Casting/Actors

I have been looking for actors/actresses to be in my music video, I originally had my friends outside of college in mind but as they are pretty busy with University and live quite far, it wouldn't be as convenient as if i were to use people that attend my Sixth Form. I had to make sure they had the same free periods as me, and live nearby so we could talk to each other properly, and it'd be easier to plan our schedule. In the end, I went to the Drama Department to find actors/actresses, Kimberly Johnston was very kind and helped me out, she offered to be the female lead so without hesitation, I agreed as she is very talented, and experienced in acting. I have also seen her work in the school Musical last year, and was very impressed. Female role now confirmed, I had to search for the important male lead, but Nicholas Jakubowski who also had a small role in the school musical, had heard I was looking for actors so he asked me if he could be in it. I gave him the lyrics to learn, but he had a lot of trouble lip syncing, as he had a Lithuanian accent. However, he is musically talented so I asked him to be in the video as a drummer and he agreed. I asked Larry, who is in my Graphics class, to play guitar and he was very enthusiastic about the idea of being in a video. Now, I had one lead actress and two band members but it was very difficult to find the male lead, as exams were coming up and everyone wanted to study for them. I asked Archie Leigh, who I was not familiar with until the beginning of this year, and he agreed although he did say he is quite shy, and would need help. We arranged to rehearse and Kimberly taught him a few acting skills, and also taught him how to lip sync properly and after rehearsing for a few hours, Archie seemed confident enough to start filming. I have taken mid-shot photos of my cast on a white background, and produced a brief résumé to make it look more professional.

Role: Lead male/singer

Full name: Archie Terry Leigh

Date of birth: 25/08/1993

Eye colour: Blue

Hair colour: Brown

Height: 6"0

Weight: 70kg.

Role: Female lead/Love interest

Full name: Kimberly Johnston

Date of birth: 11/03/1993

Eye colour: Green/Hazel

Hair colour: Light brown

Height: 5"6

Weight: 52kg.

Planning and Preparation

After searching on Myspace and Youtube for unsigned artists, i haven't been too keen on any song choices. But after buying The Script's new album, just released this month, i felt inspired to work with a track by the band as they are not too famous, yet still produce good music.

Here are my possible song choices and rough ideas i have come up with:

The Script - If You See Kay
the song is chilled, and has a relaxed tempo. the male lead is asking everyone he sees, if they've seen the girl he misses. he wants to find her, putting up "MISSING" posters, and talking to strangers, showing the audience that he has gotten rid of his pride for this girl. she'll be sitting down at the cafe, and once she gets up, he comes to the café asking for her, but keeps getting there a split second too late. i may not use this song because the title is subliminally explicit, and also the storyline could drag on and get pretty boring.

The Script - Before The Worst
this is one of my favourite tracks from the album, and i feel it's an excellent choice. i could shoot some performance scenes on a stage, most probably the school theatre or a studio/white room, and narrative will be on location. as he walks around town, he sees places that him and his girlfriend used to be together and reminices. the words "can we take it back, before the worst" will feature rewound footage of the couple arguing and not getting along, back to the good memories of the two together. i think i have the most ideas for this song, so it's likely that i will decide on this track.

The Script - Nothing
a simple straightforward narrative. song starts off as the lead singer talks about his friends taking him to the pub to get some drinks, because he misses a girl and they want him to forget about her. has a night time feel to the song, will shoot the main scene during the evening, with faded night lights in the background. plus performance footage. i feel this song would be a good choice.

The Script - For The First Time
this song's narrative is very simple and would be good for the visuals to follow the lyrics, the male singer reminisces about memories and speaks of the couple's state while being seperated. probably will not use this track because the official music video has already been released. the video is very good, and i'll probably use some of the shots for inspiration.

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I have written an email to Sony Music Entertainment UK Limited and RCA Records Group, which is a flagship label of Sony Music Entertainment asking to use the song, to confirm that there is no copyright infringement. This is a screen print of the sent email: (please click the image to enlarge.)

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After choosing my artist, i thought it'd be useful to look at their previous videos and furthermore, their genre's targeted audience. Their past videos have been both performance and narrative based, which is a conventional aspect in rock pop videos. They aim to portray their moods and feelings through their videos, a technique used to add authenticity.

