Vernallis Analysis- Nicole Scherzinger: Don't Hold Your Breath

Nicole Scherzinger's video has had a part in inspiring our own production within our video. We have taken great notice of the car scenes within it, in order to create a perfect edit.

1. Narrative
The narrative is set in the back of what seems to be a taxi or vehicle where the artist is simply wearing a males shirt and nothing else. She looks as if she is tired of the way that she has been treated. She then takes off the shirt and changes back into her own clothes, suggesting that she was in rage with her partner and did not want any recognition of him.

Its a rainy day suggesting the breakup in the relationship. The lyrics and visuals clearly correlate with one another as they talk about the pain given in this relationship. There is a close-up of the artist looking back from the vehicle in disgust as if she was thinking he would never get me back.

The narrative then transitions to her walking in what seems to be an empty house with many ladders, suggesting that shes moving out of her comfort zone as shes tired of the treatment given to her. She then walks to the bathroom and sings in front of the mirror implying that she is reassuring herself that she had made the correct choice.

Then suddenly the Narrative discovers a  transformation as the artist comes alive as sunlight appears  showing that she is very powerful and seeming very inevitable.

Throughout the video, there are crosscuts of the artist almost caged under a from of fabric suggesting that she was hiding to protect herself, suggesting that hiding underneath would help her escape from reality.

This video shows evidence of Carol Vernalliss' four key concepts of the construction of music videos. The narrative clearly has a visual response towards the music as the visuals emphasize the mood throughout, for example the close-ups of the artist in the car shows clearly that she was not intending on returning to her partner. Vernallis believes that there is not necessarily a balance between narrative and performance, this is clearly evident as throughout the video, there is more of a narrative compared to performance. This shown when she is in the vehicle and within a house which reflects her past and experiences. This narrative is fragmented as only shows one side of a story.

2. Editing

The video overall has distinct conventions of music video editing as there are many disruptions of the 'rules' of continuity. However, this does not stop the clean edits in terms of matching the musical phrases and beats within the song. The video has very sharp editing as there are cuts within in the lyrics which are designed to correlate with the lyrics. As soon as the beats within the song change pitch, the editing changes along with it suggesting the clear change in atmosphere.

3. Camera Movement & Framing
The master shot within this video is of the artist in the back of the car, this shot is used very frequently within along with close-ups which exaggerate the artists iconography. The camera moves in time with the music and changes the movement in time with the beat of the song. The framing throughout is constantly of center which becomes distinctive within the video.

4. Diegesis
The video consists of many repetitions in terms of diegesis and there are gaps within the diegesis within time and space, music and performance. The close-ups are more significant than other shots shown within the video.