A Music Video Review
by Angela Smith
Bastille’s music video for their most recent single “Glory” is a beautiful story of how two people can have the same experience but recall it differently. The video opens showing two people lying on a car near the Dallas Love Field airport, simply talking to each other. Their conversations seem to be mostly recalling some sort of road trip or adventure they went on together. The only thing is, they never quite seem to agree on how things played out. Whether it is a simple color disagreement, or on the intentions of a person within the memory, these two cannot seem to agree on the details of the memories. As the video goes on, the shot always seems to go back to the couple lying on the car, making it seem that this scene is the present. The quality of story presentation is what truly sets this video apart.
In fact, one of the great, subtle things about the way this video is shot is that it is cinematically stunning. In general, Bastille knocks it out of the park on this front. This video is shot in a style often found in films heavy on flashbacks and other types of recollection of memories past. The addition of symbolic elements, such as when the pair drive past the WWCOMMS logo, deepens the quality of the video. The way it comes back around as burning is very key to the story, and shot beautifully. It almost seems as if you simply came back around and suddenly it is aflame, or could even just be as if you simply saw it wrong and suddenly realised it was burning. This shot really is just another example of how much of this video is open to interpretation.
In the same vein, one of my favourite things about this music video is the fact that while the two people are of opposite genders, there is no real indication of whether or not they may be romantically involved. In fact, in a twitter Q&A done shortly after the video came out, Dan Smith said that the nature of the relationship between the two characters is “completely open to interpretation.” Bastille and the production team did a really nice job of leaving so many aspects of this video up to individual interpretation. Even when fans noticed things such as the girl seeing more of one color and the guy seeing more of another, Dan seemed to be more into asking for theories on why this may be than actually explaining any reason behind it all. In this same Q&A, Dan mentioned that they wanted to make a video that reflected the mood of the song itself, stating that it should feel positive yet still slightly sad and nostalgic. Personally, I feel they did an amazing job delivering that feeling.
All in all, Bastille and their entire production team, as well as the actress, May Daniels, did an absolutely fantastic job with this video. The video reflected the song well, and still fit in with the theme of the album as a whole. The production was stunning, and even more beautiful considering its open and easily interpreted themes.
A Music Video Review
by Angela Smith
Bastille’s music video for their most recent single “Glory” is a beautiful story of how two people can have the same experience but recall it differently. The video opens showing two people lying on a car near the Dallas Love Field airport, simply talking to each other. Their conversations seem to be mostly recalling some sort of road trip or adventure they went on together. The only thing is, they never quite seem to agree on how things played out. Whether it is a simple color disagreement, or on the intentions of a person within the memory, these two cannot seem to agree on the details of the memories. As the video goes on, the shot always seems to go back to the couple lying on the car, making it seem that this scene is the present. The quality of story presentation is what truly sets this video apart.
In fact, one of the great, subtle things about the way this video is shot is that it is cinematically stunning. In general, Bastille knocks it out of the park on this front. This video is shot in a style often found in films heavy on flashbacks and other types of recollection of memories past. The addition of symbolic elements, such as when the pair drive past the WWCOMMS logo, deepens the quality of the video. The way it comes back around as burning is very key to the story, and shot beautifully. It almost seems as if you simply came back around and suddenly it is aflame, or could even just be as if you simply saw it wrong and suddenly realised it was burning. This shot really is just another example of how much of this video is open to interpretation.
In the same vein, one of my favourite things about this music video is the fact that while the two people are of opposite genders, there is no real indication of whether or not they may be romantically involved. In fact, in a twitter Q&A done shortly after the video came out, Dan Smith said that the nature of the relationship between the two characters is “completely open to interpretation.” Bastille and the production team did a really nice job of leaving so many aspects of this video up to individual interpretation. Even when fans noticed things such as the girl seeing more of one color and the guy seeing more of another, Dan seemed to be more into asking for theories on why this may be than actually explaining any reason behind it all. In this same Q&A, Dan mentioned that they wanted to make a video that reflected the mood of the song itself, stating that it should feel positive yet still slightly sad and nostalgic. Personally, I feel they did an amazing job delivering that feeling.
All in all, Bastille and their entire production team, as well as the actress, May Daniels, did an absolutely fantastic job with this video. The video reflected the song well, and still fit in with the theme of the album as a whole. The production was stunning, and even more beautiful considering its open and easily interpreted themes.
