Jason Mraz - I Won't Give Up

Released in January 2012, Jason Mraz's song I Won't Give Up is part of the folk rock/pop rock genre, and was in 11th place in the weekly charts in the UK. The music video was directed by Mark Pellington, and was released in February 2012. A lyric video was made, and Mraz himself said he preferred it.



The video is performance and heavily concept based, as it is made up of Mraz singing and a montage of people.

At the very beginning, before the song its self even starts, there is a wind noise which fills up the muted clips. I'm not too sure on the reason of doing this, but it achieves a very eerie atmosphere that is supported by silhouettes and quick glimpses of the characters.

There are many silhouettes used in the video, especially on Mraz (Goodwin's theory, which usually are focused on showing the profile of the face. This makes everything seem mysterious, as the audience isn't given much identity of the character; it portrays them to want to hide, for instance there is a woman in a woodland area who is usually silhouetted. The lighting behind the silhouettes are different, which suggests that the characters have different meanings to why they are hidding. Mraz has a bright sunset light behind him, whereas the woman has cool blues and grey. This tells the audience that Mraz is more in the opening with nothing about, suggesting that the silhouette shows that no one is there to see him, whereas the woman is closed off by the trees, showing that she doesn't want to be seen or she can't be seen. They both wear dark coloured clothing for the silhouette to be more effective.

There are extreme close ups used on the characters faces throughout the video. By having this, the audience can see emotions, which suggest the meaning behind the song of not wanting to give up - their faces show determination.

There is a few overlapped, transparent transitions between some scenes. An example of this is at the very beginning when an extreme close up of an eye is overlapped with trees. It gives a sense of being watched. I quite like this way of making transitions, as you are creating a new image, and comparing scenes, or make a smooth change between shots.

Goodwin's theory of visuals linkin
g with the lyrics is used in the video. For instance, a close up is used on Mraz when he is staring directly at the camera on the line "When I look into your eyes". This makes the video and song seem personal to the audience as the camera is their point of view. Also, on the line "I see that you've come so far", there is a shot of an elderly man walking on a hill of stones. This represents how the man has come so far because of both his age - lived through a lot - and also the fact that his clothing doesn't suit the setting, making him look as though he wasn't planning on getting this far. Another example, is that there is a shot of the woman in the forest reaching out on the line "still looking up". The camera angle used in this shot is a low angle so it supports the fact that she is reaching out and looking up.

There are quite a few religious connotations to this music video, such as the woman looking and reaching out, but also when Mraz is in the sunset setting; there are two electrical posts in the background that look similar to the crucifix cross. These stand out clearly against the sunset background, as they (and Mraz) are the only silhouetted objects that stand out. There are also people praying in the video, which could suggest the meaning behind the song of how the characters have faith.

A straight cut is used to show the difference between a boy and a man: Boy raises arms the show muscles, and when he starts to move them down it cuts to a scene of a fully grown man lowering his arms at the same speed. This represents how the boy will grow up to be a man, possibly of the same structure, as he "won't give up".

There is close up used on a persons hand reached out in front of the sun, which they then close blocking the light. It was used on the line "see want you find", which may suggest that the person has found light, relating again to faith and hope. I really liked this effect, because of the symbolism behind it, also I was thinking of something similar for my own video, where instead of the sun taken the moon is, symbolising more of the opposite.