Jason Mraz - I'm Yours

The song was released in April 2008, and was 11th in the UK singles chart. The video was debuted in March that year, and was directed by Darren Doane.

The song is part of the pop rock/folk rock genre, and the music video is Performance and narrative based, as there are scenes of Mraz singing and also of him traveling.



There are establishing shots of landscapes and mid shots of signs, at the beginning of scenes. These are used in the video, as the whole narrative is just about Mraz on holiday, so then the audience can recognise where he is.

This song doesn't really fit with the visuals of the video, and goes against Goodwin's theory of doing so. The only link between the lyrics and visuals is when Mraz draws a face on the glass at the line "I drew a new face". However the visuals link with the music, for example the waves crash with the drums.

Motivation editing is used in the beginning of the video, when we see a birds view shot of the air plane on the ground and then Mraz in the plane with plane sounds. This clearly states that Mraz is travelling and therefore is the start of the narrative. It is also encouraged by sound effects of a plane. If I'm considering to do a narrative based music video, it is best for me to use motivation editing so the story can be shown clearly.

There is a lot of different light used in the video, usually dark when Mraz is by himself and lit up when he is with others. This suggests to the audience that he is happier when he is with others as everything lights up, whereas with him being in the dark makes him seem more concealed and hidden away, linking to the concept based theme.

Again, silhouettes are used, mainly for showing Mraz. This shows to be a definite style in Mraz's video. As I am going to create a Mraz music video, I'm most likely going to include silhouettes.

Even though Mraz's identity hidden, the audience can still tell that it is Mraz, as we are shown his clothing and face (his hat) before hand, also, we are able to tell it is him through his body language and dancing. Mraz usually dances about in his music video's.

Close ups are used a lot on Mraz's face, usually when he is in the dark, again following Goodwin's theory.

There are high and low angles used at the skate park, following the skaters moving. I like this effect of following, as it feels as though the audience is there watching.

There are also visual links with the lyrics: Mraz draws a face on the glass window on the line "I drew a new face". This has quite a cheesy feel to it, and I'll probably have something similar in my music video.

Overall, this music video holds a happy vibe, and has many similarities to the 'I Won't Give Up' music video: silhouettes, performance, close ups on faces and objects.

25/09/13 Update

Today I decided to do some filming with the green screen just to see if my idea would work. It was very roughly done, but you can see that it is possible to have two of the same person walk around each other without split screen. I also wanted to try out transitions by using key framing.




If I'm to use this technique in my music video, I would probably have to use the bigger green screen and a tripod.

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.

23/09/13 Update

Today I started on analysing Jason Mraz music video, so I can get a better idea on his style and maybe be influenced by it.

I've released a link between the three video's I looked at of his, and that they all include silhouettes of Mraz's profile. I not too sure why as such, but it gives a bit of a mysterious effect.

I also started to draw out a few of my ideas of what I could do for my music video, focusing on shots such as close ups:

20/09/13 Update

At school, I managed to get a director study and my brainstorm done.

When I got home however, I decided to try and find some costume ears for the coyotes. I went on Ebay and first typed in dog ears, as there isn't any costume coyote ears, but I didn't have any luck as I came across ears like this.

So I decided to type in cat ears next, as cats have a similar shape ear to coyotes: pointy.

I came across quite a lot of types. But because I'm keeping to a low budget, I have to try and get ears as cheap yet decent as possible.

I came across two possible types to use:

The first one has a more coyote colour than any of the second ones, but the second ones are of a higher quality. However, the second ones are from china, so it may take too long to get here and also it says that it's made of fur (really not sure if it means real fur or not).

It's a bit annoying that the second one is from China, as it was the cheapest out of the two and came with free postage.

I would probably buy only one cat headband and share it between actors, as probably none of them will be in the same scene.

Brainstorm on Coyotes

Director Study - Sophie Muller