Ariana Grande Almost is Never Enough featuring Nathan Sykes (Genre: Pop)

The first shot shows Ariana Grande entering the recording box. The camera is still and presented in a long shot, after the door closes the box is only lit so it is displayed to the left. As everything apart from the box is black it draws attention to her. This shot is simple and the only prop is the microphone and headphones which again enhance the focus on her and reinforces the authenticity of her voice. Grande being closed in shows she just wants to be with her music which adds a personal touch. The glass window conveys a sense of reflection and so this highlights her being on her own when recording. Plus, it’s like we are being given a window into her world. It is indicated so far that this song means a lot to her. She is wearing a white dress; white is commonly associated with purity and innocence which matches the tempo of the song. The curtains and wallpaper appear to be majorly yellow which is a warm colour associated with happiness which reflects the music.

Following the above shot it cuts to Grande walking into the studio and hugging the two men. This implies that she knows them well and has probably worked with them before. This shot also brings the audience into her environment and we feel privileged to be part of it. This shot is a medium shot; Grande is facing the camera as she is the most important in this situation. One man’s back is to us and the other is blurred in the background which tells the audience that we do not need to know any more than their occupation. I can see that they are in a studio and so they will be helping edit Grande’s song together. The hugging suggests that Grande is very grateful for their help and so enhances her purity as discussed in the above shot. Both men appear to be wearing grey t-shirts which are a background colours highlighting how they are not significant in this video. Grande is wearing the same outfit as before so this implies that she is just finished recording her song and is now going to listen to it. The mise-en-scene and lighting is not made to look like a performance with bright lights and rehearsed acting, instead it looks authentic and real.

This next shot is similar to the beginning except to the right of what was the black half of the shot has now been filled by a television screen recording her singing. The background colours in the booth have changed from yellow and green to a few different shades of red. Red is associated with love and passion which connotes the lyrics of the song; ‘I like to say we gave it a try’. Below the screen are five green dots which show the television is on and the colours stand out against the black ground. In the earlier shot these were not on. This shot is also a long shot; the screen is in focus which tells the audience which ‘Grande’ we should be watching. Also by viewing Grande singing from the booth we know that this hasn’t had auto tune or been played around with in the editing suite so we can see that her voice is naturally beautiful and real.

This is a medium shot presenting the large control board which is used in editing music. The amount of buttons and devices shows the vast amount of effort and time which goes into one song and so her doing this again portrays that her music means a lot to her and she wants to make it the best it can be. As there is more than one hand on the board it implies that a lot of people are working on this song which makes it even more special and important to the audience and artist. This also makes the audience feel part of the process.

This is a close up shot of Ariana and the microphone. Both are at equal heights portraying an equal status and how she values her music. The close up is personal and possibly intrusive but allows the audience to see her putting emotion into the song. It also suggests that this song is personal and close to her. Grande’s make-up is natural looking and her hair is off her face, almost as if because she is emotionally revealing her story she is physically revealing herself.

This again a repetitive shot which now displayed on the television screen shows a scene from a film. This was a new film called ‘The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones’ and by placing scenes in a music video this works as a promotion for the new film and acts similarly to product placement. This music video also has the black bands above and below the picture which acts as a cinematic effect linking to the film being advertised. This song is obviously on the film’s soundtrack and so by having the famous artists singing on the track it gives a good boost to the fame of the film. The scene appearing next to Grande singing links the two and indicates that this story she is singing follows their story. Before this shot there was a cut to the film scene in a medium close up; this connects the story and film and doesn’t confuse the audience by suddenly showing a screen of them next to Ariana. Then Ariana is seen drawing pencilled tattoo’s onto a piece of paper which after researching into the film, City of Bones I can confirm that her sketches match the tattoo on the boy’s arm. This again works as an advertisement for the film.

Nathan Sykes who features in the song swiftly tracks along with the camera and then parks, gets out of the car and enters the studio building. Initially before this shot there is a close up of the rear window in the car which captures the driver/featuring artist wearing sunglasses so we cannot fully see his face and so this adds a mystery to the character. Sykes is driving an expensive convertible car and is wearing smart but comfortable clothing; jeans, white shirt and blazer. It becomes clear to the audience that he is the featuring artist arriving just in time to participate in the song. As he is introduced to the video the tempo of the song does speed up which could link to her heart speeding up, enhancing the theme of ‘love’ in the song. The lyrics at this point are ‘cos sooner or late we’ll wonder why we gave up’. The film and music video have the same target audience of female and male teenagers. The film shows thrilling, action scenes and love scenes and Grande’s music is girly and with Sykes featuring it also brings his fans along.

Grande then goes to meet Sykes. The camera tracks behind Grande as if we are involved in her meeting too. This involves the audience. Grande is walking in the centre of the shot, again highlighting her importance in the video. The mise-en-scene is relaxed and a sofa is visible along with table and lamp which creates a comfortable vibe. There is also a fake horse at the back of the room which could connote that Ariana is a fan of animals and this once more conveys her kind nature. The lighting is low key where Grande is and she is walking into a high key set up. This indicates that Sykes is bright and bubbly and could also show that when Grande walks into a room it lights up.

Grande greets Sykes with a hug and both are seen smiling which connotes a happy atmosphere. This shot is a medium shot and is only for about a second as it immediately cuts to another medium shot from the film where their positioning is almost exactly the same. It is as if Grande and Sykes are re-living the film or living in parallel to their lives. This connects the video and film together and is a part of a marketing campaign. Both pairs are hugging on the line ‘right here in each other’s arms’, this synchronisation highlights the importance of the lyrics and how they are telling a story. Also as well as the positioning of the people the setting is the same as both are in a living room set up with the blinds behind them. This yet again links the two.  After this shot Sykes is seen meeting the two men in the studio and sits to listen to Grande’s work and then is incorporated into the song.

Another shot where Sykes is mirroring the action of the film. This is a split staged, medium shot of both playing the piano. Sykes is blurred out and the focus in on the male character from the film. The shot is split by the television screen again; this isn’t as obvious as before but recognisable because of the green dots on the bottom of the screen. The camera slightly pans across showing Sykes at the piano and then moves over to the left to centre the character from the film.This is a close up of Grande centred in the camera shot. She is using direct mode of address which connects the audience to the artists allowing them to feel involved. The background is a toned down colour which doesn’t distract the audience from looking at other things. The light is hitting the back of Grande which looks holy and symbolises the goodness within her which ultimately links to the song lyrics and film scenes.

This is a close up of Grande centred in the camera shot. She is using direct mode of address which connects the audience to the artists allowing them to feel involved. The background is a toned down colour which doesn’t distract the audience from looking at other things. The light is hitting the back of Grande which looks holy and symbolises the goodness within her which ultimately links to the song lyrics and film scenes.

This is the final shot of the video, it is a two shot and Grande and Sykes are sat close together portraying the theme of the song ‘love’. Grande is wearing the same outfit throughout the video which is unconventional as most female artists have several outfit changes; this is a more natural approach and focuses your attention more on the song than the mise-en-scene. Both are wearing white which again enhances purity and innocence of themselves and the song.

Both artists are separately known for producing pop music however, this song seems to be an exception of the stereotypical up-beat, quick music. I would still put it into the genre of pop and R&B. The target audience for this song is 13-17 years and I would assume just females will be interested however, when incorporated with the film, males can be included.