her feelings and thoughts. Also these shots could link in with the other character she play's always being inside the building, showing a clear link that she feels the previous women is over ruling her life. Whilst she is sitting on the bench the camera moves smoothy around the side of Paloma and then upwards to her face, representing her free movement or even the whirl wind of emotions she can't over come. The movement of the camera contrasts with the second character inside the building throughout the music video she is shown to be ridged and emotionless which is completley different to how the first female is portrayed to be.
Shots of the male in the bathroom having a shave really add emphasis on the free will he has compared to the second lady, who is sitting on the edge of the bed emotionless and placid. The man has his shirt off, portraying that he is laid back whilst the lady has a posh frock on that she is shown to wear throughout the video portraying the difference or even the awkwardness between the two. This could go on to represent that the male makes the rules around their once relationship.
A close up of the second lady is used but on the side of her face, it shows a different side to her that we havent yet seen and could portray that her ridgedness is being replaced by true elegence and beauty making her seem more like the first female character Paloma is playing.
The camera follows two maids up the stairs and down a hallway, representing that the life that is kept inside the house is very structured as there is two of them, who are almost identical. This could be seen as to having a link with the two identical characters Paloma is playing during the music video, suggesting that in life everyone is equal no matter how different each others lives are.
The two characters Paloma is playing during the music video are portrayed to be very different the first lady (the one singing) is shown to be wearing natural, pastel colours connoting purity and freedom, which links in with her shown to also be outside and surrounded by nature. However the second lady, is shown to wear bright bold colours, which doesnt really match the personality we recieve for her, it would seem that the first lady who is clearly showing her emotions freely would be wearing the bold colours where as the second lady we would assume to wear the pastel colours and she is percieved to be shy so wouldn't wear the colours that would attract attention.
Near the end of the music video when Paloma is shown to be the first lady, she is shown to be off the bench which portrays her expressing her emotions and makes her seem powerful. However soon after those shots she is down on her knees infront on the bench, as if she is crumbling from her powerful statement and feels as if she does not know what to do, her body language suggests that she could be asking for forgiveness.
The other characters that are shown in the music video are shown to be dancing around and making hand movement, but before hand they were shown to be eating dinner this could portray how the first female feels as if her life or relationship isn't normal and she feels as if her life is a complex mixture of emotions.
A very detailed close up of the second lady's hand is used, she is shown to be melting like a candle representing that the worries of the ex lover are disseapearing and that she is no longer around, it could also represnt a change in time or opinion. A candle takes a long time to burn all the way down to the bottom suggesting that the first female has had the opinions and worries for a long time also a drip of wax runing down the candle could represent the small problems in her life are dissapearing too.
Paloma starts to walk around the grounds in the grass, flowers and trees can be seen. A very natural image is created the male comes up to her and kisses her, which connotes that she really had nothing to worry about at all. As they are outside in nature, and nature is natural is portrays that their love is too, that they don't need to pretend or have worries ad they love is true love just like the true beauty of nature.
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