The way that I love you Music Video Analysis

The second music video I have chosen to analyse is Ashanti’s The Way That I Love You. The Music video starts with simply a black screen, and the sound of the phone ringing. Once the operator picks up for the 911 call, it cuts to a door, with the camera zooming in on it.

The lighting used is very low key, and dark, suggesting this could be a running theme through out the music video. From the very beginning there is almost a horror film feel about the whole music video.

Listening in more closely to the 911 call reinforces this idea of a horror film air to the music video. The woman responding seems distant, cold, breathing heavily, you can tell from her voice alone, she has done something bad.

Once the track starts it is followed by a series of 25 jump cuts. Jumping back and forth from scene to scene, future and present, setting up clues as to what could have happened. Almost as if the audience is the police detective, piecing together the parts to the mystery. Quick flashes of sirens, and blood, and broken glass, to a long shot of Ashanti Standing against the wall.

The long shot is instantly followed up by several close up’s of Ashanti. These Close up’s are the most frequent type of shot through out the whole video.

Although Ashanti does use a lot of close ups. She uses various camera angles in order to make it not appear ordinary and boring. This works effectively so that the audience does not lose interest,

Another technique Ashanti uses is of a motif. For her it is the colour red. Starting out with the colour red of the blood, it follows its way through the video, including her predominant red lipstick.

A second motif that Ashanti uses is the door. Through out the video she constantly refers back to it. This suggests that the door has a greater meaning than simply a door.

Where a door opening could signify a new opportunity, a door closing could represent the end of something.

Ashanti uses memory to a great advantage. Sentimental memory, such as videos, and pictures, help to construct the relationship between the protagonist and the other character.

In terms of narrative. The story does follow along the same lines of the lyrics. Especially with the flashbacks and use of secondary video such as cctv footage. However, a quick glance of the lyrics and a view of the video on mute, you can see that the storyline you pain in your head from the lyrics, and the video itself do not correlate.

This is a clever feature to have. By going against the norms of what would be seen from a song such as The Way that I love you, Ashanti stumbles across a very successful format which works well in making the video sellable but most of memorable to an audience.

Ultimately at the end of the video the man is killed by Ashanti. Lying in a pool of his blood mixed with bath water. Again the image of the colour red comes into play.

The video is very creative and clever in the fact though out it all Ashanti gives subtle hints as to what is going to happen. This is a possible idea that we can incorporate into our media product. Making subtle suggestions as to how the video will end.

The feel for a horror film comes again into play with the final bit of the music video. The way Ashanti stares into the camera it is almost as if she is having a premonition of what she is going to do. The sound of breathing over the camera shot adds to the spookiness of the music video as a whole.