Production & Editing Skill Review of All Units

Throughout the year, my production years have definitely improved. At the start of the year, I definitely put off choosing the production options for the final pieces of my units. This was because production hadn’t been my strong point throughout A-levels, and I was quite reluctant to even try to improve. But, when it got to the end of the year and I was left without an option of writing an essay, I had to produce 2 short films.

My level of production skill prior to starting this course was incredibly dire. I was comfortable with the use of Adobe Photoshop, but that was it. I knew the very minimal basics of how to use Premiere Pro, but almost always found myself having to google what to do whenever I used it. I was familiar to using the studio, but I didn’t know so much about how to use the studio lighting. I was also unaware of the health and safety implications. The highest level of production I was able to produce was my photography and Photoshop editing skills, of which can be seen below:

At the time, 2 years ago, I felt my skills for a first year A level Media student was quite good. But as time went on and I didn’t progress, it made production this year quite tough. This was due to the fact that, despite being also an A level Film student, I moved away from the production options of the course and decided to write essays or scripts. I didn’t allow myself to develop my skills within filming and production. And, unfortunately, this course was far more film-production-heavy than photography.

The first short film I made this year was my music video for I Want You (She’s So Heavy) by The Beatles. I was quite lucky that the first film I had to make was a music video, as I am incredibly passionate about music and the visual aesthetics you can create with music. Given the creative freedom, I created a video that I thought that The Beatles would have actually had if they had a music video for this song. I chose a slow-paced, repetitive song because I didn’t want to force a narrative onto my audience as I wanted them to be able to create a meaning of the song for their own experiences.

My visual inspiration for the music video came from the pictures of Yoko Ono taken from around the time that Abbey Road came out. They were all black and white, with her long dark hair being the main focus of the images. I chose her to be my inspiration because the song, written by her husband John Lennon, is about her. I definitely think I achieved the visual aesthetic that Yoko Ono had at the time. I am confident that I achieved this visual aesthetic I was aiming for.

Evidence of my labelling clips

The actual filming and editing for this video was incredibly simple and basic, but that’s what I wanted. I wanted a simple, minimalistic music video to follow the minimalistic trends that John and Yoko used to follow. The physical production aspect of it involved simply setting up a camera directly positioned in front of my face which also would not disturb the lighting setup. The editing I did was cutting the footage and editing to the beat, so it was very simple and easy to complete. This music video allowed me to improve my skills because it allowed me to learn how to edit to the beat of a song and I learned out to use audio transitions. The music video module also allowed me to express myself as an artist, and I think that’s why my work for this module in particular was quite good in comparison to some of the other ones. I chose to make this music video in black and white also because it is genre-specific. Classic rock comes from a time when high-quality cameras weren’t readily available, so I felt that having it in black and white was very appropriate for the song.

Another skill that is displayed in this music video is my use of lighting. I used the correct setup for butterfly lighting, as that was a common choice of lighting use for close-up photography in the 60s. I also did this so that the focus could be on my face, and butterfly lighting was the most flattering way to present it.

With the music video module, I also made a test/back-up music video, prior to filming the Beatles one, just in case something went wrong. This was a music video I filmed with my iPhone in my kitchen at home. Sounds lazy – but I justify it as experimental. Music videos are often over-produced and I wanted to try something that looked like a childhood home video. Personal and homely was the aesthetic I was going for with my backup music video. This music video was recorded in one shot, which was quite difficult to finally get right, but I got it in the end. The video consisted of me singing to Bjork’s 1993 house hit Big Time Sensuality. I chose a song that was so incredibly 90s because it suited to the editing style I wanted to do. With this particular video, the editing that I decided to use was completely aesthetic effects. I had to edit it to look like a VHS home video, which I feel I definitely was able to achieve. I was able to do this by applying lots of noise, a bit of blur and sharpened the image. I also increased and decreased the saturation of certain colours, thus further enhancing the VHS effect.
Outside of Premiere Pro, creating the 90s aesthetic was quite easy. I did this through the mise-en-scene use of my clothing. I specifically chose to wear a Garfield sweater because Garfield items of clothing were so very popular in the 90s in America. Also, my use of an iPhone camera as opposed to a professional DSLR was better I think because the quality of the footage would be too clear.

