In order to ensure that this final storyboard will be a success, I decided to analyse it as I would with any real music video,

as I can then see which areas need adjusting to make a successful end product.

As you can see from the storyboard, the music video starts off with a candle that signifies purity within the norm, summarising the character whom plays the widow. This can also be a connotation of the artist as she can either be perceived as good (conveyed through the pure angelic white candle) whilst helping the widow move on with her life, or as bad (conveyed through the flames that may elaborate on the demon’s wrath) as she destroys the couple’s previous memoirs.

This is then followed by the old, traditional phone that symbolises the old relationship. We notice that the background will be blurred to create the dominance around the phone as it holds significant news that is the result of the occurrences within the entire music video. The reaction to the news will consequently start the music as the target audience then gains the sense of how dominant the news actually was.

We then find that this is followed by lip-syncing that introduces the artist into the scenario, as she dissolves in during the bad news. This may confuse the target audience to whether she is here to fix the dilemma or is the initial cause for it. We decided to zoom onto the artist’s lips to create a mystery element, something that is done very often within music videos today, this is clearly demonstrated within Rihanna’s music video, ‘Unfaithful’.

Throughout many music videos, it is essential to gain some emotion instead of having a straight face throughout the entire music video. This includes crying and expressing anger as this is then relatable to the target audience as they may have experienced a similar encounter. Taking this into account, we decided to show varying emotions, from anger, sadness and sorrow to denial, and rejecting life. This is significant to portray as we decided to take on the issues of death that is a very sensitive subject to many media consumers, this is why we wanted a serious outlook with out any bright colours and animations. This is clearly conveyed when looking at the mourning scenes within the music video.

These emotions are reflected through to the symbolism of the candle as it now bleeds, in relation to the obvious death and the harsh emotions expressed by the widow. The colour red symbolises hatred and anger which contrasts well with the white to allow viewers to understand that life is far from the norm.

As you can see, the artist will depict some forms of sympathy and relation to the widow as well as the target audience, in order to create a connotation of love as they are not alone in the world. This then links to the next scene, where the widow looks upon the past (via photos) that allow her to look back to a happier time. This has been done in a few music videos yet they focus on different scenarios that happen to a wide variety of people, consisting of break ups. A good example of a music video that does this is the Cure’s, ‘Pictures of you’.

When examining this story board, you can see that we decided to use the influence of alcohol as many people rely on it when undergoing serious situations, including the scenario of death that we have presented within our music video. However, we are also aware of the fact that alcohol consumption can not be viewed within this music video, as a result, we decided to resort to stop still shots, where we will show the depreciating levels of alcohol to imply consumption. Nevertheless, this does not mean that alcohol consumes all of this pain as we then realise, when looking at a following scene where the widow thinks that she has seen her dead husband in the mirror. This exhibits a form of delusion that confuses a person as they lose control of reality, reasons for which the artist comes and provides her with a sense of guidance, elaborating on this angelic presence.

As you have noticed, the storyboard continues to look back on the past as the widow looks at the photo albums and love notes that allow her to ponder on what life was once like. However, as you can see below this does not help the issue as she continues to mourn (cries) over the loss.

This loss, is then symbolised by the dying rose, conveying the passing of time and yet still, this sorrow is not gone. The fact that it is red enhances this loss of romance and love, yet it also signifies anger, hatred and pain. This will contrast against either a black or white background in order to coincide with the house colours of red, black and white.

This wrath is then expressed as the music video progresses, here you will notice the influence of alcohol as it manipulates her emotions, causing her to break down. This is then reiterated as she realises her true colours as the artist touches the mirror, allowing her to see her true state. This enhances the dominance of the artist as she guides the widow down the right path as to what she needs to do in life, however, the strong mise-en-scene overpowers this deeper meaning of aid.

Once again, we have reference to the candle, which withers away to show the depreciating norm of life, elaborating on how the widow is loosing grip on reality. This candle will continue to diminish throughout the music video to portray this constant symbolism.

We then introduce the role of the artist as she starts to destroy the memories of the broken couple by ruining the love letter. This may imply that she is an evil character, yet this decision is made by the target audience, providing them with a certain amount of control over the narrative. This is then taken a step further when she causes the ring to vanish from her palm. This similar type of misconception is understood in Paramore’s ‘Misery Business’.

As you can see, we notice the abandoned ring that symbolises the fact that the widow has moved on and advanced with her life instead on pondering on the negative aspects that linger around the circumstance of death. The ring, an analogy of uniting together two people is a strong connotation of love, but the fact that it’s gone, conveys some of the dominance that the artist has provided the widow with.

This is taken a step further when the widow decides to leave, as the house is consumed with memories of her marriage. We notice a strong montage of her making drastic actions through the use of edgy body language, in order to reiterate the conversion that has made her become more supreme. This kind of drastic change and outcome is very popular within many music videos, a good example would be Lady Gaga’s, ‘Telephone’, with Beyonce. Here, the boyfriend is poisoned to exhibit female dominance, as you can see from the clips taken from the actual music video.

As you can see here, the widow finally leaves the house with dominance expressing the artist’s authority also, as she provides her with this confidence. This will be exhibited throughout the last few scenes as the cuts become quicker, almost flashes that create a dramatic effect as the widow’s body language changes. This then coincides with the microelements as we notice a greater range of low shots in addition to louder non - diegetic sound, emphasizing this supremacy. Usually, when looking at these consistent flashes, we automatically associate this with a club atmosphere, representing an upbeat genre such as hip hop. A good example of a music video that happens to do this is, ‘Pon de Replay’ by Rihanna that revolves around a club atmosphere. However, this contrasts drastically to the flashes of scenes within our music video as it will convey a sense of urgency and intensity.

Lastly, we have yet another reference to the withering candle, yet this time it is placed within the artist’s hands, whom seems very amused at the fact that the widow has left the house. This may add to her negative appeal, although, she conveys her happiness due to the dominance of the widow. She then ends the music video by blowing out the candle, as the mourning, pain and hatred as been eliminated as the flame has disappeared.