M.P: Music Video Comparison

Begin Again by Taylor Swift (Mainstream)

 

• This music video is a narrative. Taylor Swift plays the key character who has gone through a bad relationship and the video shows her making a friendship with a man. She goes on a first date with him which shows she is finally getting over her previous love interest and becoming happy again.
• The location of this music video is Paris. She is filmed in various locations, such as one of Paris’ bridge that is made of padlocks. She also is eating in a French café as well as walking around the beautiful quieter streets of Paris. The location of the video causes there to be high production value which is a generic convention of a pop music video.
• In relation to Andrew Goodwin’s theory, there is an amplified relationship between the lyrics and visuals. The videos visuals are creative for example, one of the lyrics is “Take a deep breath in the mirror/He didn’t like it when I wore high heels/ But I do”. These lyrics show a negative side to her previous relationship, and the visual that accompanies this is Swift walking by the river slowly with a sad expression.

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  Swift's notion of looking present

  Goodwin also wrote about the notion of looking present. In this video, this feature is included. For example, Swift looks in a mirror meaning we can see her more than once. Goodwin refers to the star image as vital in a music video as the artist will make it more appealing for the consumer. She also is in almost every shot of the music video which is satisfying for the consumer.
• Richard Dyer has a star theory where stars are constructed but not real people. One part of his theory is that stars are both ordinary and extraordinary. Taylor Swift is seen as the girl next door, a young adult who lives in New York and likes to spend time with her family, friends and cats but she has a talent for writing songs and singing which makes her extraordinary.
• Another aspect to Dyer’s theory was that stars and both present and absent. Swift frequently contacts her fans through Tumblr, Instagram and Twitter which makes her present in her fans lives. Her fans may also have various posters and merchandise. However, she is out of reach as she is not actually there.

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  Swift's red lipstick

  Part of Swift’s star image is her Red Lipstick. One of Swift’s visual motifs is her red lipstick and blonde locks which allows her to be recognisable for consumers. She is also known for her elegant style of clothing which is displayed in this music video.
• Pam Cook had a theory about the structure of the classic narrative system. In this theory, there needs to be a cause and effect and a high degree of narrative closure. In Swift’s video, it does just this. Through the lyrics, we can work out that she has had her heart broken (cause), she then struggles to live normally and go on a date with a new love interest (the effect), the video resolves with her going on a date and feeling happy showing she is finally over her heart break (narrative closure). 

 

Still by Daughter (Indie Folk)

Breaking the fourth wall from inside the TV

• The music video is narrative based where it follows a female protagonist who goes home to her husband. However she is unhappy with their relationship. The video shows her preparing to go to bed and it ends with her lying in bed with her husband who pretends to be asleep. They are both unhappy and do not love each other.
• The location of this video is a small flat. This contrasts with Swift’s location of Paris. There is a low production value on this music video.
• Similarly to Swift’s video, the relationship between the lyrics and visuals are amplified.
• The band, daughter, appear in this music video via a TV screen. The TV is on while the narrative is playing out and we sometimes see the TV screen. The leader of the band is seen breaking the fourth wall when she is on the TV.
• In Goodwin’s theory, he also spoke about the treatment of the body. Unlike in Swift’s video, there is a fetishtic treatment of the main characters body. The camera follows the female in the video and there are shots of her wearing minimal clothing and undressing. For example, there is a close up of her upper bare back where we see her tattoo. When we see the artist herself on the TV screen, there is a close up of her lips whilst she lip syncs the words.

Fetishtic treatment of the body

• Pam Cook’s theory of narrative system also applies to this video. The narrative shows the couple together unhappily (cause), their marriage is failing and both characters do not love each other (effect), the video ends with the female characters getting in to bed next to her husband despite her feelings towards him (narrative closure). This narrative closure is not as expected and as satisfying as the closure for Swift’s video.