The editing style I chose to use during this test music video was actually quite reminiscent of the first piece of work I produced for A-level media, which was shown in my introduction.

The final unit that I produced a short film was for the Promotional Video unit. This unit, my video fell a bit shorter in terms of quality in comparison to the previous videos. I feel that this was mainly due to my time in hospital during the unit and my sheer lack of interest in the topic. My interest in the music industry definitely carried me during the unit prior.

Due to my time in hospital, and my initial client letting me down making me waste more time, I was unable to obtain my own footage and I used the footage of my work partner. However, this footage was quite shaky and not the kind of footage I would have chosen to shoot myself. But I was strapped for time so I made do with what I had. Due to this, I had to learn how to stabilise my footage.

Had I not been in hospital I would’ve shot some better footage and I would’ve had a little bit more creative freedom which would have made my quality of work improve.

The editing aspect of this module was similar to my final music video. I edited to the beat with the royalty-free song I chose and used a lot of soft transitions. My demographic was those 35 and over, so having a really fast-paced and upbeat commercial wasn’t really my aim. My client wanted me to have something simple that showcased the club and focussed on the pool aspect of it, and I think I delivered on that. It definitely could have been better if I captured my own footage as it would have been my own work that I would have envisioned myself beforehand and planned properly. It would also have been better if I didn’t feel so strapped for time when it came to editing. I wasn't happy with my video, but my client was, and that's all that really matters in this unit.

Prior to this whole course, my editing skills went as far as applying transitions to videos and cutting clips. Now, I have learned how to add titles to my videos, how to correctly use audio transitions, aesthetic editing such as making films black and white or creating a VHS style effect without a downloaded filter and lots of other tools. I have certainly improved, become more confident and more time-efficient when it comes to media production. I no longer feel as though I should stick to writing essays and essays only as I have proven to myself that I am capable of producing films that I think are to a good standard, especially my music video.­­­­

Evidence of appropriate labelling of files

History of Editing: the Development of Editing

Editing is one of the most crucial parts of constructing a film of any kind. The way in which footage is edited can allow the creator of a film to make the audience have the perspective they want. Editing can also allow a creation of pace, introducing an element of time into films. Most films in the contemporary film industry have editing teams that are around 3-5 people strong, which would suggest that editing may not be as important as described, but that is simply not the case.

In 1895, the Lumiere Brothers invented Cinematographe. The Cinematographe was a camera, projector and printer designed and invented by Auguste and Louis Lumiere. The machine recorded, captured and projected a motion picture. It produced one single long roll of film, which was a continuous shot. Edwin S. Porter later joined the picture in 1901 and experimented with this long shot of footage. He stuck different parts of film together, creating a film that was several minutes long, consisting of multiple different shots. Edwin S. Porter managed to use footage to tell a different story which was unrelated to what the footage was initially intended to portray, and he was able to change it all through the means of editing.

Seven years later, in 1908, D. W Griffiths’ introduced his film ‘For the Love of Gold’. This film featured the first ever continuity cut when a scene was cut.

Continuity editing is a system of cutting used to maintain continuous and clear narrative action by following a set of rules. These rules are the Establishing Shot (a long or extreme long shot to establish the location or significant figure/object of a scene), Shot Reverse Shot (two shots edited together that allows the audience to take perspective of a certain character during a conversation), 180 degree rule (the angle between any 2 consecutive shots must not exceed 180 degrees in order to maintain spatial relationships between people and objects in any given sequence of shots), 30 degree rule (the angle between any 2 consecutive shots must not be any less than 30 degrees for the same reason as the 180 degree rule), Crosscutting (editing that alternates between shots occurring simultaneously in 2 or more various locations), Match on Action (a cut between two shots that places 2 different framings of some action beside each other, making it seem to continue uninterrupted), Eyeline Match (a cut between two shots that show what the subject is looking at) and Re-establishing shot (a shot that returns to the view of the setting after a series of close-up shots).

