David Guetta- Titanium

Titanium presentation

Titanium music video essay

Explain how representations in music videos are chosen to promote the artist. Refer to one of the music videos you have studied to support your answer.

List B: David Guetta- Titanium

The music video for Titanium by David Guetta promotes the artist by telling the story through someone else. Throughout the video neither Sia or David Guetta make any appearance however their lyrics are heard and portrayed through a young boy representing their journey and message- Titanium portrays a clear message of inner strength and being strong in ourselves. Titanium has a very pop techno type of sound with vocals by Sia: the music and beats shown in this song take away the fact the song is meant to be a ballad with a strong, important message. The music video starts in what appears to be a destroyed middle school hallway with the young boy (the main star) curled up in a ball almost protecting himself. The shot starts close up but moves backwards to reveal all the damage he has caused- the shot focus on the boy who is alone and in the middle of the shot showing he may have caused the destruction. The boy being alone may represent the artists feeling alone and trapped when people try to bring them, down. The boy is wearing a typical school boy outfit (jeans, check shirt, trainers) however these are ragged and dirty showing they may have been ruined. The shot follows the boy walking down the corridor however the main focus is drawn towards the women on the phone who shows a facial expression suggesting she is scared of the boy (supporting that he may have caused the damage). The women is wearing a bright yellow jumper and is clean and well-kept showing a different end of the spectrum of being tidy in comparison to the boy- representing different types of characters. The artists promote this due to the different types of people they have come across in live and how they may have judged them wrongly. The boy is then faced with a police man which restricts the theme of freedom and differentiating characteristics.
The sped up scene of the boy cycling away from the destruction represents him almost being chased from the police he has just passed at the school. The music’s main target group is young people due to the energy and pace of the song especially the build up to the chorus- this target audience allows Guetta to convey a strong message to today’s youth who are constantly judged and belittled to. The song states we must be “Titanium” which is to be strong hearted and strong willed which is why the bullets “ricochet” and bounce off us. A mid shot of the boy throwing his teddy’s behind him representing him throwing away his childhood as he feels he needs to grow up (due to the police involvement). The bedroom is extremely dull with little color and no signs of other family members indicating the boy is used to being alone showing the theme of adult vs children and how children can easily feel isolated, this is ironic due to the child representing Guetta and Sia who are both adults and wanting their message to be told through a child. This then cuts over to a tilted mid shot of the teddy’s floating and spinning- the tilt shows the boys has power and a form of authority over the police officer.
When the boy is shortly caught he is shown to be in the center of the shot at a low level representing the views of society and how those would look down on someone like him. The lighting is very dark and shows the end of his journey and escape to freedom- almost like a thriller-horror film. The boy resorts to his beginning position of him curled up in a ball which results in a bright light and explosion which explains what may have happened at the beginning of the video suggesting he may have been targeted or venerable at school due to kids not always being accepting of others especially those who are ‘different’.

The moral message Guetta promotes throughout is the importance of resilience and even if you are ‘different’ it is not a bad thing and you should stand up for what you believe in. It is shown through a narrative styled video which is not glamorizing individuality and portrays it in a realistic manor which the target audience feel they will be able to relate with.