Story Of My Life - One Direction (Textual Analysis)

One Direction's Story of My Life video has a clear narrative element. The storyline is based on the band members looking back at memories through photos.

The video starts with one of the members dropping a photograph into a tray of water to develop the photograph, which reveals the name of the song and the director, Ben Winston. We then see panning shots of the room showcasing the members of the band developing and looking at more photographs, this foreshadows the whole narrative for the audience as we know it will probably be fully focused on photographs. This is a narrative music video, with some hints of amplification. As lead singer Harry Styles sings 'Written on these walls are stories that I can't explain', he hangs up a photograph as a metaphor for the stories. A variety of mid shots and close ups are used at the beginning of the video, before the first chorus, all focusing on different members of the band. Each member is doing some action with their photographs, for example Niall Horan is laying his to dry on a rack whilst Liam Payne is looking through a selection of filters.

The first photo we have a clear view is, shows Zayns story. A zoom in shot shows an old photograph of Malik and his little sister which morphs into a modified image of the pair in the same costume, setting and poses but grown up. Everyone in shot, except from the band member, remains still in freeze frame whilst the band member moves and sings. This gives the impression of the band member looking back on their memories and re living them.

The idea behind this is to show how the One Directions boys have grown up. It also gives fans chance to see into the bands life, by seeing personal photos and also their family members it allows the viewer to feel they are getting to know the band even more then they did before.

For the chorus, we see all 5 boys in a huge open room, surrounded my hundreds of photographs hung around the room. This is an interesting visual for the audience to look at and it makes them think about not only the memories of One Direction but also their own memories, making the video more personal to them. The boys wear neutral clothing, to keep the attention on the props of the photographs in the background.




It then cuts to Niall's family memory of him and his brother playing instruments, relating to him becoming a musician. This photograph creates humour for the video as when the photo is brought up to date the outfit choice and kids instruments are funny to watch. It then cuts to Liam's memory, which is of him and his family standing on some steps. This picture allows the audience to think about their own family and memories they have had with them.

For the next chorus, we see lead singer Harry Styles memory, of him staring up at his mum. This shows the audience a loving, soft side to the singer that we don't usually see. The positioning of Harry looking up at his mum and his body languages makes us forget about his 'player' and rock and roll portrayal but a more sensitive young normal boy who got lucky on a TV talent competition.



For the slow part of the song, we are shown a more saddening image. Louis's image shown is one at christmas with his parents and grandparents. When the image morphed into the up to date image, his grandparents disappear, showing they have sadly passed. This creates a whole different set of emotions for the viewer, as it will most likely lead them to memories or a deceased relative that they dearly miss. Louis looks to either side of himself and smiles, showing he believes they are still there and acknowledges how much he misses them.

After this chorus, we see each members photograph once more, with all participants moving and no one in a freeze frame. This shows how the family members are all there for the boys now and living the moments with them. All the cast now have smiles on there face, stepping away from the sad emotion previously created.



Finally the photo's morph back into their old state, showing that the memories will always be there and that the relationships the band have with their families and friends is unbreakable and will remain forever.

In terms of the purpose of this video, it shows the viewer a different side to One Direction the they may have not seen before. This allows the band to come across as more normal to some people, if they are seen looking through their old memories instead of dancing around on a sunny beach in America. If more people feel they can relate the the band and also the video, more people will buy the single, promoting the band. It also tells a story that the fans can relate to, keeping the close relationship with their fans alive.