Deciding on the song, Before The Worst, i have already mentally pictured a variety of scenes for my music video. Locations that would work well with the song can include busy cities, street scenes, homely rooms such as the sitting room and bedroom, as well as "lonely" isolated places such as an empty park, with trees, grass and empty benches. The weather could be damp, rainy, and cold as the guy feels empty without his love. Flashbacks should have a little sunlight, but as sunshine is quite rare in England during these months, i will use the editing software and camera settings to create a more "brighter" scene. Weather forecasts will be checked daily to ensure i will have the correct chosen atmosphere, as English weather is very unpredictable.

Studying the band closely, and listening to all their tracks on both albums, I feel that the targeted audience for my music video should be of mixed gender predominantly aged 16 to 25, reflecting the genre's popularity with teenagers and young adults. This track will most probably be more popular with females, as young male bands tend to attract many female viewers. The mix of the narrative and live performance of the band will be recognisable to the audience as they are familiar with other videos of the same genre. Costumes will be casual yet stylish, such as straightcut/skinny jeans and fitted jackets, allowing the band to appeal to a broad audience. If I were to condone this mise-en-scene feature, the video will only appeal to an audience which has similar interests. The song is about heartbreak which is a typical situation that teens get caught up in, so it will attract a wide audience, as they listen to him speak of his despair, which they can relate to and not feel alone.

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Early ideas for specific visuals to lyrics: As he walks out of his house, almost everything reminds him of her, and as he says "it's been about a week since the day that you walked" he remembers, (flashback to be edited: lowered saturation, colour hue, a slight Gaussian blur or bloom, and lighter vignette will help create this look) her walking out and slamming the door. The words "take it back to the night we kissed" will again flashback a scene where the two are flirting, and drinking outside a pub. Flashes back to the present will be the main lead singing while walking and reflecting. Split screen with the female lead lying in bed on the phone while the guy is in the same position when the words "there was a time that we'd stay up all night, best friends yeah talking 'til the daylight" are said, it will be a typical movie scene type of shot. Stage scene with band performance will begin from the first chorus, and different angles will be used to portray the whole band in a positive light, with a few close ups of each band member and also, theatre's lighting will be used, so i'll need someone to control lights. Rewound scenes, used after the second verse/chorus to emphasise the words "before the worst" and it also explains his thoughts on how he wants to go back in time, back to the good memories he had with the girl.

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I have been keeping in touch with the cast via facebook and cellphones, and planning rehearsal time. Shooting will start on the week beginning 12th of October 2010 until the end of half term, using a Digital SLR; Canon EOS 550D/Rebel T2i, in full 1080HD and will be edited in Apple's Final Cut Express and Adobe After Effects. I have spoken to Mr. Hutchinson about booking the theatre and props and equipment such as instruments (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, keyboard, full drum kit) and microphones, and he has also arranged to teach me how to use the lighting. (please click image to enlarge, and then click again, zoom to full size)

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I have taken photos of potential locations, that I may use for my music video's narrative. I have decided that the scene should not be too crowded, to reflect the lead singer's "empty" world without his love, and it will emphasise his loneliness. The weather conditions, and the season change is very effective as summer is seen as the "happy" stage, and it seems like it started to get colder when the female lead left. During this change, the leaves on the floor and the lower temperature can be adjusted to be visible on the camera. There was a problem with Blogger's site and my images' file sizes were too large to be uploaded, so I used Adobe Photoshop CS5 to create a montage of my photos, and this way, it's much more convenient to view all at once, as there are quite a few. All photos are original and taken by me, on a digital single-lens reflex camera around London (Walthamstow, Leyton, Stratford, Westferry, Shadwell, Canary Wharf, Isle of Dogs, Bow, Wapping).

