Music Video Analysis - “Chasing Cars” by Snow Patrol
This video is mainly a narrative and he is expressing his emotions to the audience about his feelings for his relationship. The lead singer of the band sings the lyrics throughout the video so we know that it is from his perspective. It is set in a busy town/city and the fact that he is alone throughout the video but singing about his feelings for another person could show that he is lonely and feels lost or insecure in this environment. However he does not really look upset and it is like he is in another world – like his relationship is like another world and more important than reality. Although the video is set in a busy city environment, there is no diegetic sound - the only sound we hear is the actual song. Throughout the entire video, we hardly see anyone else; this shows the audience that he is definitely the main focus of the song and video a and it is all about how he feels. He tends to be centre-frame throughout the video and many close-ups are used so that the audience can clearly see his facial expressions which tell us how he feels.
The first shot that we see is an over the shoulder shot of a man sitting alone at a table looking out of the window at the passing cars. He is clearly sitting alone and thinking or reminiscing about the person or situation that he is singing about. Straightaway a tracking shot is used which moves round the man sitting at the table until we can see a profile view of his face; the camera also zooms in slightly; this is where we see that he is singing the song, so the lyrics are clearly from his perspective and it is his story.
The next cut is a very quick, 3 second cut to his face as he looks down at his drink and kind of shakes his head, he looks lonely and as if he is thinking about what he is singing.
In the next cut we see that he is definitely sitting alone at the table and there is a couple sitting a few tables behind him in the background. He does not look sad and he smiles slightly as he sings “we don’t need anything or anyone” – it is like he is thinking about his relationship and he says that they need nobody else but them to be happy. This suggests that he believes that it is like his relationship os separate from reality.
The screen fades to black and then fades back in to the chorus of the song and we see him lying on the ground as he sings “if I lay here, if I just lay here, would you lie with me and just forget the world” – the visuals relate to the lyrics. The chorus starts with a close up of his face and then the camera zooms out and also rotates slowly until we see a medium shot of him lying down. It is kind of like he is day dreaming and the rotation of the camera gives this effect. The video then cuts to a zooming in profile view as he continues to sing. I have noticed that throughout every chorus of the video, close ups seem to predominate making sure that the audience can see his facial expression which makes it clear to us how he is feeling about what he is singing.
At the beginning of the second verse it fades to black again and then fades in and we see the busy location of the city. When we first see this setting it is a natural light setting showing that it is during the day but then we see the streetlights turn on and it is very dark to show the audience that it is now night-time. This then cuts to him walking and shows how long that he has been walking. This could suggest the power of the love that he is singing about and that the thoughts in his head can keep him thinking for such a long period of time.
As he walks we see that he doesn’t look sad but he looks lost and here the lyrics relate to the visuals once again, “I don’t quite know how to say, how I feel”. Suggests that he is walking to try and figure out what to say to her but he cannot explain it - this makes it clear to the audience why he has been walking for so long.
The video then cuts to him standing still in the street and it is like he is trying to explain his thoughts and how he feels, “those 3 words are said too much, they’re not enough” – lyrics relate visuals again hint to the fact that he cannot explain how much he loves her.
Then once again the sequence fades out and back into the chorus where he is lying on the floor once again. The camera zooms out and we see that he is lying alone. Then video cuts and we see that he is lying in the middle of a busy road and the cars have had to stop for him. This shows that to him, he is in his own world. As he lies there, the rest of the world continues as usual. The camera moves to zoom into him and then moves above him but before it gets right above him to an aerial view, it cuts to a close up of his face as he sings. He smiles and once again it fades to black and then fades into the next location.
The next verse is divided into two cuts of him going up an escalator. The audience can tell that he is still thinking as throughout the first cut in the verse he stares still into one place as he sings.
At the end of the verse, we see him lying on the floor for the chorus again; this time he is lying at the top of the escalator. In contrast to the other choruses, this time we immediately see a profile view of him on the floor as before we saw an aerial view and we also immediately know where he is. Again then it cuts to an aerial view of him singing, “would you lie with me and just forget the world” – this happens in every chorus. It is as if he is not in the same world as everyone else as people just step over him as they reach the top of the escalator.
Next cut, we see train doors closing and then cuts to the train pulling away. Then we see a low angle shot of him lying on the train floor. Unlike the rest of the video, he is also lying on the floor throughout the last verse as well as the chorus.
The next cut shows a busy motorway and the lighting becomes brighter again, this shows the audience that it is the next day and that he has been out all night. This once again shows his confusion to the fact that words cannot explain how he feels.
The next cut zooms out of the motorway and onto a cliff side where he is lying. The camera zooms out until we can see almost his whole body. Then it cuts and zooms in again to a profile view, we do not see his whole face though, only his body and mouth - these shots are kind of like fragmented body shots; the shots are like this in each chorus throughout the song.
The video then cuts to a a frame of a front door; it looks like the front door to a hotel room or a flat and then for the next cut and the chorus again, he is lying on a bed alone. This could suggest that the relationship is in his surreal world and possibly does not exist or that this person is not around and he is reminiscing of when she is or was around. The empty side of the bed also appears much darker than the side that he is lying on; this again gives us a sense that she is no longer there. The camera zooms right out and then cuts to black showing the end of the video. He stays in the same clothing throughout the whole video showing that it is set over just one time - however, as seen earlier in the video, we know that he has been walking for a very long time.
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