Analysis of a Professional production- Sitting Waiting Wishing- Jack Johnson

It’s difficult to place the role or personality of the performers shown in the video, as they are present in the video for such a short amount of time. The one thing that is clear is they are all very casual. The main performer, Jack Johnson, is in a green shirt with denim jeans and a shaved head. He seems very casual for the lead performer of the group, and this is an interesting take on such a lead role. He is also interestingly barefoot, which gives his on-screen character a fairly natural feel. Other performers such as the drummer are dressed in equally earthy colours such as brown and black, which adds to the overall laid back feel of the group. Jack Johnson actually remains smiling through all of the parts in which he is seen singing, which helps to portray a happy-go-lucky attitude, even when his life isn’t going so perfectly, as the song entails. The impression made is laid back and natural. This is aided with the absence of any hair-styling or make up. I believe that the idea of such a casual appearance is to relate to the audience in a more effective manner. The song itself is based on how a he can’t be always waiting and wishing for things with his partner to change, so with such a common storyline this may be the best way to present the performers and characters included.




One thing that isn’t immediately obvious at the beginning of the video, is that the performer’s routine is shown entirely reversed. This seems like an interesting gimmick at first, but I began to appreciate the difficulty of the video, when Jack Johnson is shown singing the song as it is actually being played. Whenever a musician is on screen, they also play in the right direction, at the right time. This means the scene would have to have been rehearsed with Jack Johnson singing in gibberish, which when reversed appears to be the song sang correctly. This is an excellent demonstration of lip-syncing and timing on the musician’s behalf. The performers are shown doing quite random things, such Jack Johnson reading a burning book, the drummer riding a skateboard, and the bassist playing basketball. These events don’t directly link to the lyrics themselves, but they help to add to the chaos which the song is presumably relating to.

The song has less of a story, but still heavily relates to the idea of a journey. The camera opens on a close up of a dirty water-covered floor, and pans over a troubled Jack Johnson, wiping his face of the muck. This establishing shot presents the events by starting at the end, and the reversed passage will explain to the audience how the room ended up in such a dirty mess. It’s a unique take on building to a point, as we are actually first presented with a climax, and then brought back to the start. As the characters enter and leave (or rather, leave then enter) the room starts to retake its original shape, bits of watermelon fly up into the air, lights fix themselves and jump to the roof etc. Also, a picture begins to put itself back together behind Jack Johnson as the video comes to an end. As the camera zooms in, he places the final picture frame, and the image is completed. He then jumps to the ceiling and exits. The final impression left is of the many picture frames creating the image of a tree, which is actually the album cover artwork.




I believe that the image piecing itself back together and the room returning to normal is quite effective at making a statement. The lyrics describe a man whose world has been turned upside-down by his partner. In a metaphorical sense, his world is then seen reverting back to how it was before, and the final piece of the puzzle is assembled. It’s like he is retracing his steps in a literal sense to put his life back together. As the final ‘piece of the puzzle’ is a tree, it relates even more to the natural focus of the video, almost symbolizing his life as it has a heavy significance. The character that enter do not in my opinion relate to the lyrics, but they do signal when an instrument enters, or has a brief solo. This is most evident with the man holding the snare drum and the pianist. Both assume position, and begin playing their instrument whenever it is audible in the music. This gives the video a sense of structure, and helps to tie in more with the song.


The song is very acoustic, which the video relates to nicely. The instruments seen are very organic. A single drum, an acoustic guitar and bass, and a wooden grand piano in the corner of the room help to emphasise this. The video is far from realistic; however the message given is believable, simple, and quite clear as the video comes together. All of the characters give a down-to-earth take on the genre. There are only the absolute necessities, instrument-wise, on screen and only when they need to be. The characters are casual, and despite the picture on the wall and a basketball hoop, the walls are bare and plain. It is evident that it has been made out to be a simple song for a man with simple needs.




The camera-work is what really holds the scene together. It is clear that editing was a problem as the camera records in one continuous shot. The only editing that needed doing was the reversing of the film. However, the camera moves very smoothly, gently zooming in and out to frame different aspects. It’s very fluid and gives an effective link between different events that are happening. Such as zooming out from a close up of Jack Johnson, then panning left to reveal a smashed light, putting itself back together, relighting the room, and attaching itself to the ceiling. The camera follows moving characters and objects to further demonstrate dynamism. When the man with the basket ball enters, the camera tracks him, and as he passes the ball to Jack Johnson, the camera gently zooms out and pans to show him catch the ball. Although there is a lot going on, and chaos about the room, there is still a sense of linked events, and a smooth transition between them.




The scene is set in a small white room, but all of the odd items that find themselves splattered and shattered around the room are too many to list. Objects such as fruit put themselves back together, and bouncing balls leap off of the floor. However, the main props I took note of were the instruments of each musician. As previously mentioned, these come into shot for the duration of a section of the song that utilize that instrument. It helps to emphasize more subtle changes in the music. I also took note of the props that allows for the camera to smoothly follow from one place to the next. The camera following the skateboard when the drummer enters is a good example of this. I believe the room is small and plain to make a point. Such a small niche room does not need much in it’s presence to appear crowded and cluttered. This is how it looks at the beginning of the song, as there are objects laying all over the floor, and splattered up the walls. Interestingly, the room is completely dark, save for a few areas that are on fire. This symbolizes the mess his life is currently in. By matching the room to his current state of feeling, a journey can then be made which takes the viewer on a ride to see how the room and the man once were, plain and simple.

At the start, the room is in darkness, but as the song picks up, the light ‘falls’ up and the full lighting resumes. This symbolizes turning point, as everything now clearly begins to move and gather itself to resemble what it originally was and where on screen it belongs. It’s a metaphorical representative of the light in his own life once again showing the way back. Apart from the part in which the room is dark, the lighting is very simple, and all objects and characters are lit up in good white lighting. I can’t make out any shadows wither, which suggests the lighting is present from all directions.

I believe that the overall message of the video is clear. It’s obvious as the video goes on that the world needs to fit back together, and that Jack Johnson needs to get back to where he started. This is marvellously thought out, and the act of retracing ones steps is even better carried out with the use of film reversal. It must have been a challenge to play the instruments, and sing backwards, but it adds to the dynamic and impressive visuals, which this videos relies on to make a lasting impression on the audience.




The unique selling point of the video is what makes it so successful. It is a refreshing idea that is carried out very well in this video. The fact that it is all done in one take adds to the amazement. The feel good nature of the song is quite a contrast to the subject, as usually some form of more aggressive music is a more likely culprit to such a subject matter. The only other recognisable video that was done in the same manner was Cold play’s video for ‘The Scientist’ (2002). Similarly shot in one take and reversed to the beginning.

I think the video’s originality is what made it a roaring success, being nominated for Best Male Video at the MTV Video Music Awards Japan ceremony in 2006. If we are to have a smaller scale form of success with our video, I think a similar approach would be necessary. Make interesting and original sections in the idea, and really experiment with the situations and visuals to tie it all together. The video should be able to match, if not triumph over the song itself. With limited tools and media at our disposal this may be hard, but we should still aim to include areas that leave the audience thinking ‘wow, that was clever’.