One single picture can speak volumes to people and for people. A simple screenshot of a bigger picture can be an important part to the piece as a whole. The bigger picture may have a certain message that the author wants it to convey. Music videos are filled with scenes that, when put together, showcase the song as a whole. Within the video, the different scenes and screenshots can represent different parts of the message. When focusing on one screenshot, it can play a large role in expressing the message to an audience. There are many moments like this in music videos which are a visual representation of the song’s message. In the music video for How to Save a Life by The Fray, the powerful message is conveyed throughout, but one screenshot, at three minutes and five seconds, speaks volumes. In this one particular screenshot, there are three key elements that help to express the message: the word release, the white background, and the blurred out people walking.

The word release is one of the most prominent components of the screenshot; it is in all capitals and written in black. It is written over a white background which helps to make it even more noticeable and protruding in the picture. To release means to let go of something that one has been holding on to. Typically, when one release something, it lifts a weight off of their shoulders and can instantly change their mood for the better. It helps to take pressure and worry off of their back. In this specific case, it could not be more relevant. This is expressing all of these people releasing their bad habits and figuring out what they are worth. Through releasing, they are letting go of all their negative thoughts, emotions, feelings, and actions. Throughout the whole music video, different words are shown on the screen, but this is one of the most important ones because it is one of the main turning points for these people showcased in the music video. Once they release, they are genuinely happier and it is easy to see that. It is important to release and let go of the negative things in life every once in a while; it makes the difference in the world when people have a positive outlook that is not being fogged up by all of the negativities in life. By having the word release placed where it is in the picture, it is making a statement for the overall message.

White is pure; it is the simplest form of a color. The color white is untouched. It has no attachments and has not been altered. In this screenshot, there is a pure, white background. The message of this music video is extremely deep and filled with immense emotions and feelings. It is a heavy topic. By using the white background, it keeps part of the message clean and innocent. There is barely anything that can be considered innocent when it comes to dealing with the sensitive, yet all too real, topic of suicide and depression. If there were to be a canvas representing suicide and depression, there would be colors smeared all over it. Colors from hurt and sorrow would fill that canvas to tell a story. In this case of the music video of How to Save a Life by The Fray, when dealing with these topics, the canvas is white. By choosing the white background, it reminds people of the way that they were before all the weight was on their shoulders. It shows that they can get back to the way that they were. They can get back to that simple and pure form of themselves before depression took over. The white background contributes as to why this scene is so iconic. When you factor in the word “release”, as discussed previously, these people are releasing all of their negative emotions, feelings, and actions. They are releasing to get back to the form of themselves that they were before, which is symbolized by the color white which consumes the background.

Different people are showcased throughout this video in different ways. They are shown in sadness, depression, when they are lost, and when they finally release and break free from their suicidal thoughts, depression, and sadness. In this specific image, those people are still shown, but in a different way. They are very blurred out, there are many of them in the camera shot at a single time, and they are scattered. The people are in the foreground, background, and middle ground, but there is not an overwhelming number of people. The viewer is still able to focus on each person in the shot and see what they are doing. These people are used as examples to show them walking away and releasing. It gives more power to the word release because it is actually showing people doing it. They are walking with a mission to return to the people that they used to be. The blurriness of the shot has power as well. There are not many other times in the video when things are blurred out. It gives the people in the shot less power to their presence, but still makes it known. It shows that they are there and they are releasing, but focuses on the word release. This allows for the viewer to possibly be inspired from it by seeing that others can do it so they can too. The blurriness allows for the viewer to possibly picture themselves as one of those people walking away. As the audience watches the music video, it is easy to follow with these people’s stories and journeys. In the end, the people are blurred, but gaining their identity back by walking away from the negatives and towards their futures. This has immense power because it has the power to inspire its audience.

Music videos tell a story to go along with the music and to help explain the message in a visual manner. It is important to experience all of the scenes though and understand how they all fit together. There may be one simple screenshot that can speak volumes for the message the artist is trying to send to their audience. By looking at and analyzing this specific screenshot from The Fray’s music video for How to Save a Life, it is clear that there are three main components to the scene: the word release, the white background, and the blurred out people walking. It showcases a lot for their message of depression and how it is possible to walk away if one simply releases of all the negatives, focuses on the positives, walks away from it, and it is possible to return to the pureness that the white represents. This is one of the last scenes so the video closes with giving their audience hope and inspires them to reach out to people in need and shows that if they are the one in need, then they can get past it.



