




Whenever an icon passes away unexpectedly, they leave a legacy behind. When Paul Walker passed away in 2013, he left behind a legacy that was honored, respected, and valued by millions of his fans. Some of those fans included great artists like Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth.  In Wiz Khalifa’s music video See You Again ft. Charlie Puth, the use of specific camera shots, character gaze, and color contrast pay respect to the actor Paul Walker after his tragic death.


This is an image of Paul Walker driving a car, which is who the music video is devoted to. In this image of Paul, the contrasting colors and serious facial expression create a serious and stern mood that connects to racing. This image uses a close-up shot of Paul’s face to show the viewer every detail in his facial expression. The first thing you notice is his direct and solemn stare. Paul has an extra-diegetic gaze, which is when a character is looking directly at the viewer or somewhere off panel. By using this type of gaze, serious and intense emotions emerge straight at the viewer. The combination of these emotions help portray Paul’s stern facial expression he had before every race. By showing these emotions, it allows the viewer to remember Paul’s best moments in the Fast and Furious movies. The colors used in this image are all contrasting colors. The interior of the car he is in is all black. By having a black background, it allows for greater contrast of his lighter skin colors and emerges the details in his face. The darkness around his eyes stand out from his blue eyes and light skin color. This display portrays Paul being concentrated. The intense concentration emotions in this image are connected to racing. Paul’s passion was racing cars, and this music video pays respect to Paul by including images of him racing. 


The loneliness and dark colors in this image show how much Paul Walker meant to Wiz Khalifa. In this image Wiz Khalifa, the songwriter, is sitting on a sports car. Wiz’s entire body, as well as the car, are both within the frame. By using this long shot, the image makes Wiz appear lonely. This music video pays respect to Paul by showing friends and family looking lost and lonely after his death. Wiz is also using an extra-diegetic gaze, by looking somewhere outside the panel. Wiz looks like he is lost in deep thought by looking off panel, which makes him look distraught. The color scheme in this image is dark. Even the white car and jacket are dim in the image. The darkness of the colors establishes a sad and depressing mood. The dark colors are also in contrast with the bright and vibrant sun in the background. It appears to be a sun setting; correlating with ending, and the passing away of Paul. The depressing mood combined with the distraught look on Wiz’s face shows how affected Wiz is by the death of Paul. Wiz was both a friend and a fan of Paul. He is having trouble dealing with the loss of someone who meant so much to him. This image is paying respect to Paul by showing how his death left an emptiness in his friends’ hearts.

During the first image of Paul Walker in his car, Wiz Khalifa comes in and sings “Damn, who knew? All the planes we flew. Good things we’ve been through. That I’ll be standing right here talking to you. ‘Bout another path. I know we loved to hit the road and laugh.” Wiz is surprised about the passing of his friend, but chose to reflect on the good memories between the two. This adds a bittersweet emotion to the passing away of an icon. The emotions established from the lyrics, combined with the images of Paul, shows that Wiz wants the viewers to remember Paul based on his signature qualities. These qualities include his heartwarming smile, stern facial expression, and his passion for racing. With the close-up image of Paul and the specific lyrics, this shows that Wiz will always remember Paul based on his determination. In the second image of Wiz Khalifa sitting on the sports car, Charlie Puth is singing the chorus, “It’s been a long day without you, my friend. And I’ll tell you all about it when I see you again.” The narrator is describing how the day has been rough without Paul. He can’t wait to reunite with Paul. This connects to how much Paul meant to Wiz, which is shown in the image by Wiz looking distraught and the depressing emotions you get from the dark colors. The lyrics add onto the idea that friends and family are hurt and mourning over the loss of Paul, which is shown in the image by Wiz’s extra-diegetic gaze. The main two colors in the image are black and white. The sports car is white, with a black race stripe, and Wiz is wearing black pants with a white jacket. In the Fast and Furious movies, Paul Walker had a white race car. The white sports car in the image is symbolizing Paul. This adds a touching and heartwarming emotion by singing about a future reunion and connecting with Paul. These lyrics combined with the car that symbolizes Paul, show how much of an inspiration Paul was because he passed away doing what he loved.  

Through the use of camera shots, character gaze, and color contrast, the music video See You Again by Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth, pays tribute to Paul Walker, and the two images evoke sadness for the loss of Paul through his tragic death. The first image includes Paul Walker with an extra-diegetic gaze and sharp color contrast to represent how he will always be remembered and his passion for racing. The second image has dark colors and makes Wiz appear lonely to show how much he meant to his friends and family. This music video highlights Paul Walker, and shows how much of an inspiration he is to racing professionals and fans for dying doing what he loves. This made him a legend for fans, including artists Charlie Puth and Wiz Khalifa.