(please click image to enlarge, and then click again, zoom to full size)

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This is the animatic storyboard which will give me a base plan and the audience a rough idea of the scenes. I drew on paper, (approximately 50 different sketches) and then filmed on the school's camcorder for roughly 10 seconds each allowing space and tolerance during editing. I used the tripod so the image will be stable and precise, I have then imported the clips into iMovie, thus allowing me to edit how long every shot will be, and also adding the MP3 file in sync with the video. This storyboard is crucial, as it has helped me run through the lyrics, while jotting down ideas I have come up with. I have then uploaded my video on Youtube for convenience, here is the embed link:

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EVALUATION OF PLANNING

Andrew Goodwin’s theory identifies a number of key features which make up a music video, one of which is a link between the music and visuals. The lyrics of my chosen song often muses over past memories of the male lead, illustrated in many flashbacks creating the non-linear narrative, which imitates the structure and recall of human memory. Alongside the narrative, my music video will also feature the band playing live in a performance which conforms to the conventions of an alternative rock/pop rock band. Some examples of artists/bands belonging to similar genres as my video include OneRepublic, Lifehouse, Train, and The Fray, all of which have both narrative and performance based videos. Another common aspect of the genre is their costume; the artist/band does not need to spend ridiculous amounts of money on expensive costumes as the sole purpose of the casual yet stylish attire is to attract a broad audience and make them feel like they can relate to the artist, whereas if this area was overlooked, the audience would feel they are on a completely different level and cannot feel close to them. There will be many close up shots of the main artist, to show his sincere expression and regret that he and his love interest have broken up. There will be no references to voyeurism or notions of looking, contradicting one of the features of the theory, because my music video may not have many shots of the main artist looking directly at the camera as he is entirely in his own world, pondering and reminiscing about his love interest which will add to the nostalgic feeling of the video. There will also be no intertextual references, as I want the sole focus to be on the band and the characters within the video, rather than distracting the audience and giving them ideas of another type media.

CD Analysis: Kid Cudi

The second studio album by Kid Cudi is a sequel to his first in the “Man on the Moon” series titled “The End of Day” which over 100,000 copies in it’s first week and charted at #4 last year. This is the deluxe edition of the rapper’s “Man on the Moon II: The Legend Of Mr. Rager” which I bought just yesterday when it came out, I usually buy music from iTunes but for I thought I’d buy the Digipak as it can be used to analyse for my media coursework. The cover artwork features him sitting in a Victorian style room, solemnly deep in thought, holding a glass possibly containing Brandy or Whisky which connotes the idea of expensive alcohol is popular with celebrities with such lifestyles. The cover has a faded sepia tint, while the paper looks very creased, the detailing on walls of the room all adds to the 1800s old-fashioned look. The whole package is astronomy themed, in relation to the title of the album “Man On The Moon” implying the idea that he is out of this world; an extraordinary artist. There is a window/painting behind him showing an amazing starry space-like view; interstellar clouds are visible which have become very popular recently, possibly because of this album. The nebula makes the viewer feel relaxed and chilled out, reflecting how Cudi believes his music does, with his original chilled-out slow paced beats. The fold out pack is fairly simple, it features two more images of nebulae with small capitalised and centered text: “my music is one small step for me; one giant leap for all weirdkind” which shows how he believes he is on a different level to everyone else, higher than anyone. “Weirdkind” is American slang for someone who is a leader, and not a follower so this implies that he sees himself as the leader of leaders. He is wearing a clean cut suit which reflects his well-known reputation of being a stylish and an intelligent hip-hop artist, but his top button is undone which suggests he is more laid back.­­ The pack includes lyric booklet with calligraphic fonts, so fans can enjoy singing along; the font is relevant because it suits the Victorian era of the cover and his costume.

The free poster included with the album is an imitation of Leonardo Da Vinci's famous world-renowned drawing of the 1400s, "The Virtuvian Man" which is based on the human proportions. Kid Cudi may want to relate himself to the work of a famous artist, as he sees wants the audience to see him as a great icon. He also has biblical references with a yellow glow around his head, almost like a halo. Other images of featured artists on the album are also seen within the circle, such as Kanye West, Common, MGMT, and Ratatat. The poster almost looks like a planet, again emphasising that he is out of this world; a great artist, with no other like himself, and the effect on the poster makes it look like a neon painting/sketch which is very interesting to look at.

This is a cover of a metropolitan hipster men's lifestyle magazine which is promoting Kid Cudi's album, which I thought was relevant to include in this section because of the main "out of space" concept being overused to promote Cudi's uniqueness. It is a very interesting cover, as Complex Magazine always uses such images to attract the audience's attention. The image has a surreal theme, and it seems as though Cudi is peeling open the cover to reveal himself and his own world. Constellations and nebulae can be seen from behind the page which is the overall theme of his albums; this is very appealing to the audience because of the rising popularity of these images via the internet (blogging sites, etc.) This cover, poster and CD digipak all have a similar theme and Cudi has created a house style out of it, which concludes the fact that his products must have some type of relation for it to be attractive and appealing to the public.

