Ordinary People
The video Ordinary People mimics the lyrics of this beautiful song written and performed by John Legend : simple, yet poignant and masterful. Ordinary People is about relationships and the turn they take after the “honeymoon” stage.
Framed as a black and white photograph, the video no
doubt, represents snapshots of different lives. The setting is sparse – only
a massive grand piano dominates the opening shot, which Legend walks into
holding a glass of water. As John places the water on the piano, I wonder what
role a glass of water will play in this video…a question that reoccurs several
times throughout the piece.
The brilliance of this video lies in the framing and
camera work. I easily recognize more than a few of the techniques, moves and
angles we are studying in Visual Arts class. For instance, since there is no
definitive set, the camera travels or “trucks” from situation to situation.
There are several high angle shots that are quite impressive. One is a bird’s
eye view of John playing the piano, which is polished to such a high gleam that
John’s reflection on its closed lid rivals that of an image reflected by a
mirror. Another favorite high angle shot is one that moves above the 21 piece string section.
Several shots are structured in a way that I recognize as
negative space. And others clearly demonstrate the rule of third concept.
I particularly like the shot of a couple fighting where the
action is presented in slow motion over the lyrics, “…take it slow, take it
slow, this time we’ll take it slow…”
In the end, the conflicts seemed to be resolved, and as
the camera raises and pulls away, we see that the musicians in the string
section and actors from the different situations have been arranged in a heart
shape around Legend. The camera pulls
back so far everyone becomes a pinpoint, which morphs into an ordinary housefly
that flies toward us and lands on the glass of water. At song’s end, John picks
up the glass of water and walks out of the shot. I wonder if he took a drink from that glass?
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