Griffiths then realised that he could also portray emotions through different camera angles and pace of editing. He realised it wasn’t all down to the actors in the films. Griffiths is credited for creating the first narrative of a film, the production of the first American feature film and discovering the close-up shot. His incredibly problematic film, The Birth of a Nation, in 1915 is the first film that used a variety of camera techniques. These include long panoramic shots, iris effect, still shots, cross cutting and planning shots. These techniques are still widely used today to create films. The use of sound in this film allowed it to be more interesting, making the audience feel more involved.

1920 saw the discovery of the Kuleshov Effect. Soviet director and film theorist Lev Kuleshov believed that the montage effect on a film would cause the audience to respond more. Eisenstein demonstrated the potentials of montage with his 1925 silent film Battleship Potemkin. Eisenstein said that film montages could create ideas different from the average film.

Prior to the digital editing we have today, a system called analogue editing was in place instead. This system involved cutting down the film negatives and placing them in the desired order. Then, the film would go through a machine called the Moviola or the K.E.M. Moviolas are devices that allow film editors to view the film whilst editing it. It was the first machine for motion picture editing when it was invented by Iwan Serrurier in 1924. Interestingly, the company Moviola is still in existence, located in Hollywood.

Today, digital editing has taken over. This is due to the invention of computers. Editing with a computer is much faster and simpler. It is a lot more efficient in comparison to analogue editing. The first computers and editing software were only capable of basic sound and video editing.

The computers that were first used to make film first arrived onto the scene in the sixties, when the first animated film, Hummingbird, was released. This continued on into the eighties when the first CGI heavy films were released. Examples of this are Tron (1982 - featured the first extensive use of 3D CGI, including the famous light cycle sequence and also includes very early facial animation), Money for Nothing by Dire Straits' music video (1985 - first computer generated music video) and Labyrinth (1986 - featuring the first realistic CGI animal).

Computers and software today are capable of high quality effects and tasks, like motion tracking, CGI, Chroma keying and lots of other effects. There are a variety of programs available for use, such as Adobe Premiere Pro, iMovie, Final Cut Pro and Sony Vegas to name a few. Footage is placed onto the timeline and is then cut and pasted into an order and then the effects are added.

In conclusion, editing has come a long way. It is an industry that has developed at the same pace as other conventions of film. It is a fundamental aspect of any modern film. Like stated previously, without editing, the audience would be left watching one long string of footage.

Client Feedback Form

Evaluation of Promotional Video

I feel as though my promotional video was definitely lacking. Out of all the short films I made this year, this was definitely my least favourite and due to that, ended up being my worst. It isn't really a valid excuse but as I had no personal interest in the topic, I struggled to produce a piece of work that was really a reflection of my creative abilities. Not only this, but being hospitalised forced me to put off working for my client that I was passionate about (record shop).  Excuses aside, here is my evaluation of my promotional video. Had I remained able to capture footage of the record store, and present the footage in the form of a short commercial like I initially planned, my final piece would have been a lot better.
Organisation during this topic was tough. I was initially planning quite far ahead, giving myself a good amount of time to prepare my footage and editing if in case something went wrong. But, the one time I manage to go out of my way to organise myself, I fall ill during the time I was spending organising and the time I was ill managed to also fall into the time I was meant to be meeting with my client and filming.
My client was happy with the video. I'm unsure to what extent exactly, or why, but he said it was to his needs. According to him, the music was good, the cuts were good but the shaky camera was bad. I could've improved this by actually being physically there when the filming took place. I would have been able to get lots more footage to choose from, rather than stick to the footage that my work partner was able to get. I was able to stabilize the footage, but it isn't really the same as having a steady camera hand. It would be unfair for me to criticise my partner for his unsteady hands, but it did hinder the quality of my video a bit. If I had the time, and was physically able to, I would have gone to the club myself with a tripod to get some shots.
I was happy with my song choice. It took me a while to find something that I thought would be appropriate for the age range targeted, but I found some royalty free music in the end. I wanted to go for the classic rock sound, and I think I was able to do exactly that. Speaking of music, my editing to the beat was quite good also, specifically the close up shot of the pool table.

