Music Video Analysis: Ghost

This music video is a Narrative video mixed with performance. It uses bright and vibrant colours to portray messages such as romance and the effects of intoxication.

The use of slow-motion editing creates visual entertainment and is attractive to the eye. The idea of slow motion could be used to present how romance has the ability to stop time or slow it down. The majority of scenes where Halsey is with another woman are in slow motion, which could emphasise this idea. Furthermore, the use of cuts helps to tell the story to the audience. Long cuts are used at the start, and the frequency of cuts increases when the video progresses. They are shortest when she is left alone towards the end.

The use of sound is unique, as there is usually a lack of any diegetic sound over the music. In "Ghost", breathing is used before one of the choruses to express emotion and the idea of "feeling alive". There is also the use of dialogue before the video starts, which entices the audience as it is in Japanese, therefore a number of the audience won't know what's being said. This also adds an element of an interactive connection to the audience, as the audience are forced to guess or interpret what is being said instead of just being able to understand it instantly. It adds to the hidden idea that love is complicated: it will always need to be interpreted and will never be clear and understandable. As the lyrics help to convey this, it can be argued that this is why Halsey has included this.

Camera is used particularly well to convey messages within this music video too. The use of lens blur creates a image for the audience that is hard to see properly. This could be used to create the idea of love being complicated and not easy to be a part of. The fact that the clips come into focus just before the clip cuts, could be the symbolic idea that love is only truly understood and seen just before its over. The use of Close-Up shots shows expression and the idea of being "in the moment", since we can't see the whole picture. Any Long shots used are of the setting, and are blurred and faded during editing.

In terms of portraying a message, Halsey uses the video to continue the story within her lyrics. They appear to portray different relationships, with the lyrics referring to a "boy" and the visuals portraying a relationship with a female. This therefore suggests that love as an idea is complicated, instead of just one relationship. Furthermore, the confusion in the lyrics as to if the relationship is positive or negative also helps to portray love as complicated. Halsey is conflicted as to how she feels, and the video connects the idea of being alone and someone leaving with all them being there and being together to portray this visually.