Media Star Image of Tom Odell

CHAPTER EIGHT

TOM ODELL- ANOTHER LOVE

very ordinary location 

one loooooonnngggg shot. one take.

old cottage, sitting room

general man.

nice hair, pretty boy

young! young iddi artist

boy next door

not very smiley

sad/depressed

angry

morning, through to evening

The opening shot from Tom Odell’s ‘Another Love’ is a close up of his face, showing his blonde messy hair and thick eyebrows. The camera zooms out and we see more of his face and surrounding. There is also a blue hint to the shot. The light then illuminates his face and we see a girl behind him in a cottage. This location is very ordinary fitting Dyer’s paradox. The lighting is natural and creates even more naturalism in the music video. 

Tom is the main feature of his own music video. He is represented as a young male, he looks very ordinary for his age but also has a very individual look. His trademark hair and relaxed fashion sense are supported in the video. An interesting feature in the video is that it is edited using really really long shots with very little cuts. About halfway through editing is used to fade the female actress out of the shot. Throughout the whole music video Tom is looking into the camera. This makes the music video seem very intimate with the audience. The movement of the camera zooming in and out constantly yet slowly builds the tension in the music video as we are constantly seeing more of the surrounding and his expression.

We are made to feel sympathetic towards him as we see the little attention he is giving the female model and in the lyrics we understand he has been heartbroken before and is looking his capability to love. As the camera zooms out we see a mirror placed next to Tom. It is a strange place to put a mirror but we soon see it is clever because it allows us to see the female in the reflection without moving the camera away from Tom.

We see the female change and put on a coat over her lingerie. I think Tom’s star image, built by his record company, is playing his individual style to his advantage. His ‘private school boy’, creative image is supported in this music video. He is wearing a black jumper and black skinny jeans, this fits the depressing theme of the song.

Throughout the video the light is fading and it becomes orange to represent the late afternoon and then gets dark to show it is getting late. This looks as if Tom has been sat in the chair not moving or reacting to anyone all day. 

The woman eventually starts throwing chairs and books around in frustration of Tom ignoring her, this reflects on making him look negative and inattentive. This doesn't show Tom in a very good light but it suits the situation and his helplessness.

His singing gets more tense and his characters becomes frustrated. This is shown through his facial expressions, and his vocal straining. The video then fades out into a very dark contrast and Tom’s face is in a close up where we see him lower his face which makes him look shy and nervous. This fits his record deals idea of making him ‘the boy next door’.