1st ANALYSIS: Music Video/Colbie Caillat- Realize

I have chosen to analyse this video as I think it is a good inspiration for my own music video. It has a story that can easily be interpreted differently and it shows the artist in more than one role which I would like to do with mine.

The artist in this video Colbie Caillat, is an American singer/song writer who broke onto the music scene in 2007. She has since had big success with a number of her songs most popularly 'Bubbly', 'Realize' and 'The little things'. She is currently signed with Universal Republic Records a subsidiary of Universal Music Group and is continuously selling records. As a record label, Universal are everyday producing and selling records on behalf of the artists signed to them. Their goal is for the artist to be successful by drawing in audiences globally as well as making money in order for their company to get bigger. Colbie Caillat isn't typically a global artist and therefore her promotional material is mostly aimed at her specific target audience which could be seen as mainly females ageing between 15-25. Her genre of music is similar to artists such as Ellie Goulding and reflects the sort of folk indie sound sometimes verging into pop.

This music video shows the artist in a way that will promote herself and her music. The purpose of a music video is to do that and so the artist has took full advantage of this. This song tells a story through visual representation and also shows the artist perform. It makes the music video more interesting to have both of these elements together as it paints a picture of a story teller in the form of the artist and the actual story being the song and what is being shown. The music video represents the artist as a talent and a performer as well as a song writer and story teller. It all is done for a purpose and that is to satisfy an audience. The artist, Colbie Caillat, plays a role in the story as well as just the story teller. She acts upon what she is singing about. She is also in control of her image as she is dressed in quite casual clothing which gives an impression that she doesn't want to be out there as it wouldn't reflect the lyrics or genre of the song. Dressing this way also gives a representation of her wanting to be like the audience. They can relate to her as she comes across normal and they want to project them selves on to her. Audiences want to be like the artist and making the artist as close to them as possible will only increase their desires further. The representation of the artist in this music video is fair and accurate to the story the lyrics are telling. The ideology behind the song is the belief in a relationship so shes not representing herself in an outrageous form.

"The video for "Realize" was filmed in both Toronto, Ontario and Haliburton, Ontario Canada. Most of Colbie's driving scenes are on Highway 121 and Highway 118, two main arteries of the Haliburton region.
As explained on Colbie's 2008 summer tour with John Mayer, there is a story behind this song. Caillat, Jason Reeves, and his roommate were a close group of three friends. Colbie was unaware that Jason's roommate had a huge crush on her, and when she found out about this later, she decided to base her song on this. Jason co-wrote the song from the perspective of his friend." As research behind this music video I found that this song had particular meaning behind it coming from real life experiences from the artist. However as part of the audience my interpretation of the story was a slightly different. This shows that music videos can create different reactions and responses from the audience based on how they are viewed.

I think this music video has been purposely set out to look like a clip from a film trailer, as its telling a story visually and through the lyrics. The visual interpretation resembles a film trailer due to the mise en scene and the way the people in the video come across. Also the screen music video appears to be in the middle of two black blocks which conventionally is usually seen with film trailers at the cinema. I think this has been purposely done to show that this the music video is more about the story being told then the music.The audience are being shown an interpretation of the lyrics visually which has become the narrative of the music video. From the beginning of the music video the artist appears to be in a scene of woodland and trees showing. Different trees have symbols of meaning depending on what kind of trees they are. The trees that appear in this music video symbolise new beginnings, strength and relationships similarising with the meaning of the lyrics. The significance of them appears to be shown when the artist is performing in front of them. Colbie addresses the audience in parts of the music video by miming to the lyrics. Throughout the music video this clip is repetitively shown reminding the audience that the artist is at the centre of the video and is there to promote herself. The narrative in this music video is intercut.

The title of the song 'Realize' is mentioned quite a lot in the lyrics but the message of it is also shown in the music video. The narrative of the video is the realization that the relationship between two people is meant to be. The audience can see this as we are shown the perspective of two people in the same position effectively feeling the same thing. However from the mise en scene of the woodland and the city landscape you can see that they are in two different worlds allowing the audience to make consumptions as to why the relationship isn't working. It gives a reaction which in a way is what the artist is trying to do. The facial expression of Colbie when she is singing individually doesn't just show her singing it shows her believing in what she is singing about. The ideology behind this suggests the artist is a strong individual fighting for what she believes in which is something the audience can relate to.

If you just realize what I just realized,Then we'd be perfect for each otherAnd will never find another
Just realize what I just realized   We'd never have to wonder if
We missed out on each other now.

Highlighted in pink is the repetitive pattern of the word 'Realize' reminding the audience of the meaning of the song as well as the story. The idea of this being about a relationship is also shown through the lyrics which is why I have highlighted the words 'each other'. Repeating the words makes it clearer for the audience to understand the meaning of the song. Some music videos choose to have a video with no reference to the song whatsoever but this music video shows the actual story of the song which in some ways shows only one interpretation of it which is easier for the audience to comprehend. Identifying the audience for this text seems simple enough. I think she is likely to appeal to teenagers and young adults specifically 15-25 as her message within the song is most likely going to relate to them more. It is conventionally aimed at young people due to the nature of the storyline and the mise en scene within the video and the characters are young so people of the same age can automatically relate to the situation being shown.

 Part of the mise en scene of this video is something I see as an influence for my music video. Seeing the woodland scenery work in this video inspired an idea with what to do with mine. The symbolism and ideology behind trees says a lot about growth and relationships and adds to the narrative of the video which is why I am choosing to use a similar setting. Even though this music video also included city landscapes this is something I wont be using with my text as it wouldn't fit in with the narrative where as with this one it shows the two lifestyles of the people who are willing to be in a relationship, visually showing the narrative. This music video works well as it is doing both key things sending out a message causing responses from an audience as well as promoting the artist. Colbie Caillat got a top 20 hit with this song proving success is achieved from promotional materials such as music videos.