David Guetta- Titanium ft. Sia (Case Studies)

Synopsis:

The music video starts with a boy sitting on the ground in a school’s hallway that appears to have been destroyed. As the song starts, he gradually begins to get on his feet and makes his way throughout the building. As he walks, he notices a teacher who appears to be terrified of him, and quickly closes the door while calling for help.  The boy gradually realises that de debris surrounding him is his fault and hurries up. We then see the teacher rushing out of the building towards a car that seems to belong to a policeman. As she explains the situations, she quickly points to the protagonist who appears in distance. We are then following the boy who is cycling on his bike. As he does so, we observe that he is hurrying up and makes a lot of effort to get to his destination. He then enters what looks like his house and notices that the destruction of his school has been published in the news. Scared, he rushes in his room and tried to pack his rucksack so he can run away. In the meantime, the authority has located him and tries to get into the house. The boy rushes to the entrance from what looks like his backyard and tries to get out of the house. We then see him walking through the woods and as the night sets, we see him being chased by the authorities who have located him again. He eventually gets caught and put on the ground by one of the policemen. The video ends with the boy emerging his super powers and the policemen getting hurt by it.

The reason why I chose this video is because I find the storyboard interesting and rather simple to follow. The video is not made in a complicated manner and the only special effects used are the telekinesis powers of the protagonist. The music video is extremely narrative and focuses on the story throughout the entirety of the video. What I find interesting is that the lack of artist does not seem to affect the production. On the other hand, it seems to help it, because the melody of the music fits with the video. This aspect captures the viewer’s attention, because the music video seems more realistic. The main theme for this song also seems to explore the idea of “helplessness” and “loneliness”. The boy is thus forced to cope with a situation that cannot handle is continuously overwhelmed and confused by his unexpected situation. He appears solitary and left out, which we get from his teachers disdain, the indifference of the joggers that pass him by, and most importantly, the absence of his parents which implies that they have left him alone.

In terms of editing, the video starts with a zoom-back, its effect being of introducing the main character. The video follows by tilting the character as he is sitting in a fetal-ball as a sign of protection.  It then continues to tilt several other images of the surrounding, which ultimately makes the viewer aware of what might have happened. The camera follows with an establishing shot while zooming out again in order to avoid making the video too ambiguous. This also helps because it gives the viewers and overall look of how the situation is. A medium-close up occurs with the camera tilting up as the character also get on his feet, which suggests that we are going to follow his journey throughout the entire video. As we are following the boy, a shot reverse-shot occurs when he first sees the teacher who appears to be afraid of the boy. This particular effect helps the viewer understand that the boy is the cause of the disaster and thus makes the story much clearer. The camera then continues following the protagonist with a medium shot The cutting rate is also gradually increased, and a series of jump cuts occur, from the teacher rushing to the policeman, to the little boy, to the policeman speaking with the lady, and then to the boy again. This alerts the viewer and makes them aware that the protagonist is in danger.  As the boy runs away with his bicycle, a series of close-ups appear which focus on a part of the boy’s body while cycling. This also shows his tension and aggravates his situation. As he approaches what his destination, the video is less fast paced, which implies that as he approaches home, he feels more and more secure. We then get an establishing shot of his house, and as he enters we see a close up to his face looking shocked. This reaction is immediately explained by another cut to the TV where we are shown the news of his school being destructed. Scared, he runs to his room to pack. As he does so, we get a close up to his rucksack, this implying that he is planning to run away. This is suddenly destructed by what looks like the authorities, who located him. The video then zooms in to the front door while it jump cuts the boy trying to get out of the house through the backyard. This created tension as the protagonist is restrained by time, the zooming replacing a clepsydra. When the front door breaks, the protagonist uses his telekinesis powers and escapes the situation. As the environment changes, we also get a new establishing shot of the woods, while the camera pans while following the character. This keeps happening as the main character is caught, and put on the ground. The camera then presents him from a bird’s eye view in order to show him vulnerable. A series of shot-reverse-shots occur, in order to show both the police’s reaction and the child’s. While the policemen keep shouting at him, he gets back to the fetus-ball position, this way emerging his special powers.

Overall, the video is both directed to adults and pre-teens, because it engages with a story that engages with supernatural ideas. As the main character is also a kid, we could say that the video might also have a didactic meaning, which is to not do anything reckless or out of control. In the same time, the song talks about being courageous and brave. Together, they might persist on the idea of being courageous to do the right things in life, and not taking reckless risks.

The video ultimately inspires me, because I am mostly aiming to create a video that is both meaningful and with didactic values. Therefore, it teaches me to think before scripting the characters actions and also making them very obvious in order to not confuse the viewer,