CD Analysis: Taylor Swift

The second studio album by country singer, Taylor Swift was released in November 2008, and was the first album to sell over a million copies in 2009. The cover is very professional and neat, with only the artist as the main focus point, and this mid-shot makes the audience feel closer to her as there are no distractions. This version of the album also features a black background and silver metallic font, instead of the original cream and brown theme, so fans can establish the difference between the normal album cover and this special deluxe platinum edition. The font of her name seems handwritten as if she signed it with her autograph, which helps the fans feel that this album will help them understand her more. The chosen album name, titled after her fifth and final single from the CD, is deliberate as she wants to encourage her fans to take courage, as her target audience are teenagers who may be going through a lot of stress and problems. Reflecting her image, the cover shows her in an innocent angelic light; her long blonde hair and her costume, a cream dress expresses her girliness and elegance. Her pose is in mid-movement, which shows her fun and creative side which may be shown in this album, along with her lively personality. She is not wearing much makeup, nor are there any graphical enhances/features so her fans can appreciate her natural beauty, and feel there are no coverups or secrets, as if the album is all about her true self. However, she is only showing one side of her face which could imply that she has a hidden side to her persona, which she may or may not reveal in this album.

This double page, featured in the deluxe edition of Taylor Swift's album shows lyrics of her song, which are for the fans to sing along to her music, just as young audiences like to do. In the left page, she is dressed in a old fashioned ball gown, with castle pillars in the background. This image seems to be from her music video "Love Story" and it shows her as a princess waiting for her prince, just like a fairytale; this will appeal to the targeted audience, as the young audiences will be able to relate to this fantasy of being a fairytale character. The lyrics of the featured track, mentions being saved and swept off her feet and the chorus refers to "Romeo and Juliet"; an idolised romance amongst many teens. She occasionally references to these fantasies, such as the song she wrote for a movie, called "Today Was A Fairytale" and "White Horse", in which she used fairytale imagery to describe her ex-boyfriend as if he was a prince on a white horse. The sepia tone of this photo and the italic font makes the image look more authentic and suited to a "once upon a time" theme, and she is glancing out of the window waiting for her prince to appear. The right page is a photo montage of Taylor in her bedroom playing around with pillows, looking like she is having fun, wearing a white sleeping gown, to make the audience feel they are in a personal place with her, as if they are having a girly sleepover. The white costume has an angelic feel, which is referred to in the lyrics, and the pink scrawled font would be appealing to the audience, and adds to the montaged scrapbook effect.

The next photo spread features song lyrics being "You're Not Sorry" and "The Way I Loved You", which both are about heartbreak, a subject that many teens need support with and a common situation which they tend to find themselves in, and Taylor can be seen as a role model for them so they realise that they're not alone. The photo is centered as it's relevant to both tracks, and she is sitting on the bathroom floor crying, and holding her head in distress; which highlights her emotional state. This image was also used as the single's cover art, and the blue tint on the image gives off a colder feeling. "I'm sorry" is messily scrawled all over the bathtub and bathroom walls which may have relations to the expression "the writing's on the wall" which is an idiom that suggests a portent of doom or misfortune; this adds to her emotional instability. The sidebar colours, blue and purple, evoke sad and nostalgic feelings, a longing of the past and desire to return back to old memories. Her costume; jeggings and a vest, are casual wear for average teens, which make the targeted audience feel she is not an extravagant celebrity, but a normal teenager who underwent emotional stress, just like everyone else, so her fans can relate to her songs.

In this image, Taylor Swift is underwater and her legs are blurred within her dress which gives the immediate impression of a mermaid. Again, with evident references to fairytales, she impersonating a character who is known for it's femininity and serenity. The title of the song "Breathe" is important, as she is stressing on thefact she cannot breathe underwater, just as she cannot live without her love, but she has to be strong and learn how to; her pose seems like she is trying to rise above the water surface to take a breath and also reflects her curiosity . The colour blue sets a calming mood just as the song is very relaxing and has a slow and steady tempo speaking of her heartbreak.

