Kygo- Stay - Promotional Video Deconstruction

Kygo        

Kyrre Gørvell-Dahll is commonly known by his stage name Kygo,and is a Norwegian DJ, songwriter, record producer and musician. He garnered international attention with his remix of the track 'I See Fire' by  Ed Sheeran which has received over 48,7 million plays on SoundCloud and 60 million views on YouTube. His single 'Firestone' has over 320 million views on YouTube with an additional 400 million plays on the music streaming service Spotify as of August 2016. Kygo has accumulated over 300 million views on his music on SoundCloud and YouTube.

Kygo has since released several singles, including 'ID', 'Stole the Show', 'Here for you', and 'Stay', which have debuted on several international charts. Kygo's debut studio album, Cloud Nine, was released on 13 May 2016.

       

       Sony Music Entertainment

Sony Music Entertainment (abbreviated as SME and also referred to as Sony Music) is an American label and company owned by Sony through Sony Entertainment. The company was first founded in 1929 as American Record Cooperation and renamed Columbia Recording Corporation in 1938, following its acquisition by the Colombia Broadcasting System. In 1966, the company was reorganised to become CBS Records. Sony Corporation bought the company in 1987 and renamed it Sony Music Entertainment in 1991.


Sony Music Entertainment is one of the 'big three' record companies, being the second largest after Universal Music Group (UMG) and ahead of Warner Music Group (WMG). Doug Morris is the current CEO and Chairman of Sony Music Entertainment.


Artists that are signed by Sony Music Entertainment as a record label besides Kygo are Bring Me the Horizon, AC/DC, 99 Souls, Craig David, Daft Punk, Foo Fighters, Foster the People, Pitbull, Mark Ronson, The Script, SIA, Snakehips, Snoop Dogg, Foxes and many others.

Kygo- Stay

Lyrics for Stay by Kygo

Thought I could leave you cause I felt my heart numbing
It hits so deep, I closed my eyes and I just took off running
I turned around and saw the look on your face
So I stayed, stayed

But I don't need you and you should know that, baby
It'd take a miracle for you to really try and change me
And I felt sorry for the look on your face
So I stayed, stayed

So I stayed, stayed
So I stayed, stayed

You wanna leave her, don't wanna hurt nobody
I don't believe a single word you say or that you're sorry
Why can't I say "No" to the look on your face?
I just stay, stay

So I stayed, stayed
So I stayed, stayed

You push me away, push me away
But I always stay, I always stay, yeah
You push me away, push me away
But I always stay, I always stay

You push me away, push me away
But I always stay, I always stay, yeah
You push me away, push me away
But I always stay, I always stay, yeah

But will you? Will you? Will you?

So I stayed, stayed
So I stayed, stayed

I stay, I stay
Oh why, do I stay?
So I stayed, stayed

Synopsis

Focusing on a young lesbian couple in a troubled relationship, the clip is beautifully shot and suits the track quite well. The visuals show how the lovers travel throughout beautiful landscapes. The video shows us right through their relationship and their lives and how they get into fights which separate them and then bring them back together. The two lovers then travel throughout serene and snowy countryside in at times just a jacket and underwear, running through the snow, driving along the beach and canoeing in a lake. There is then a point by which their argument interrupts the song, but overall the video tells a real story of the struggle love can be and what it can bring.



Timeline

00:00- 00:30- The video begins with an establishing shot of an island and the sea. The camera then pans across and cuts to a person walking, and then to an abandoned car in the middle of nowhere. The camera then switches to an extreme close up of a woman’s face from the side profile. The camera suddenly cuts to a man in the abandoned car/vehicle drawing a heart on the inside of the car due to the evaporation. This cut is soon switched to two woman who look like the two lovers/partners who will be showing the viewers their story.

00:30- 00:45- Even though there is no lyrics in this scene, the relationship/storyline between the two lovers begins by the camera panning upwards to become fixated on two women sitting underneath a tree cuddling in a mid-shot.  Then the audience sees  the couple  sitting in a  forest with the lighting being very dark .The next cut is to a mid-shot of a woman swimming with the camera showing part of her above water and the other underwater, which then cuts to a shot of both woman dancing outside with their tongues out when ‘Stay’ is said, indicating that they may have had troubles/ fights but still want to stay in each others lives after all ( which is a mid-shot). This then cuts to a close up shot of the couple holding their hands underwater as they are moving away from each other .This could suggest how their relationship could be trapped and how one of the women can't escape the pain they are feeling from the relationships. As they women are moving away from each other and holding their hands underwater, could also suggest their deep feelings for each other. 

00:45- 1:00- This is then cut to a mid-shot of the couple in a swimming pool. Then a cut to one of the girls dancing in a gambling place in a mid-shot. The lighting is very light and colourful in the gaming place. This is then cut to a girl sitting on top of a car as it moves down the beach in a long shot when the camera tracks the car.