Proof of Communication with Client - 3

Above is a screenshot from my phone from when I called my client to discuss what they thought about my promotional video. The client made a few brief points, of which were mainly positive, but the points he made for possible improvement were:

• Some shaky footage
• Not enough specific information
• Footage could be better quality; eg 1080p

The client also had positive feedback to give me:

• Good music choice - very appropriate for the age demographic targeted
• Friendly mode of address, endearing
• Nice transitions, simple and not too intense. Ideal for older target audience
• Nice emphasis on what the club is about: pool

Final Promotional Video

Editing my Promotional Video

Evidence of labelling footage and work appropriately

 

I began editing my promotional video a week later than planned, as I got out of hospital on the 8th of May and I intended to start editing on the 5th of May and be finished by the 12th. I wanted to give myself a whole week before deadline to edit my footage as my editing skills aren't the greatest and I wanted to give myself the chance to enhance these editing skills at a pace in which I wouldn't feel strapped for time.

I uploaded all of the footage onto my Premiere Pro and sifted through the parts I thought would look best in my final video.

Above is a screenshot from when I was adding a title screen to the start of the video. I did this so that the audience would know the name and what the outside of the bar looked like.

This screenshot is from when I was stabilizing the footage as it was slightly shaky upon filming. Stabilising the footage could allow it to become more professional looking. Also, choosing to stabilise the footage is far more of a sustainable and easier option for me to do than to get up and re-take the shot. Due to how strapped I was for time, I improvised and chose to stabilise.

Notes from Telephone interview

As I was unable to attend the initial meeting, I called the client and discussed the promotional video with him.

Proof of Communication with Client - 2

As I fell ill during the time in which I would have attended a meeting to record footage in the club, I apologised to the client and thankfully they were understanding as Will was still able to attend to capture footage. The client also decided on the specific audience they wanted to cater to in this conversation.
Falling ill did hinder my plans of filming, however as Will and I were working as a pair anyway, it was easy to work around and re-organise a new plan.

Codes & Conventions of Promotional Videos

There are many different types of Promotional Videos. Here are the codes and conventions of the different types:

Corporate Videos
Corporate videos are designed for a specific event/function based on what the company has commissioned the production company to produce. The purpose of the video varies depending on what the client is asking for. The target audiences of these videos are usually for company members, such as stakeholders or senior members etc.

Product Launch/Marketing
Product launches sell a product through the use of a video package. A good example are the Apple advertisements. These types of videos usually consist of interviews with the product developers, explanations of the product being sold with lots of technological language used and lots of detailed visuals of the products.

Above is an example of a product launch. This promotional video is specifically for the new iPad pro.

Promotion of Ideology and Values
These promotional videos usually centre charities or causes. Political party broadcasts also fall under this category. These promotional videos will have a set purpose and that purpose is to communicate the ideologies and beliefs of who is behind the promotional video. Direct modes of address are used in these promotional videos to acquire the audience's attention, and, often in the case to make them feel bad.

The promotional video above is a Labour party political broadcast, promoting the party's key beliefs and values.

Event Coverage
These types of promotional videos advertise events like conventions, concerts and festivals. Target audiences like this vary as it is literally just whoever is a fan of what is being advertised. These types of promotional videos may have vox pops or short interviews as a part of it, showing the attendees of the events enjoying themselves. Or, another example would be an interview with an artist being part of the PV for a music festival.

This is a trailer for Depeche Mode's 2009 Tour of the Universe world tour. The trailer consists of footage of the band's performances on the tour alongside a backing track of their latest hits.