Magazine Advert Analysis: Britney Spears

Britney Spears promoted her 2008 album with a series of live performances, including her first world tour in five years. These are two separate magazine posters, one advertising her latest album “The Circus” and the other, her tour in Minnesota. The left advertisement is displayed in the style of a Circus performance poster, on sepia tinted slightly creased paper, extravagant fonts, block borders and swirly designs have been added to create the effect. There are no images of her because her name alone sells herself, as she is very famous and known worldwide so it is not necessary to include a photo of her, and people will already know who she is. The release date has been framed, so it draws attention and represents herself as a star. Emphasis on her “number one hit” appeals to the audience as they know her comeback to fame was successful, her new album is highly anticipated and the single title, “Womanizer” is written in italic fonts to make the word stand out even more. The poster on the right shows her name in similar all capitals text, very large and displayed in a curvy line, she has a welcoming smile while she is holding up her arms as if she is presenting herself to the world. Her costume is well suited to the theme of the circus, as she is seen as the ringleader being in charge of the show, and it is designed to reflect her character as a fun exciting performer. She is seen holding a wand, and sparks have been added using Photoshop to give the impression that she has a higher power and her performances are very magical. The colour of the text on both posters, and on her album cover are deep red and yellow, which are very bold colours, usually used on posters to catch people’s eyes and these colours have created her house style for other publications such as billboards and other adverts. The special guests’ emblem will also add to an even larger audience, as Britney and PCD are both popular, attracting similar fans and they will appreciate seeing two artists they like on one show. There is also a small image of her album cover, which this particular tour is promoting, next to information on when the tour is, with the day and time the tickets will be on sale, and also, the poster also provides a website and phone numbers if the audiences are interested in getting further details. This section is bordered with stars so the main attraction of the poster is still Britney’s image. The background is a circus tent, and the sepia tint makes the image look more authentic. The recognisable “Virgin Mobile” logo is fairly large because they are her official tour sponsors, and the logo for “Target Center” lets the audience know the venue this tour will held at.

Genre Video Analysis

The Script - Breakeven

The third single from the band's self-titled album, the pop rock song was an immediate success reaching high positions in the charts. The video opens with Danny, the lead singer driving his car while a woman's voice is sampled saying "what would I do without you?" and the irony is revealed as we find out that she was his ex-girlfriend. He speaks of his despair, and broken-heartedness in a dark room, lit by a flickering light while the footage is grayscaled and making him seem colder. Lyrics such as "I'm falling to pieces" and "what am I supposed to do?" emphasises his loneliness, challenging the idea that men are supposed to be masculine and fearless. The variation between past and present is clearly identified as flashbacks are in full colour and brighter, as he reminisces, such as his recollection of intimate memories.

This is very effective because the edited colouration is used as if she was the colour to his life and now she's left, his days are saturated and has a grey tint. To avoid confusion, while he is grayscaled in the dark room, he looks at a full colour video footage of his love and this also has references to voyerism, a notion of looking as she is unaware that he is watching her. Once the chorus kicks in, cuts of the whole band's performance footage is shown as this is a prominent feature in rock music videos. The video is performance based with a slight narrative, as the flashbacks and memories tell their own story, showing the audience how close they used to be and showing the result of the breakup on his part. But as this is an alternative rock video, there are no attempts of strong political messages nor does it challenge conventions, because the video is a solely acting as a marketing tool for the band, as a commercial product and the performance shows the band's true musical talent. Their other videos are also similar, simple narrative and performance based, and the audience will choose to watch this video, solely on their views about whether or not they like the track, rather than the video as it's not too much to grasp allowing the viewer to enjoy the song without thinking too much. Showing this emotional side of the star, as well as the performance footage can be appealing to the audience, as they can see he can be quite down-to-earth and gentlemanly, rather than a party animal or socialite. The locations for this video shoot are also not too extravagant; a bedroom, a city street, seafront, small stage which helps the audience appreciate the music and the band.

