Toatal eclipse of the heart analysis

Toatal eclipse of the heart - Bonnie Tyler

The music video was filmed in 1983

Relationship between the visuals and lyrics

The location is at a private school in america and there is a dark emo theme. The lyrics sing 'turn around bright eyes' and in the initial scene there is a male character walking through the door in which Tyler in upstairs. His eyes are bright and glowing. There is a direct connection between the lyrics and the visuals. It is a narrative video however Tyler is miming the lyrics at 1:25 for the chorus and this is a performance from Tyler. The performance is in the same location as the narrative. Everything that occurs in the video occurs in this private school; however there is cut away shots between performance and narrative. At 3:05 we see Tyler running through the halls of the private school and there are no lyrics being sung. This is a narrative that she is trying to find someone or running away from someone. There is then the backing track "turn around bright eyes" and we see a choir of people with literal bright eyes singing and then Tyler begins to sing again. She is singing amongst a group of dancers. The lyrics are about a vampires love and Tyler said in an interview that "it is all about the darkness of love, the power of darkness and how love is in a dark place". From the audience's point of view we are able to connote that there "total eclipse of the heart" is a dark love song due to the location being in an abandoned private school. Also the lyrics "total eclipse", and eclipse is where the moon covers the sun to create pitch black throughout the world at different times. This allows the audience to connote and denote a sense of darkness and how the song is about dark love. The visuals of the men with the bright glowing eyes allows us to denote a vampire theme. The songs writer (jim steinman) planned the video so that the lyrics and the visuals would be directly connected and it was very much intended.

Genre characteristics

The genre of "Total eclipse of the heart" is a slow rock/pop song. The ballad is about a dark love and it has a slow pace. However it made it to the top 40 in six different countries and it was the Tyler's first hit. Typical genre characteristics for rock would involve a performance from the artist and in the music video there are several clips in which tyler is performing in the private school, this is breaking up the linear narrative. Pop music is short for popular music therefore the genre characteristics vary. Because is it a dark ballad (within the pop genre) the characteristics are usually involving a dark location and with low lighting giving the music video a creepy dark effect. In "total eclipse of the heart" these genre characteristics have been applied. The music video is set in an old abandoned private school in America and the lighting is minimal. Mainly set by the lightening strikes outside and the dark chandeliers above. The low lighting helps emphasise the bright eyed characters that are sung about in the song. Most of the characters are wearing dark clothes as well; therefore the blend into the background. This once again helps the bright eyes be emphasised and stand out. We can connote that the bright eyes are a key and it is a typical convention in a love song to sing about the eyes. However tyler is singing about the bright eyes but hey are like supernatural bright eyes and don't fit the typical ballad genre characteristics.

Intertextuality 

There are aspects of a wilder culture that are in the music video. Tyler is singing about vampire love and this would be the intertextuality. Not only is Tyler singing about love; but she is singing about vampire love which is a dark love.

Performance or narrative 

In the beginning of the music video we see a wide shot of an old private school. The camera is zooming into a window in which Bonnie Tyler is in. The room in which the camera is zooming in on has light whereas all the other rooms are dark. This allows the audience to connote that there is something happening that is relevant in this particular room. We see a wide shot of Tyler with her head bowed down and she is not singing to the lyrics implying that this is a narrative video. There is then a male sining "turn around bright eyes" as if they are having a conversation and we can denote a man standing in the doorway when the male is singing, then the camera switches back to shots of Tyler when she sings. The video is telling a story. There is then a classroom full of biys in uniforms. This is a open non-linear narrative. We then see Tyler performing the song half way through the video. There is limited location variation. However because it was set in a school there is a wide variation of shots due to it being a large location within it's self. The audience see's several different classrooms within the school and we see halls and a large cathedral area in which tyler is performing. There isn't any movement surrounding tyler in her first performance, however later on in the music video we see tyler surrounded by vampire dancers, they are dramatically dancing and this creates a sense of drama and supernatural themes.  The audience can connote that this isn't real life and that  there is emphasise of the over exaggeration of movement to imply how much love effects someone.

Narrative

There is a non-linear narrative. From 0:00-0:50 we see Tyler by herself. Then by 0:51-2:58 there is the first fantasy the from 2:59-4:40. Finally we see the daytime until the end of the music video.  In the first section we see Tyler on her own in a room and she is singing "turn around, every now and then i get a little bit lonely and you're never coming round". The setting is romantic in which she is surrounded by candles and blowing curtains. There is then a shot of a full moon which allows the audience to connote a gothic feel to the music video.  We then denote a dove trying to fly into the building through a window. We can denote a struggle for the dove. The dove is a symbol of love and because there is a struggle we can connote that it represents the struggles of love. We then see a male student walking through the door with glowing eyes. There is then a cross dissolve of Tyler and the boy. This signifies that Tyler is getting wrapped up in the fantasy because she is desperate for love and she is lonely. The connection between he student and Tyler is emphasised by the lyrics 'turn around bright eyes'. The second fantasy kicks off by an open door with blowing curtains this matches the bass drop of the song. Tyler then leaves the lonely room and runs down some corridors. Tyler then looks through a door and a group of students look up at her and look at the audience which lets us connote that we are now apart of Tyler's fantasy. We are following her fantasy. We then see a small student who looks like a demon or a dark angel who then realises a doge from his hands. When she leaves the chamber she is free to explore her fantasies. She then walks into a room and there is a bright light shining behind her, denotes a sense of power and she becomes a silhouette. The light is a continuation of the original headlights and eyesight that penetrated her private chamber and let her imagination run further and further. One of Barthes codes is the semantic code that points to an element in a text that suggests a particular, often an additional meaning by the way of connotation which the story suggests. Therefore in "total eclipse of the heart" the school boys that have bright eyes re symbolising the fantasy that tyler is seeing and how there is such ting as a supernatural love and how there is a dark love.