1:00-1:45- This is then cut to several fast cuts of a woman dancing in several settings e.g. on the beach and mainly outdoors. The camera follows the woman around the gambling place as she dances, again with the light being very colourful and vibrant which could possibly be reflecting the woman's mood as she dances. A mid-shot of the woman on the car is shown again as it is moving along the beach and it cuts back to the woman dancing in the gambling place, switching from mid-shots to close-ups in order to capture her mood/emotion.

1:45-2:30-  There are fast cuts of both the women enjoying their relationship and winning poker chips from a gambling machine. This is then cut to many fast paced shots of the women's relationship as time goes on, ranging from happy moments when they are all loved up to when they are arguing and fighting.

2:30-3:10- A two-shot medium close up of both women sitting in a blue car talking to each other. The next shot is cut to a girl standing in a hoodie, in a field. The camera moves away from the girl in a fast paced movement, this could be exaggerating thaws she may be feeling when screaming and shouting  out loud. 

3:10-3:30- The next shot is a mid-shot of both the girls standing outside in the snow kissing, in natural darkness. This is then cut to a mid-shot of a woman drawing a heart with their bare hand on the inside of the blue car's window, in the condensation.

3:30-4:03- The next shot is of the woman standing in a boat in the middle of a river with her arms out wide; this is a long-shot. The shot finally cuts to both the women standing outside in the dark night together and kissing, this is a mid-shot.

Mise en Scene

This is the beginning of the music video. This is establishing the setting to be based outside and in natural places, for example on the beach in this shot.

Again this shot shows a natural scenery establishing the setting of the music video. To also explain to the audience that the music video will mainly be in the outside space.

This shot establishes another setting in the music - a gambling place. The lighting is very vibrant and warm, which reinforces the setting.

This shot establishes a natural setting which is on a beach. The fact that this is a natural setting shows a sense of freedom. The lighting is very dark and edgy which kind of represents the woman who is standing on top of the car as it is driving down the  beach. The fact that the woman is wearing a pink jacket reinforces the edgy/rebellious look; however in contrast to the sky and the general lighting the girl wearing the pink jacket and the green jeep looks very displaced in the setting of the music video.

Costume and Makeup

Both the women are wearing autumn/winter clothes which shows that the weather must be cold. Judging by this shot  both women seem to be wearing a limited amount of makeup and are not very well made up. Therefore this could reflect their personality and appearance, suggesting they may not care that much about their appearance and what other people may think of them.

The woman is wearing a hat and a long red checkered jacket in this shot; this could show that the season is Autumn/ or Winter, considering the colour of the sky being very dark and grey which is normal of a typical winter or autumn late afternoon/ or evening. I think it was set during this time to reflect on the woman's relationship and the problems which they have encountered. 

Key Shots, Camera movement, and Edits

Setting -Key Shot- Establishing shot

 This is a key shot in the music video as it establishes the main setting of the clip and also the time of day as well as the season in which the video is set.


Key Shot - meaning of what the music video is going to be about

I think that the beginning shot of the person drawing a heart on the window of a green car is a key shot because this shows to the audience that the main theme of the music video is love. The next shot is also important as it switches from the heart being drawn on the car window to a couple holding hands; this is a key shot because it shows that protagonists of the video (whose journey the video will focus on).


Editing

I think the editing in this part of the music video is very well done. The editing here is very unique as it goes from fast cuts of the woman dancing around to an extreme close up of the woman dancing with the dollar bills flying around her. Then, it cuts to a jump cut of the female trainers dancing around.The relevance of this shot could be how she is feeling the need to express her feeling about her relationship with the woman.



Key Shot / Editing- breaking/fighting of their relationship

I think that the first shot of the flames from a fire represents anger and frustration in their relationship. This then cuts to a close up of the woman's face showing her as she turns away from the camera, representing that their relationship is fading away, slowly dying like the fire's flames. This is then cut to a mid-shot of both the girls standing in the dark outside, pushing each other away, indicating they are having a fight and that their relationship might be over. The editing is very much fast paced and there are fast cuts between each shot that is taken. Again, this could indicate that their relationship is over or has ended.

Focus Group

This is what my focus group had to say about the music video 'Stay' by Kygo.

"I really enjoyed the way the story is told through a lesbian couple as not many music videos these days have this portrayal and I think it is good to show this kind of sexuality publicly."

"I really like the photography and the natural scenery in this music video. It creates a sense of freedom within the music video. I also found the storyline very interesting, especially the way the story of the relationship between the two girls is shown."

" I really like the narrative of the couple throughout.  think the lyrics and the visual match well to what is being shown to the audience"

Lessons to be Learnt

It is important to match the mise en scene to the tone of the song.

It is important to experiment ways of establishing enigma and creating an aura for the lead singer.

It is important for elements of the video to match the target audience - be that the protagonist or the setting.