Lifehouse - Broken

The third single from the alternative rock band's album "Who We Are" was released in September 2008, with high digital download numbers on iTunes. The video starts with a shot of a clock and radio, and makes it evident to the viewer that the band are in a still car, so the visuals are closely linked to the lyrics "the broken clock is a comfort, it helps me sleep tonight" showing the band member in the back seat sleeping. The car is in traffic in a tunnel and many people have gotten out of their cars, walking into the distance, and the four members get out of the car to walk the opposite direction. This is a clear reference to Natalie Imbruglia's video That Day, as throughout her video there are also people walking into the opposite direction as her, as if she was fighting the crowd, not being a follower. The main singer, Jason leads the group through, he barges past the swarms of people, and even when a girl shouts "what's your problem?" to him, he is seemingly deaf as he is entirely focussed ahead. While he was in the tunnel, there was a blue and green tint to the video to emphasise the coldness but coming out of the tunnel, he looks up at the sunlight and the lighting is bright with a better contrast of colours, and could be symbolising new life.

As he continues walking, the establishing shot shows ambulances and fire engines and he finds a car accident wreckage, one of the victims being himself. Upon seeing his dead body, he desperately runs back into the tunnel, pushing past the people looking at him strangely, now walking in the same direction as him. The tinted screen is back, and this time it highlights his urgency and sets the mood. Jason then wakes up from his trance, and we find out he may have had a premonition. The song seems to have different uplifting stories, depending on how the audience wants to view it, shaping and forming different narratives so therefore the video shouldn't have too much of a influence on the viewer. Lyrics such as "in your name, i find meaning" and "in the pain, there is healing" have lead me to believe the song can have religious overtones, referring to Jesus as the band have made religious songs in the past. Costumes used are very casual, and similar to the Script's intentional plan of catering to a broader audience.

*Screen prints from VEVO and Youtube.

Inter-Textual Analysis

Lady Gaga featuring Beyoncé - Telephone

Gathering over 30 million views on Youtube, the nine and a half minute long music video directed by Jonas Akerland, was positively received by critics. The video opens with Lady Gaga entering the “Prison for Bitches”, accompanied by two tough female security guards, ready to serve her time for the crimes she committed in her last video, "Paparazzi” also directed by Akerland. The camera uses a dolly track to display her point of view as she is walked to her cell, and showing the audience the tough female inmates, who are heard making vicious threats such as “we’re gonna make you swim outta here in your own blood”. Throwing her into the cell, the guards strip her of her clothing and of her persona, leaving her bare and helpless behind bars. As they leave, we hear them discuss a rumour of her gender, referring to the media that reported she was a hermaphrodite. She is then lead to the prison exercise yard, covered in chains and glasses made of cigarettes, which may suggest she is hiding something, keeping a secret locked away. Women are working out and lifting weights while extracts of her song “Paper Gangsta” is playing on the stereo and the song selection is deliberate as it is about female supremacy, and a rant against men. She then kisses a manly looking woman, and is interrupted by a phone call. She uses Coca-Cola drink cans as hair rollers, and this may be related to Andy Warhol, as he used Coca-Cola as a subject matter for some of his paintings.

A girl on girl fight starts and Lady Gaga looks dismayed, possibly because she believes that women should join together, embracing girl power instead of turning on each other. The phone then rings and Beyoncé is on the line, as she picks up, she starts singing lyrics that are closely linked to the visuals “Hello? Hello?” as if she was really answering the phone. She drops the phone and starts a performance, dancing and singing looking at the camera. The first choreographed dance scene cuts in, with Gaga and her scantily-clad inmates, who all have tattoos, heels and studs on their underwear, implying that they are tough and independent. Again, references to voyeurism are seen such as the CCTV cameras, making it seem like they do not knowing we are watching, and the revealing clothing are displayed for the audience to view. There are cuts of Lady Gaga is her cell, wearing nothing but yellow crime scene tape, which may be foreshadowing the events coming up, and again revealing a lot of her body to the audience. The song’s instrumental plays in the background while it is announced she can be released on bail, and Lady Gaga

pays tribute to the late great, King of Pop, by breaking into an MJ-esque shuffle after being bailed out of jail. The guard is browsing online dating website “Plenty Of Fish”, which is an advertisement but it may refer to the main concept of the lyrics, saying “there are plenty of more fish in the sea”, so she doesn’t need her ex-boyfriend.

