The song is about the highs and lows that
come with being in a youthful relationship, and how we must endure the bad
times to recognize the good. Through this we must not give in or in the words
of lead singer Dougy Mandagi, ‘Don’t stop to surrender’. Although the music
video only loosely represents the lyrics, I decided to analyze this particular
song due to how the video has been edited to reflect the beat of the song and
the use of slow motion.
The video begins by briefly showing us the
various scenes in which we see in the video, introducing the contraptions that
have been set up in an effort to destroy objects such as a mirror, drumsticks
and what looks to be a kind of stool. Alongside these short clips is a close up
of the leads singers face as he pronounces the first two lines of the song
‘Sweet Disposition’, the title of this particular number. While doing so, there
is a very aesthetically pleasing pan-like shot, where the singer is the point
of focus and moves very little, whereas the background is in motion. A simple
but eye-catching shot, one of which I may try to replicate in my own work.
We instantly recognize that the lead singer
Is the main focal point of this video, as shown by multiple close ups of the
man singing the first verse opposed to the occasional clips of his fellow band
members. It has been made clear that he is the centre of attention via the
intimate camera angles and strategic editing, as the cameras seem to revolve
around him. The fact that this is one of the first things I picked up from the
video shows that the producers have done a very good job in making him the
centre of attention simply via the frequent close ups of him singing. I too am
likely to be putting emphasis on the lead singer in my future music video, and
I believe this piece is a great example of how to do just that.
In the next few seconds, we continue to
follow a number of events we can only call as acts of destruction. We see the
build up to impact throughout the first verse, but with the use of slow motion
and manipulation of the speed of these clips, we do not actually see any action
until the beginning of the chorus in which a mirror is smashed to pieces by a
guitar. This is a great example of how we can change the speed of clips to suit
the beat of the song. The way that this has been done within this video is
something I admire, as the slow motion shots are actually serving a specific
purpose, in order to build up to the songs chorus. With the help of some clever
editing and a camera with a high frame rate, I hope to also include slow motion
elements in my own work in order to portray the music, similar to what has been
achieved in this video.
As the beat to signal the beginning of the
chorus hits, we see an extreme close up on the mirror as it smashes into
thousands of pieces, triggering various other scenes of destruction. I
particularly like the mirror shot however as it Is broken into tiny fragments,
and we can see it being broken in a way that would have never have been
possible without the help of slow motion shots. Much like the beat of the
music, the editing also picks up pace to accommodate this change. This again emphasizes how important the
length of each clip is in adapting to changes in pace to the music when trying
to create a visually interesting video that compliments the soundtrack
The second chorus features a similar master
class in changing pace through editing alone, as we see yet another slow motion
shot which shows drumsticks hitting a symbol perfectly in time to the music.
However one of, if not my favorite scene of the music video is where the man is
playing on the drums whilst one by one they start disappearing of an edge.
Despite this he keeps going and plays with what drums he has available to him.
I believe this is a reference to the repeated lyrics ‘Don’t stop til its over’,
as he perseveres and continues to play no matter what the circumstances.
Although potentially having no relation at all, for me this reinforces the
message that the song puts across in that in a relationship there will be ups
and down but you must keep your love alive through it all. This music video
concludes as we see the drummer’s final drum fall down the edge, concluding the
beat as he has nothing left to play on.
Here is the official Music video for The Temper Trap's Sweet Disposition of which this analysis is based upon:
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