Research-Music Video Analysis 'Little Things'

Synopsis:
             This video is very simple and although it doesn't have a clear story you can tell by the shots that this is a meaningful song and that the boys believe in what they are singing. The song starts with the boys walking into a recording studio and picking up their guitars, we see them setting up, drinking tea and chatting and joking, it is very relaxed and makes the video easy to watch, we see the boys sing their parts individually to let them tell their part of the story with the odd insert of group shots, again this is very relaxed and makes them look together has a group, this is very different in comparison to their usual songs and videos such as 'Live while we're young' which is bright and busy and vibrant, this video really relies on the voices and atmosphere between the boys themselves.

Intro: The boys enter on a close up of Liam, this then moves to a long shot of all the boys, this shows the audience not only the group but the location they are in, There are then several pan shots to introduce the group, these are smooth and soft and match the music nicely, setting a nice rhythm style and feel to the video very early on in the video. Followed by several close up of the boys faces and one Harry playing with the sound board showing he is not just part of the band but a key part of the whole system. The intro finished with an extreme close up of Nial playing the chords of the song on a guitar this leads nicely into the first line of Verse 1

Verse 1:
This verse is split between Zayn and Liam and so these are the 2 focus people in thye video, ensuring that the images re focused on the boys singing to show there importance and I also think to establish that these boys can sing and not just party and sing 'gimicky' songs.
          We first see Zayn this is a mid shot which we can only see his top half of his body and his microphone, but he sings directly to the camera immediatly creating a connection between the singer and the audience, this then moves onto a wide shot from the left side behind lots of studio equipment as if the camera shouldnt be there and this is a new insight in to the 'boys' life. we then see two close ups from those 2 angels again in the first front shot Zayn is looking at his microphone and then looks up to once more connect with the audience before moving to a close up from the left side again, this moves fludily onto another front close up where he looks from the camera down trying to cause an emotion which may be shyness.
This is then changed by a cloe up of someone playing a guitar which fits perfectly to the music, this leads straight into the second part of the verse which is Liam's singing which is a close up at an angel from the right of him singing there is no connection with the camera untill the following mid shot in which liam sings soley to the camera to again create a bond betweent he singer and the watchers at home.we then see a wide shot of liam lounging on a couch playing his guitare again this is breaking down thetypical boybanfvideo and inviting everyone to see 'the real them', this them goes to an extreme wide shot with liam in the corner and lots of equipment surrounding him to establish the locarion and situation, this then cuts to a mid shot again of liam before moving on to several quick shots of liam and louis, a close up of a guitar and a shot of hair from a side shot before leading into the bridge.

Verse 2: We start with a close up shot of Nial laughing this is a close up and shows a happy and joyful mood in a quite srious and emotional song, bringing out the boys playful side for the watching audience, we then go to a side close up shot , during this first section, louis doesnt make any connection with the camera but does smile at himself as if he has htought of something funny, again embracing the romantic and emotional nature of the song, we then go to a mid shot of louis whihc is directed soley to camera breaking down that thought illusion and addressing the audience directly, we then go to another long shoty from the sie of him singing int a microphone this then cuts to and extreme close up of his face singing be fore moving into Harry' section of this verse which strats with a long shot of him singing from behind many wires and equipment again enhancing the secret behind the scenes feel of the video; this shot zooms in untill we move to a close up shot slightly to the side again ther ein no eye contact between singer and performer but we do see him smile when he is talking about the girl he loves romancasising the song and performance this jump cuts to a close up of Harry contacted to the camera this is followd by another extreme close up of a guitar leading into the chorus.

Bridge/ Ending : This starts with a mid shot of Nial singing and playing his guitar he is looking at the camera, this then moves to a long shot from the side but instead of ignoring the camera as most other side shots have Nial follows it to establish the fact he is singing to all his girl fans, creating a connection and again adding emotion, we then go to two close ups one of zayn and Harry and the next of an extreme close up of a guitar on all these shots the push and pull focus is used to create an effect and add variety and change to the similarity of the rest of the video, which links to the change in tempo and style of this section of the song. We return to the close up of Nial before going onto a long shot of the boys 'chilling' at the recording studio and having a laugh and a joke with each other removing the romance element but stating their fun and playful sides again. This then follows on by a montage of clips which are of the boys in a group sinigng, laughing, smiling and playing the guitar these are sometimes inturrupted by Nials close ups singing to underpin certain phrases or words such as 'you' again addressing the audience.This section repeats itself but changing the Close up's of Nial to other boys depending on the singing or feel of the word or phrase, the romance is removed further towards the end and we see more of the boys being a band and being friends for example between 2:53 and 2:56 we see Zayn almost mock the romance element by stroking Harry's face and the poking him in his cheeks while he is isnging while mocking the words he is singing, showing a bond betweent eh boys rather than the audience. Between 2:58 and 3:00 we have two shot sof hte boys lauging before cutting to a close up of Harry singing with a very serious face showing the two different sides to this song, the video and the boys.

This video shows a very different side to the boys then there usual fun and very loud videos, it creates a heavy story line without showing characters and keeps nyou hooked from the beginning to the end, you feel connected with them and find yourself smiling along as if they are singing to you! (whether you are a mega fan or not!) a very simple but powerful video.