She exits to find Beyoncé waiting for her in the iconic “Pussy Wagon” from Kill Bill (2003), relating to Lady Gaga’s appreciation for renegade female empowerment, just as the movie expresses. Beyoncé is nicknamed “Honey B” and is eating a “Honey Bun” a reference to another Quentin Tarantino movie, Pulp Fiction (1994). It may be common for vixens to eat food seductively, but Lady Gaga’s plays on this typical trope and purposely makes objectification not sexy. As they drive, the radio turns on and references to the song saying “Lady Gaga featuring Beyonce” referring the video itself, Lady Gaga takes Polaroid photos of Beyoncé while she sings. They pull up to the diner, where actor Tyrese Gibson, who is acting as Beyoncé’s boyfriend, and the first thing he does is look at her breasts, and this is a typical example of the male gaze, where women are passive and objects for display. References to Japanese and comic book style subtitles are used, Beyoncé adds poison to her boyfriend’s drink and the plans that the two women were discussing in the vehicle are revealed. The video then shifts to the kitchen, where Lady Gaga is “making a sandwich”, which is challenging the stereotype that women are perfect obedient “housewives”, as all the cast in this kitchen scene are men who are dancing quite femininely. She pours poison into the honey that she delivers to Tyrese, further emphasising the point that she and Beyoncé are not conforming to the all sweet and syrupy behaviour expected of them by society. Beyoncé is in a bedroom, which seems to be inspired by Edward Hopper’s paintings, and she dances in such a way to display her as a sculpture rather than a real live person.

Post-murder, Lady Gaga and Beyoncé are in the center of the dance sequence dressed in stars and stripes; Captain America and Wonder Woman inspired outfits, relating themselves to characters from DC Comics and Marvel. This suggests they see each other as heroes of the female gender, as Wonder Woman was known to be a feminist icon. We also see the words “Wonder” on the brand of bread that Lady Gaga used, which highlights this point further. Lady Gaga performs in front of the “Pussy Wagon” in a leopard suit which looks like it has been inspired by Canadian country star, Shania Twain’s music video It Don’t Impress Me Much (1998). She is also wearing a chauffeur’s hat implying she is in the driver’s seat, in charge. As they’re on the highway, driving away from the crime scene, a news bulletin pops up on the screen, reporting the murders. There is also a short scene with the two stars standing in front of the vehicle in the desert, wearing Burqa inspired outfits with cowboy style hats underneath, and police sirens wailing in the background; this relates to the movie Thelma and Louise (1991) where two women shoot a rapist and take off in a vehicle. This intertextual reference shows their power and feminist approach.

This video is performance, narrative and concept based; there are performance scenes such as the dance sequences, and Lady Gaga in the kitchen, which are both related to the narrative. The main concept of this video is female empowerment, as throughout the video Lady Gaga uses many different references to show this, and at the end of the video, there is a female symbol to conclude the idea. The video cuts are often through circles and stars, representing unity and success, and also the American flag on Wonder Woman’s costume.

Star Image: Britney Spears

Often labelled "Pop Princess", Britney Spears became a prominent icon in popular music, and in popular culture in. At only 17, she reached number one on the US charts with her debut album Baby One More Time in 1999, selling over 13 million copies. Being in the spotlight for over 10 years and from such a young age, we as the audience, can compare the different images Britney has adapted since she entered showbiz.

Britney's first video Baby One More Time (1999) was filmed in a high school, the same location as the movie Grease, because she wanted it to reflect the life of her teenage fans. The costumes were cute school uniforms, and pigtails, and this already presents Britney in a very innocent light. She is seen performing gymnastics outside the school, which shows she was popular in high school, possibly one of the cheer leaders. She was the perfect picture of purity, and this is clearly reflected in the costume choice of her video Sometimes (1999), which are comfortable, and the colour white clearly represents her chastity as at the time, she declared herself a virgin until marriage. The narrative in the video, Lucky (2001) was based on a famous celebrity, in this case an actress, having fame, wealth, beauty, but feels she is still lonely and missing something. The music video features Britney as the lonely figure, and the audience is lead to believe that she feels alone, in reality. She is also acting as the narrator in the video, as a guardian angel which again portrays her innocence.

