Music Video Analysis - One Republic

One Republic- Stop and stare
Within the opening 30 seconds of this song it is clear that there is going to be a very powerful message portrayed in the music video throughout he characters shown we are shown extremely quick jump cuts of random images that at that time make no sense to us, there are numerous stories occurring throughout the music video of different people but they are played by the same person.

The lighting in the music video is sometimes very dull such as when he is in the bath to show that this specific character is in a very dark place in their life. The lighting changes throughout but still relatively stays dull to un-promote the happiness in this song.

The lyrics contain very subtle elements that in turn tell us the true meaning of the song, the lyric "Steady hands just take the wheel" contain that the person in the music video is unsure of what they're doing and in turn is not on a steady path in life. The person in the music video is constantly Stopping and Staring in life and because of this he has no idea how he got the life he has now and he wants to make a change in life. The different characters although played by the same character represent different people in the way they could possibly "stop and stare" in life the song is suggestively a wake up call in that the persons life needs change for the better or they shall end up in a grave in the middle of the desert without any people close to them to miss them.
Another powerful lyric used is "Time to make one last appeal....for the life I lead" this shows that this is the persons last chance at redemption to live a life worth living otherwise they may as well not be alive and the man in the bathtub is a representation of suicide of where the current life he is leading may take him.

The setting of the desert also connotes a lonely place which could may well represent some people personalties and their own life as they have no one to share it with so this is the reason they just walk through life without enjoying it. The crowd setting represents the way people from all sorts of life can blend in together without any of them standing out. they are all Stopping and Staring through the window of their own lives.