Research - Music Video Analysis 2

Taylor Swift - Blank Space

The beginning of the video show a title followed by the name of the artist. This is a typical convention of pop music video. Straight away we see a character drive into a castle type house, which suggests the video is going to be a narrative. The setting of the video, suggest the characters are wealthy. A narrative is often used in pop music videos as it helps tell the story of the lyrics. We see that throughout the video the male character pays little attention to the female character. This visualises the title of the song 'Blank space' as the female character may feel like a blank space because she is being ignored. Having visuals that match the lyric are a key point to a pop music video and is a typical convention. For example the lyrics say 'cause we're young and we're reckless'. The visuals are of the two characters running around outside and are inside riding a bike. This is typical childish behavior and suggest the video is about how childish love can be. The camera shots in the music video are also fast and there are many of them. This fits the style and tempo of the music which again is a typical convention of a music video. The vast  majority of shots, creates this atmosphere and reflects the artists crazy character. At the beginning of the video, the camera is angling up and the main character. This shows that she has all the power in the video, as she is also wearing a black dress and black represents power and elegance. This completely goes against the typical characters, as the female is often shown as the damsel in distress. In this video she is not the damsel in distress and rather is the heroin. This low angle also makes her look intimidating. The video has multiple bright colour costume changes which is another typical convention of a pop music video. This is because it will attract the artist target audience, which is teenage girls, and they stereotypical are attracted to bright colours, so this will draw in her audience to watch the video. Through out the whole video the artist keeps the same red lipstick. This creates a recurring symbol for the artist and makes her stand out and recognisable. The colour also symbolises red and danger, which is the theme that stands out in the video, and makes the artist come across as dangerous. At the end of the video the characters are standing in front of a tree and are carving their initials into the tree. This is a scene typically seen in teenage american love films and therefore fits her genre perfectly. She is also wearing purple shorts which is a symbol of power and wealth, again showing she is the dominant character as well as being a bright attracting colour.