Mode of address 

We see a group of student looking up at tyler as she walks past their classroom. The audience denote that the students with the glowing eyes are looking at tyler and registering that she is there, however the audience also feels like they are following her fantasy and living it themselves therefore the students look like they are braking the fourth wall and looking directly at the camera. There is a direct connection between the characters in the music video and tyler and the audience. Th audience is being made to feel as one with tyler and like they are living her fantasy.

Star treatment

Th singer (Tyler) is singled out through costume. She is wearing a long white dress that stands out in comparison to the rest of the characters in the music video. The rest of the characters are wearing school uniforms and they all look the same. Most of the other characters are of male gender therefore Tyler stands out in comparison. Thiis alows the audience to denote that Tyler is the main charcter and the song is about love and her type of love. We can denote ths because we are following her fantacy and tha she is the main character.  There are more shots of her than anything else in the music video. There are several tracking shots and panning shots of Tyler whereas for the rest of the characters there are single shots and most of them are medium shots therefore we cant denote detail. We can connote that they are not as important than Tyler. 

Representations 

The music video is representing dark love and vampire love. Tyler said that the music video was meant to represent dark love. The audience denotes the full moon and the full moon is associated with the supernatural. There is male gaze, due to Tyler being the main character in this music video she is wearing a long white dress which is seen as being formal and feminine. She is represented as being along and innocent. The colour white is representing purity enabling the audience to connote that she js pure. However there aren't any single shots of legs. She is not on the screen for sexual titillation but to sing the song and for us to live her fantasy.

Pace

The pace doesn't vary throughout the music video. The music pace stays the same throughout. We see that there are four sections to the music video (in which i stated earlier) in the beginning there is a slow pace in which Tyler is standing alone in a room singing about how she is alone. The we see her fantasies in which she leaves he room and runs around. The pace of her actions increases without the pace of the music increasing.  We continually get long takes of Tyler which are usually tracking shots of Tyler running through corridors or panning low shots of Tyler performing the song. We then see short takes of students and longer takes of Tyler letting the audience connote thaT this story is focused on Tyler and the students are in her fantasy and probably not real, however she is creating them in her mind because she is alone.

Shot variety 

There are several set ups within the same building. In the first scene we see Tyler alone with candles and blowing curtains. We then see her running through the corridors of this school and looking in classrooms. Then finally we see her in a larger room, which looks like a church room. This is where Tyler begins to sing and perform the song.  There are several types of shots throughout the music video. Te reoccurring shots are mainly tracking shots, panning shots, long shots, medium shots and a long medium shot in the beginning of the private school. There are no close shots in the video, this is letting the audience not see the detail of the films.  Tere is also a arc shot of Tyler when she is performing in the church of the school. This shot is usually used in music performance because it gives the singer or band member power. Especially if they are playing an instrument the audience is able to denote how they are playing and the emotions are put across. 

Mis-en-scene

There was one main location that was the private school. The video was shot in different sections of the private school. The lighting is dark, most of the rooms are lit by candles.  This connotes that the song is about dark love and when the audience sees the visuals and lyrics they can connote that it about dark love and how love isn't always what it is. The dark lighting is anchorage for the dark love and the vampire love that Tyler explained in interviews. The glowing eyes also allow the audience to denote vampirism. There is enigma all the through the song and the music video. We are u sure about why Tyler herself is singing about vampire love. The narrative is confusing and although it fits with the lyrics this doesn't explain why Tyler is creating these fantasies in her mind and sharing them with us. We don't get to understand why this is happening or the reason behind Tyler being at the private school in the first place. The only thing that comes clear to the audience is that Tyler is alone and therefore we are bale to infer from what we have seen that she is creating these fantasies and fake people to keep her company because she is alone. 

 Costume is key in this music video. It allows the audience to connote that there is difference between the other characters and Tyler herself. Tyler is wearing a white flowing gown and the other characters are wearing black or dark colours which blend into the background. We only really notice their eyes. They all look the same, this signifies that Tyler is special and we are following her story and her fantasy. 

Effects

There is a cross over fade of the bright eyed boy and Tyler i  the beginning. This gives the effect that they have a connection and that they have met before or something has brought them together. His two bright eyes are in her left eye, possibly representing that she was thinking or hoping for him or someone in particular to come for her and give her company. Now that he is there she has someone and there is hope.