https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQHsXMglC9A
A legendary song: one sentence is enough to briefly introduce this masterpiece by Adele - released on 23 October 2015 by XL Recordings as the lead single from her third studio album, 25 (2015) - "Hello" was a massive global success, topping the records charts in a record-setting 36 countries. With such a smooth and loving lyric, the song is believed to belong to the soul genre; however, many claim it’s pop. During the chorus, Adele is heard singing the lines over layers of backing vocals, piano and drums described by The Daily Telegraph as having "a very luscious wall of sound”.
Alternating between the signature of Adele’s green-tinted present and black-and-white past, the video portrays her quest for forgiveness. It chronicles a relationship left behind in America, her acceptance of the past, and her preparation to step back into the spotlight. The video opens with 20 seconds of a still camera trying to grasp a focus on the sight outside the window, showing a car slowly approaching. Then, a J cut of Adele trying to make a call that no one answers. And for the next 61 seconds, it’s just her cleaning up her old stuff before taking a moment to breathe, and then looking right at us as the piano starts. It's a big change from her last album cover – she's not looking down anymore, but staring straight ahead. This intro makes "Hello" different from other music videos. Instead of just trying to sell the song, it shows us what Adele wants to say and how she's grown. The director, Xavier Dolan, does a great job of showing all this without being too obvious about it.
One interesting fact to point out here is that although every scream of “vintage” and “retro” was not Adele idea’s; it was Dolan’s.
The attention to detail such as the phone was all his “intention” to which he replied to the remarks by saying: "It makes me uncomfortable filming iPhones because I feel like I'm shooting a commercial. Those things: iPhones, laptops, all those elements, to me, bring me back to reality: That's not what you want. You want to get out of your own life; you want to enter someone else's; you want to travel somewhere; you want to be told a story. I'm realizing maybe I've been more distracting than anything else with that flip phone, but it wasn't intentional!"
Moving lyrics like "Hello, it's me / I was wondering if after all these years you'd like to meet" and "They say that time's supposed to heal ya / But I ain't done much healing" had fans speculating that she was revisiting old wounds in her past relationship with ex Alex Sturrock, whom she's written songs about before. However, Adele says this is just a song about reconnection, “Hello' is just about reconnecting with everyone else and myself. On the other side, I couldn't get over my guilt of leaving my kid to go and write a record and stuff like that. So getting over that — getting on the other side of that. It was just, you know; it's, in general, just hello to everyone,” Adele also shared that her grandfather's death during her childhood was a major influence on the song, which adds another layer of interpretation to the opening chorus line, **"Hello from the other side."
With this context in mind, the second half of the first verse explores self-realization and coming to terms with past decisions: "I'm in California dreaming about who we used to be/ When we were younger and free / I've forgotten how it felt before the world fell at our feet" As this is a story of herself, this might be Adele's "dreaming" about a time she was "younger and free" reveals her acknowledgment of personal growth and change. This self-awareness continues in the first pre-chorus with the line, "There's such a difference between us / And a million miles." The chorus echoes this theme, as she admits to calling someone a "thousand times" without response. These lyrics reflect the journey of self-discovery - understanding one's past, present, and future.
The tone of this song is sad, hopeful and depressing. While she's still trying, her ex has given up. She's expressing it through the song.
"Hello from the other side, I must've called a thousand times / To tell you I’m sorry"
“25” Album Cover
Dolan uses a silver nitrate style sheen, European widescreen aspect ratio (1.66:1) and soft focus.
Let’s have a look at some of the most significant shots in this Music Video:
Once again, higher view as we peek into her daily life. However, we are outside, creating a sense of someone who is not invited into other’s routines.
An almost black-and-white screen! This is the past, the thing she wants to put back. Something I can’t help but notice is most of the flashback scenes are in a greenish tone, and my explanation for that is that the past is what Adele wants to be in the present.
Here, using the higher view, suggests that we - viewers are at a higher position - putting Adele into a more submissive view. This symbolizes the vulnerability she is expressing and puts her in a weaker place
Pan camera shot shows the soft side of the life she once had. Fun fact: this type of movement appears a lot in this music video. Not once, not twice, but numerous times. So medium and close-up shots show the subjects' facial expressions in the context of their body language.
My favourite part must be the use of POV shots; they sure higher the overall effectiveness of the video. Their appearance is understandable due to the sequences being flashbacks, so the technique is inherently cinematic, which goes smoothly the basic aesthetics of the video.
Dialogue and sound effects, from phone tones to snippets of arguments, can be heard beneath the track, adding realism to the on-screen events. While many artists write songs about real experiences and relationships, few dare to relive these origins in their music videos. It's refreshing to see a production that fully commits to this concept. The clean cut was also effectively used in the music video, especially at 3:08 - 3:12. Slomo is also a thing here at 4:37 - 4:38 - by slowing down the action, you can highlight key moments and create a sense of drama.
Not anything significant, but hey, look at this! The same angle with one opens the eyes one is closing.