Show-reels
Show-reels are used for various different reasons, specifically being to promote a person or company. This type of promotional video consists of a series of clips. These are put together to showcase the skills and capability of a person or company. Much like a portfolio, the show-reel will display work the company/person has completed for clients, showing the calibre of clients they have worked for.

Legal implications of Promotional Video: Location Release Form

To film at any owned premises, I needed to obtain permission from the owner.

Above are my location releases. Location releases are binding contracts between the photographer and the owner of the private property of which is being filmed on. By signing the release form, the landowner forgoes the right to sue for specific types of claims.

Defining my Business Objective - Updated

I have decided to change my client to work with one of my classmates as I realise production is not my strong point (as I have stated many many times previously).

My new client is Bentley Road Sports & Social Club in Bedworth. My friend (Will Barlow) has already begun planning and I have been asked to join in his project.

There has already been 1 meeting in person with the client, below are my partner's notes which he has already posted on his blog:



(A link to my partner's blog post about his meeting is here: http://willbarlowhnccreativemedia.blogspot.com/2019/04/meeting-on-10th-april-2019-including.html#comment-form)
Due to the fact I was not present at this meeting, I intend to have a phone call interview with the client as the only thing I missed from this meeting was the photographs that Will took. 

Proof of communication with client - 1

Above is a screengrab from my iMessage conversation with my client Mel Barlow, secretary and committee member of Bentley Road Sports and Social Club. Here I am asking him if I can join Will's team in filming and editing a promotional video for the establishment.

Promotional Video Analysis: Softbank & Tommy Lee Jones (With analysis of Japanese advertising)

This advertisement is from Japanese mobile phone network providers Softbank, featuring the American actor Tommy Lee Jones and the famous Softbank dog 'Oto-san' (means Father). He is the patriarch of the family, in which Jones plays an alien who has come to earth to study human beings. Japan is known for having such bizarre commercials and this definitely is in that category. Though, this is more normal in comparison to some.
The commercial is advertising the new and improved Softbank connection, and shows a customer getting frustrated about his area not yet receiving upgraded connection. The commercial has a comedic and lighthearted approach, rather than an overly informative and boring approach. The advert doesn't actually provide any information until the end, which is even still not alot of information other than the fact that the connection is upgrading from area to area.
An effective convention Softbank use is having a familiar face throughout their advertisements. That familiar face is Oto-san, the dog. Softbank have done over 100 adverts with the dog, which is a friendly face for both adults and children in the audience.
Japanese commercials are typically more outrageous because advertisers do not prioritise the message, they instead prioritise entertainment. A Japanese advertiser's thought process is that if the product or company is associated with happy thoughts, it is a positive thing. This is why Japanese commercials have catchy songs (see below for 1. Giga Pudding song), bright colours (see below for 2. Kyary Pamyu Pamyu KFC commercial) or famous celebrities advertising products (see below for 3. Ayumi Hamasaki commercial). Japanese commercials are also typically shorter than western ones, so they either have the choice of cramming in alot of information into an incredibly short space of time or creating an image or song that sticks with the audience's mind, thus typically ending up being rather whacky or significant. Here are some more examples of Japanese commercials:

1. Giga Pudding

2. Kyary Pamyu Pamyu Krushems

3. Ayumi Hamasaki for Panasonic Lumix

Promotional Video Analysis: An Idiot Abroad 2

Above is one of the commercials from Sky for Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant and Karl Pilkington's An Idiot Abroad. It is a simple clip from the first series in which Karl insists, whilst on the phone to Ricky and Stephen, that he will not participate in a second series. The advertisement is ironically funny because it is literally advertising the one thing he said he wasn't going to do.
This type of advertisement is a preview, but not specifically for the forthcoming series as it is a clip from the series prior. The advertisement must have been incredibly effective as the first episode of the second series had an audience of 2.66 million, almost double the final episode of the first series which was 1.6 million.
The clip ends with Ricky and Stephen laughing loudly at Karl's refusal to do another series. Karl says they've "got his heart going now". The pair's laughter is foreshadowing the next series, whether it be staged or not, it fits well with the whole comedic concept of Ricky and Stephen managing to get Karl to do things he never would have done without their influence. Very similar to how It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia episodes start. An example is below:

