"Love - wave to earth Analysis"

LOVE ( 사랑으로 )- WAVE TO EARTH

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✮ Introduction 

The first music video that I chose is Love by wave to earth, a Korean Alternative Indie and R&B band. It was released two months ago, with the directing of Ping Pong Matcha. Since Love is kind of a mellow and soft indie song, we can see that this video follows the peaceful and old film-like concept. That’s the reason why I think this video is conceptual, and possibly has some narratives also, since all the scenes look like they are trying to tell a story in this video. 

Wave to earth is a band that has a deep look at every aspect of life, especially love. They have released many songs that talk about love, mostly covering any aspects that everyone can relate to, sad and happy all included, even the most painful thing. Among their songs, “Love ( 사랑으로 )” is one of my favorites. It's about how the power of love can comfort and heal a person through tough times. This video somewhat portrays what the song wants to deliver to the audiences, which follows the “relationship between the lyrics, music, and visual” convention. Further explanation about this video will be portrayed later in this analysis.

✮ Camera works 

Firstly, camera work involved quite a lot in this video. In the first seconds of the video, we can see a frame-within-frame shot of the girl ( actress ) walking through a three-step staircase.

Furthermore, big and medium close-up shots were also used to portray things in their own state, such as the temple’s incense burner with smoke rising up, or flowers and some supplies for praying lying on a surface full of small flowers, they focused on those things to make them become more significant. Additionally, some of them also included handheld technique, which gives the scene a little bit of a shaky effect. Handheld camera techniques were used a lot in this video, not only in scenes with things, it has been used in the first train station scene, or scenes that involve the wind, water movements, or even themselves. This technique has reminded me of some travel vlogging styles nowadays, which is an old film and digital camera-like concept. It is just like they were vlogging their own trip.

To capture the actress in the frame, wide shots were chosen for most of the scene, especially when she was standing, sitting or walking. From that information, we can somehow know that this girl might have some thoughts in her mind, as her expression was a bit sad and mellow. There isn't much lighting involved, mostly relying on natural lighting such as sunlight, that’s why there were some parts that are quite dim, yet, the natural vibe is still there and gives it a melancholy kind of feeling. 

✮ Editing

In terms of editing, the first thing that caught my eye was the noisiness ( grainy ) & blurry effect in the video. As I mentioned before, it reminded me of a 1970s style, not only the noise effect but also the frame that they included in the video, a rectangle frame that looks like an old handy camera, which is really aesthetic. Color grading is also involved in this video, in order to make it more retro and filmed-like. Blue and gray were used quite a lot, there were some green and yellow too but according to my observation, I see blue and gray the most. With all of these gradings and effects, it made the video more “meditative” since the color is light, not too dazzled. 

✮ Mise - en scene

One more thing that I want to analyze is the mise-en-scene in this video. From my perspective, the setting in this video was taken in Thailand, Cambodia, and perhaps China since there was a scene that contained a cemetery with a bunch of tombstones that had Chinese letters on them.

All of the settings were peaceful, a bit windy, and enough sunshine to capture the surroundings, therefore, this weather is perfect for an alone stroll, or just for a moment to get deep in thought. Everything was so silent and soothing, and from this, the relationship between the visual and the music became stronger, it let the audience immerse in the world and lie in it. The atmosphere was so tranquil that everyone could have their deep thoughts wandering around and either be happy or sad about it. 

✮ Conventions

Due to the Effects Model, this music video has no harm to any individuals, since it’s friendly and also chill from the start. In fact, the video and the song have absolutely no censored content involved, which is friendly for everyone. Not to mention, this music video have nothing beside peaceful scenery that match with the lyrics. 

Camera works had somehow shown the relationship between the visual and the music, that’s the first thing that the camera did according to the convention. The visual was really peaceful and mindful, which is a perfect match for the beat and melody of the song. Not to mention the wide shot of the actress between the lyrics, which involves many meanings. This shot type may lead to the connection between the lyrics and her mind, which is also the way that shows what’s in her mind in general.  

✮ Use & Gratifications 

Due to the Effects Model, this music video has no harm to any individuals, since it’s friendly and also chill from the start. In fact, the video and the song have absolutely no censored content involved, which is friendly for everyone. Not to mention, this music video have nothing beside peaceful scenery that match with the lyrics.

Even though this music video is a bit simplistic, it definitely brings some media effects to the audiences. First of all, it’s entertaining, the melody is really chill and a bit nostalgic also, it brings a mellow energy, just for people to think about their life and get immersed to it. Personal identities are possible to be exploited since some people can get related to the lyrics. Wave to earth has started to get genuinely popular nowadays through their song from 1 year ago, which is “season”, which means people can get to know more about them and wonder if they have any other great song that we can actually enjoy, just like what we receive from “season”. Therefore it has created a social interaction between people. 

According to audience theory, the viewer may view it as a music video with a peaceful and melancholy feel. According to my assessment, viewers will largely respond to it together with Preferred Reading because it is sufficiently engaging and the setting of the music video is inclusive and family-friendly. Not to mention, almost everyone could relate to the meaning of the video. The song or the music video may not be their kind, according to a probable Negotiated or even Oppositional reading opinion.

✮ Conclusion

To conclude, this music video is really simple and tranquil in some kind of way. The way they didn’t use many complex camera movements, transitions, or even special effects, gave the audiences the most relaxed and healing experience. All of the techniques that they used for this music video, I say it’s a bit “effortless” since it didn’t require many special and complicated movements or elements. The narrative of this music video is a bit abstract since they let the camera focus on many objects on their frames, which made it more open, allowing the audience to have their own insight about the meaning of the music video. Not to mention the editing of the music, it’s “stiff” and “unnatural” in terms of transition, however, that transition somehow has reduced the “clinginess” and gives off the more natural, melancholy vibe that almost everyone can relate to. The actress is also really on point since her movements and her “lost in thoughts” mood also make the audience curious and wonder what she's thinking about. Not to mention, it also reflects how people can enjoy their day, especially introverted people - deep in thoughts and sometimes immersed in the atmosphere. Overall, this music video has been one of the best videos for healing purposes that I have ever seen.