Heartbreaker-Will-i-am ft Cheryl Cole

Presentation

As the song begins there are quick cuts between the beginning beat of the song. There are flashes of lights and of Will-i-am as he begins to sing. Then once the beat turns into another long note of the song, the back lights shown in this cut rise up from the floor and onto Will. The main focus is indentified as the lead singer, Will.

Here we can see the red light, which represents the ‘’heart’’. Throughout the song he juggles, throws and catches the heart, to enhance the fact that he is a heartbreaker so therefore has control over the heart.

This also links in with the lights in the background, where they are represented as stars, which will can also control to take power of your ‘’future’’, due to the superstition of horoscopes.

The ‘’Heart’’ which is controlled by Will-I-am.

• Here again we have a clip of Will-I-am, holding the ‘’heart’’, this allows the viewer to link this object, with how he frequently plays around with it, to an actual heart.

• This cut show a behind shot of Will-I-am and a female friend, on a date. This shot shows him moving the stars, making them ‘’dance’’. This reflects that not only does he have the power to take control and break your heart, but he can also change you stars (star signs and horoscopes etc).

• The scenes involved in the music video are all dark , only lighted up by little lighting, which is from the small ‘’stars’’ and the glowing ‘’heart’’ to allow the viewer to notice them easily and to be able to identify them.

The lights (which are people dressed up in a dark, light attached suit) represent the stars, and as will moves his hand across the sky they are able to move, showing he controls them. The shot angle remains as a behind shot.

Again the red light representing ‘the heart’.

• During the next verse, there is a wide shot of Will, under a light. Dancing as there are flashes of different women dancing near him, representing all the women whose hearts he broke as well as showing possibly how he used all of these women at once to cause their heartbreak. The lighting is used well to attract the viewers eye on the women who appear so this clip is used almost as if to tell a story.

• The chorus after this includes his featured singer, Cheryl Cole. The lights are still flashing behind both of them and the lights flash onto Cheryl once all the other women have gone and her part in the chorus begins.

They are both dressed smartly and during this time era this was the fashion to wear, for example if you were going out and going out with the intentions to attract someone, which reveals that he is always on the look for someone new.

The close ups allow the viewers to see the singers facial expressions which would link into the lyrics and how they put across the emotion during the lyrics, for example if someone was angry about something then the facial expression would add to this.

There are frequent switches of close ups and medium close ups of each singer when it is their time to sing, both with the flashing lights behind them.

This is a common feature in most if not all music videos. The close ups allow the singer to show the viewers their style and ‘’star persona’’ as well as showing their emotions during the song.

Close ups are more commonly used for the purpose to show emotion linked in with the song, rather than for the singers own use.

This is a very typical feature in the R’n’B music video genre as well as the usage of dancers and dancing in the video during Cheryl's solo part.

The moving lights are actually people dressed up in suits, which allow them to manoeuvre like a person, aka the singers. The moving stars which mimic will’s dancing is also a good link to having the stars to be represented as part of the person, again hinting back to the controlling the future and how your stars are read and planned out for you. Its almost as if it’s a mirror to will and how he dances.

The ‘’stars’’ are also added to Cheryl's dancing, acting as back up dancers as well as their initial purpose to just link in with the heartbreaking theme. This is a good way in linking them to both Cheryl's dancing and herself and the whole heartbreaking issue in the song.

During most hip hop/ R’n’B music videos there is a form of either single dancing or a whole group of back up dancers, which enhance the lead dancer/ and singer. I like this technique used particularly in this video as the dancers are seen to be as the stars too, which links in well with the whole song.

For the first time in the whole of the music video both singers are together properly. Towards the end of the music video, it concludes with both will and Cheryl dancing and singing. The lighting is still behind them, to continue the theme right towards the end where all the lights go.

Close ups and single long shots are still used throughout the last minute of the song, less frequently than the double shots of both singers. This unites Cheryl and Will almost telling the viewers that the song is going to end soon, mainly because this is another common feature in most music videos. As the song, story of the song is solved or almost over, everything comes together. Cheryl, Will and the ‘’stars’’ are all brought together.