Aside from right at the end, there is no voice over or no description or no specific language used to sell the TV show. It is just audio from the phone conversation between the Karl and Ricky about Sky wanting a new series. This is because the three are already famous, they need no introduction. The first series was already quite a hit (with the average episode attracting 1.5 million viewers) and their radio show on XFM was incredibly popular, alongside shows like the original UK version of The Office and Extras, the trio have already gained enough popularity for their star appeal to be effective. The voiceover at the end just announces the name of the new series, "An Idiot Abroad, The Bucket List, the new series, coming soon, Sky 1 HD". This is literally all the information the audience needs as many of them will have seen the series prior.

Promotional Video Analysis : Depeche Mode Tour PV (Event Coverage)

Above is one of the many commercials for Depeche Mode's one off 2017 show in London's West Ham stadium. The promotional video consists of a montage of the band's 2009-2010 Tour of the Universe to live audio of the band's songs Sooth My Soul and Never Let Me Down Again It is a very simple commercial, providing only really the essential information required: the date, location and who is performing. The voiceover reads "Don't miss your chance to see one of modern music's most influential bands play live in London", which is a technique of convincing customers to join the bandwagon. It almost suggests that the band are never coming back to London, despite them actively going on world tours every four years. Telling the customer that they will "miss out" is singling them out and encouraging them to join the bandwagon.
This commercial is short and sweet. Depeche Mode are already an internationally well-known band and their name sells themselves, so they do not need a huge advertisement campaign like a lot of artists. This commercial in particular was not shown on TV but was shown only on the Live Nation Facebook page and Youtube channel. Even with this, the concert sold out incredibly quickly (66,000 seats sold out in under an hour) alongside the later dates announced.

Defining my business objective - Initial Plans

The objective of my promotional video is to advertise and promote Nervous Records record store in Hinckley. Nervous Records is a predominantly secondhand music shop that has been open since 1978. The shop is definitely one of my favourite places to spend time whether it be actually looking for a record I want or looking to discover new music. I feel that the shop is a hidden gem in Hinckley and considering there aren't many record stores like this around, it should be attracting a lot more visitors but unfortunately it doesn't. I have noticed, as have been a frequent visitor for the past few years, that not many people are in here when I visit. The shop is popular amongst die-hard music fans, but not so much more, as other shops like HMV and Amazon are readily available for those who are unfortunately not bothered by where they are sourcing their goods.

Nervous Records currently has a Facebook page and a Discogs page, but no other social media. Posting the promotional video I intend to make will hopefully increase the shop's social media following, thus further increasing the amount of customers the store receives.

