
The couple has just been introduced for the first time as man and wife, and now it is time to celebrate.  A huge event such as a wedding is a memory that couples hold onto for a lifetime.  In The Chainsmokers’ music video “Closer,” they use many visual aspects to show a couple becoming closer to each other, and a love from the past resurfacing.  In the music video the couple is making a memory on a beach.  Amongst all of the fun, they are capturing this event with a camera by taking pictures during their adventures on the beach.  In the music video “Closer,” The Chainsmokers use polaroid pictures in three different shots as a visual motif to contribute to the theme that memories and memory making is important.

The start of the video captures many moments where the couple is together.  In one of the first shots of the music video the polaroid picture motif is shown.  This occurs at the 0:03 second mark.  In this instance the couple is first shown looking through the pictures from a beach trip.  This shot is a point of view shot which brings the person watching into the reality of the video.  This use of placing the person watching into the girl’s point of view reaches out of the computer screen and puts the viewer into the music video.  When watching the couple start to look through the pictures, the video begins to reveal the notion of a memory that the couple has made.  The pictures contribute and help to tell the story of how the couple is becoming closer in their relationship, and starting to form memories together.  Memories make up a strong piece of relationships, and this couple is starting to become closer and rekindle a relationship.  By going through the pictures the couple shows how important making the beach memory is to their forming of a relationship.  

The Chainsmokers continue the music video into more representation of the visual motif.  They move the video forward to display the motif in a later shot at the 0:13 second mark where the polaroid pictures are shown again.  This shot is taken at a bird’s eye view which gives the person watching a sense of the setting and where the couple is while they sift through their memories of the beach day.  This view gives more depth of the background in the living room and shows more of the couple both looking at the images.  As one watches this scene pass by he/she will see the theme of how significant memory making is because of how much closer they bring people.  Through this one memory and through the couple looking through the pictures again, the video shows the memory’s importance.  This shot exemplifies how imperative making memories are and having memories to look back on are.  

Both of these shots are at the beginning of the music video.  In having these two shots in the beginning at the 0:03 and 0:13 second marks, it starts to give the person watching preface as to what the music video will be about.  As a person starts to watch, they will see the couple going through the pictures.  This will trigger the person to think that the couple is looking through a memory of theirs, and how important that memory was to make.  As the music video goes on it shows the couple making the memory at the beach, so having the pictures shown multiple times in the beginning shows the watcher that the memory is a central aspect of the couple’s relationship.  This relates back to the person watching because it will force them to think of how important memories are to them and how crucial making memories are in human life.  

Lastly, nearing the end of the music video, The Chainsmokers aim to round off the video with the main theme portrayed another time.  This happens when they show the polaroid pictures once again.  The Chainsmokers show the pictures for a final time in a shot that happens at the 3:15 minute mark.  This shot is a close-up which brings even more emphasis on the polaroid pictures.  The pictures are shown to be a huge part of the music video.  This displays that the memory the couple has made is a large part of their relationship and them becoming closer.  Memories and the act of making memories brings this couple closer, and show that in life, one of the best tools for growth in general is memories even if they are bad.  The couple is growing together through a memory and most people grow from past experiences and past memories.  By displaying the pictures once again at the end of the video, it shows the evolution of the couple. It also shows how because of one memory that was made, they now have a closer and stronger relationship.  

Aside from the previous two shots, the third shot is at the end of the music video.  This is to show a lasting impression on the viewers at the 3:15 minute mark, and show them how substantial the memory on the beach was to the couple.  This relates to the previous two shots because it is yet another presentation of the polaroid pictures.  All of the three shots come together to form the theme that memories and making memories is vital in life, and in building relationships with others.  This visual motif is repeated to depict how big of a part memories play into human’s lives.  Each shot has a different view and they all put those watching in perspective with the couple, and draws the audience inward.  This creates the effect that memories are used with all people and that it is critical to have memories and create memories with others.

In the music video “Closer” by The Chainsmokers, through the visual motif of polaroid pictures, the audience is made known how significant memories and the act of forming new memories is in life.  Through the couple, the viewers see how close only one memory can make two people.  It is shown how memories can bring growth from a prior situation.  Humans create memories each and every day that fuel their lives and help in decision making.  Memories are pertinent to the human life, and making new memories can help aid a person’s future.  Memories bring people together and they provide light for many in the world.  Making memories and having memories to look back on is a precious gift in life.