As she matured, her songs and videos started to state her independence, lyrics such as "You thought I was sent from above, I'm not that innocent." and "Now I'm stronger, than yesterday. Now there's nothing but my way." The video for Stronger (2001), where she wears a lot of black and shows more attitude, is seen as a departure from the "candy coloured" videos, and emphasises the transition from the teenage pop star to a true diva. I'm A Slave 4 U (2001) is a complete different turn from her innocent pop image, and was the first of her "seductive" videos. Produced by The Neptunes, the track has an urban vibe, and lyrics such as "All you people, look at me like I'm a little girl" emphasising that she's "grown up" now. She wears revealing costumes and bellydances, and this video was mostly positively recieved by critics.


This was during the time of her relationship with Justin Timberlake, and Britney was eager for people to see her as a mature woman, taking on a movie role in Crossroads (2002). She announced that she'd be taking a six month break from her career after the couple broke up, and Timberlake released a song which lead the audience to believe that she had been unfaithful to him, which deepened her "not-so-innocent" persona. As a response to the track, she released slow ballad, Everytime (2003) and lyrics relating to asking for forgiveness after hurting a former lover sparking unconfirmed rumours that she was referencing to Timberlake. The video begins with paparazzi and fans starting to lose control, and Britney is hit on the head with a camera. She later finds out she had been bleeding, in the bathtub and loses consciousness, it then cuts to a hospital scene where Britney's ghost is seen running into the light. Though the song sold very well, the video was heavily criticised, for glamourising suicide and was seen as a plea for attention, forcing the audience to imagine a world without her and the audience now feels it may have been foreshadowing her mental instability struggles in the future.

A few months later, with a much more upbeat tempo, dance track Me Against the Music (2003) was released on her fourth album, In The Zone, featuring "the world's top-selling female recording artist of all time" (Guinness World Records) Madonna. This album sparked controversy as a few of the songs were explicit such as "Touch Of My Hand" which was about masturbation and there, Britney had gotten rid of her "innocent teen" image completely. Toxic (2004)'s music video featured clips of Britney completely naked except for being covered in diamonds, known for their unbreakable strength and beauty, mirroring the image she wants to portray. The narrative shows Britney taking revenge on her unfaithful boyfriend, poisoning him, and she sports a few different costumes, referencing to superheroines and also raising the issue of female empowerment.


Her personal life underwent a lot of troubles after this video, and she had taken a break from her career to get her life back on track. After three years, she released dance song Gimme More (2007), opening up with the words "It's Britney, B*tch" which became her catch phrase. Wearing a leather black vest, she dances around a pole and flicks her hair about, with night club light effects in the background giving the video a stripper theme. After harsh criticism, she released the video for Piece Of Me (2007) which portrayed her life at the time, with references to the media rumours and news. With lyrics such as "I'm Miss American Dream since I was 17" and "Oh my God, that Britney's Shameless" it is written similar to a biography, speaking of her mishaps, she mocks the press with images of magazines with ridiculed headings. The words "You want a piece of me?" can be seen as a threat or an invitation, and cleverly shows her confidence is still there. Britney then covered Bobby Brown's My Prerogative (2008) which discusses the singer's thoughts and not caring about other people's judgements. The first scene shows her jumping into a pool and starting to sing; this displays her rule-breaking carefree thoughts. The video cuts to her husband, Kevin Federline watching clips of Britney in her lingerie, this references to pornagraphic films as she is wearing little clothing, and she is seductively looking at the camera, presenting her as an object for display. Her music video for 3 (2009) also has inter-textual references to female empowerment, such as the fact that her male dancers are blacked out silhouettes while the spotlight is on her entirely. Her white costume, with large revealing slits seems to be influenced by Kyle Minogue's outfit in Can't Get You Out Of My Head (2001) which was popular for it's fashion style and 'sexiness'. Womanizer (2008) was a definite comeback for the star, as the catchy song reached high peak positions in the charts worldwide. The video opens with a completely naked Britney, covering herself with her hands, in a sauna or hot spa in which the steam emphasises her "hotness". Wearing four different costumes of disguise, she tricks the male lead as her alter egos flirt and continues to lead him on. Ending with a close up of her smile, to make the viewer feel the intimacy of the situation, and the audience is reminded of Britney Spears's beauty. This video clearly represents female supremacy, as the lyrics state she knows his plan and will not be tricked into his ways of pursuing women lecherously, earning her respect back from the media and wowing all her fans.

*Screen prints from Youtube and Sony Music Entertainment.