Comments I received in my focus group

After completing the editing for the music video I shot in the studio, I gathered a group of my peers that I consider to also be 'music nerds'. I chose four of my friends, all in which are arts students at Russell group universities themselves, so I wanted their educated opinion on the art I created.
I chose for my arts students friends to give me feedback because I knew they'd understand the work a lot more because they will have studied something similar, or even more outrageous pieces, before. They already have knowledge and experience with films like these. Though it may sound elitist and pretentious, I didn't choose a passive, relaxed audience to give me feedback. This is mainly because they weren't my target audience anyway.
My demographic was split between male and female and all four were of similar ages. This is because the main target audience for alternative (good) music is young adults/adults and although music is male dominated, women make up a significant amount of the fanbases, despite not many actually being musicians.
I received a variety of responses:
Jenny W (20 - student at the University of Birmingham for Art History)
'You definitely achieved the monochrome look Yoko had in the 60s. I even got it before you said. It looks like something John and Yoko would have done. They would've made a minimal piece of work to make the audience think for themselves, rather than forcing something to heavy of a meaning to the viewers. One thing I'd say is that adding maybe a grainy filter would have helped add to the nostalgia and realism.'
Lee S (19 - student of History and French at Manchester)
'I can see why someone would think it is boring but I really liked it. It did drag a bit but the fact that it always looked like something was going to happen made it more interesting. The main part that interested me was thinking that you were going to do something or say something, maybe even start singing. But the fact that we were just left to feel however we wanted to feel about the video, that was pretty good. The visuals fit with the song fantastically, I loved it.'
Jamie F (19 - student of History at Oxford University)
'It looks to a really high standard and quite professional and I think the main reason you were able to achieve that is because you didn't aim to do an awful lot in your video. I think this video is a great example of the whole 'less is more' saying, because I think if you tried to do anything more to it that it could look tacky or really obviously like a project rather than a professional music video.'
Tash M (20 - student of Politics at Sussex)
'This video is really aesthetically pleasing and you did a really good job in making it look similar to Yoko. It would have been a pretty cool idea though if maybe you had a variety of models and said it was maybe linked to like the Beatles' wives at the time because it would've added a little bit of variety to the video and would probably make it easier for someone from a non, like, artsy background to watch. Or maybe subtitles about like thoughts to do with the song, that would've maybe added just a bit more to it.'

Conclusion of findings from focus group
In conclusion, the response for my music video was positive. The only negative response was that it could be perceived as boring, which I expected anyway. Even I manage to find watching it boring, but that is because it isn't meant to be an easy watch.
My focus group is technically a poor representation of what the general public would think of my music video. This is due to the people I asked being of the same age range, same ethnicity, same class background and having the same artistic/cultural interests. However, as my intended audience is artistic young people (young people because they are the main target audience for music videos anyway), I feel like my focus group selection is good and a good representation of what artsy individuals will think of my video.

Music Video Analysis: C'mon Billy - PJ Harvey

Much like St Vincent's music video I previously analysed, PJ Harvey's music video for her 1995 single from To Bring You My Love is a spectacle. The mise-en-scene is on point, the acting from her is perfect and it is shot spectacularly. The song itself is about a woman who is begging for her partner to return (where he is is undisclosed, whether he left her for another woman or is at war etc is not confirmed) and meet his son. It is a desperate cry for him to come back.
The first shot shown in the music video is close-up shot of a man in a cowboy hat playing the violin. Though it may seem insignificant, this shot sums up the genre of the track. It has bluesy-country sounds to it, whilst having a melancholic string section to it. We then see Polly in a satin lilac dress and feather boa - an outfit that is reminiscent of a sex worker in western times, which is abundantly the role Polly plays in this video. Interestingly enough, even though she plays a character who is a sex worker, she still remains not excessively sexualised (unlike most music videos today). She is surrounded by men and behaves in a seductive way towards them.
This entire scene contrasts greatly against the next scene in Polly's bedroom. We have a birds-eye-view shot of her bed as she lies down, in her underwear, singing about the man she misses. Her loneliness and lack of men surrounding her contrasts greatly from when she was at the bar (?). We then see Polly standing in a dark room with one small lit square on her face as she changes into a loosely fitting shirt which we can only assume belongs to the partner she misses. Her makeup is greatly smudged, fitting into the high emotions she must be feeling at the moment. She slides down the wall, her face leaving the lit box, to then sit and watch footage of her and her partner. The footage is very pure and happy, whereas Polly's reaction shots are very dead and unhappy. In the footage she is smiling and lifelike, whereas the Polly watching the video is a completely different person.
After a brief few shots of the home footage, a sudden jump is made in the narrative of the music video. Polly has captured the man she is singing about and has managed to tie him up in a way so that his arms are embracing her. This is a very literal metaphor for her managing to make him stay and make him love her. As the song is already a desperate cry for him to return, it seems Polly has to take desperate measures to make him come back. An important thing to note is that Polly's child isn't present at all throughout the video aside from in the old home videos. Perhaps, her partner only stayed because they had a baby and now the baby is no longer there, he feels there was no reason to stay.