GABRIELLE APLIN - THE POWER OF LOVE ( Analysis )

Gabrielle Aplin sings her song while playing the piano in The Power of Love, a performance-based music video. The purpose of having a performance-based video is to showcase her talent and show her in her natural state, as she hasn't been altered or modified by the media, which is extremely rare. The music video's first twenty-two seconds were spent establishing shots of an old, abandoned house. This is done to give the audience a sense of mystery and atmosphere. The old fashioned house is falling apart gracefully, and despite the fact that it is slowly becoming ruined, there is a distinct beauty to the place, which creates a minor link between the old fashioned house falling apart and the old fashioned romance falling apart, which is a sad reality that amplifies the meaning of the song. Extreme close-ups of Gabrielle's lips and hands are used throughout the song to highlight her talent. The extreme close-up of her lips emphasizes the fact that she is singing the song, while the extreme close-up of her hands demonstrates her ability to play the piano. This emphasizes the rawness of her talent and demonstrates that she is the true star of her music; she isn't a phony musician looking for a quick buck; she is a genuine artist. There is a focus pull at 2:04 minutes into the song that makes the back wall look as if it is closing in on Gabrielle, implying that love closes in on all of us at some point and we can't help it. It's as if she's trying to run away from love, but it's catching up with her slowly but surely. This looks great and briefly confuses the audience because the wall isn't actually closing in on her; it's just edited to give the illusion of the effect. There are also numerous close-ups of the singer-songwriter to show her feelings and emotions about the song, which helps to establish a personal connection between the artist and the audience because they can identify with her feelings. Similarly, this can provide comfort to the audience by reassuring them that they are not alone in experiencing conflicting feelings of love. There is tracking in a backward motion at 3:30 minutes, near the end of the song, which reveals more of the setting. The scene features a piano and an old, ruined room, with Gabrielle's back to the camera. This reveals a long shot of the star playing the piano, implying that she is capable of performing the song without the help of other musicians or singers. This emphasizes her talent and makes the audience proud of her accomplishments once more.

At 3:25, the artist speaks directly to the audience, looking down at the camera and saying, "Make love your goal." The direct address emphasizes the words and emphasizes the song's overall meaning as well as the importance of love. The entire song is about love, how powerful it is, and how you don't seek love; it seeks you out. This establishes a personal connection between the audience and the artist as if she is commanding us to find love. Natural lighting is used throughout the video, but the lighting is a mix of low and high keys. The shot is relatively high key when there are shots of windows in a dark room, but it is relatively low key when there is no window lighting. This implies that love has both bright and dark aspects, but that is what makes it so unique. On the other hand, at 3:30, there are fairy lights that turn on as the song crescendos, amplifying the meaning of the song by making it sound grander and more meaningful. The music video is primarily composed of slow-motion editing, which corresponds to the song's slow tempo. Instead of being abrupt and over-the-top, it makes the song seem very peaceful and calming, emphasizing the purity of love and amplifying the song. There is cross-cutting between close-ups, mid shots, and long shots of Gabrielle Aplin, as well as establishing shots of the deserted house, throughout the music video. This implies that love is built around a home, which provides stability, but that once it is ruined, it will continue to decay unless someone attempts to repair or save it. It's also possible that the artist has had a failed love relationship and doesn't want the audience to feel the same way. The final shot is an extreme long shot of Gabrielle Aplin playing her piano with fairy lights, which looks very picturesque and beautiful, and it then fades out slowly. This has the effect of suggesting a light at the end of the tunnel, which demonstrates the beauty of love, and thus the final message is positive and overrules that love is indeed beautiful.