Skinny Love - BirdyAnnabel Street

• The first shot in this music video has very low key lighting which sets the tone of the song and video. This is an example of Andrew Goodwin’s theory - there is a link between the visuals and the tone of the music, which is quite bleak and sombre.

• The light from the top left gets brighter and reveals the rest of the frame as if someone is entering a dark room. This implies that things/memories have been locked away for some time and are now being viewed.

• It is a close up shot of a paperweight which is a heavy object that holds things down securely. This has connotations of things being put in place for a long time and something big and heavy is stopping whatever is underneath it from being free. The paper weight also has connotations of a heavy soul.

• There is little colour in this shot and throughout the video which suggests sadness and lifelessness.• This first shot is un-stereotypical because we don’t see the artist first and we don’t see a close up

of her face for the first 34 seconds.• There are no lyrics in this first shot, the only thing we hear is a simple tune on a piano.

• This establishing, long shot shows the artist from behind and some of the building. The first time we see ‘Birdy’, we see the back of her and she is walking away from us which suggests that she might be shy but it also distances her from the audience, unlike other artists who look towards the camera making direct address with the audience. This makes us feel uncomfortable.

• The building looks misty and dirty which is creepy and again discomforts the audience and might make them wonder why the artist is there and why it doesn't look very nice. The misty effect also makes her look like a ghostly figure.

• She’s not wearing clothes that you would expect a girl of that age to be wearing. This makes her look a bit eerie and old-fashioned suggesting that the video may be set in the past or she is a ghost from the past.

• The lyrics at this point in the video are ‘pour a little salt’ which might suggest she wants her relationship to heal as salt has healing properties.

• We then see the artist in more light. This is a mid shot and it enables us, as the audience, to see more of the detail in her dress. It looks nice quality and fairly expensive which makes us question why she is wearing that in such a dirty, dark place.• Although this shot is a mid shot, we still cannot really see her face as it is covered

by her hair. This leads us to believe she is a shy character or she is trying to hide from something, again making her seem distant and we feel uncomfortable.• It is a wide shot which allows us to see that she is sitting playing the piano. This

lets the audience believe she is really playing the piano that you hear in the song. However, it doesn't look well-used or well looked after as it’s dirty and chipped, further suggesting the idea that she is looking back over things that have been locked away.

• We then get to see her face in this close up shot which finally introduces us to her, but the lighting is still very low key, making her difficult to see which again makes us feel tense. However, we can still see that she is not wearing much make up and her hair looks quite messy. This is unconventional for a female singer as they are often styled to either make the audience attracted to them or be inspired to look like them.

• The transition between the previous mid shot with a wide angle and this close up makes it seem more striking that we can actually see her face. It also makes it seem more claustrophobic as we are suddenly put right in front of her and not able to see the surroundings.

• The artist rarely looks into the camera to make contact with us which enhances her shyness and her distance from us.

• In this shot, she is singing ‘cut out all the ropes and let me fall’ which conveys the sad message of the song.

• There are a few shots of dead animals and broken decorations which is weird and sad. This disturbing imagery is again adding to the tension which is un-stereotypical of a music video. These images also have connotations of life and death, making the audience think deeper into the song. There is also the continuing idea that these relics that have been forgotten about and are now being looked at by the artist.• Throughout the video she is alone and the only thing we see her

interacting with is dead animals, broken decorations and the piano. This makes us believe that she is lonely and troubled.• The lyrics ‘at the end of all your lines’ things ending which has

connotations of death.