Music Video Analysis

Taylor Swift - Love Story (narrative)

Taylor Swift's video for Love Story is a narrative video with elements of performance as Taylor sings into the camera, as it tells the story of her romance between herself and her "prince", with the plot closely following the story of Romeo and Juliet.The video features period, fairy-tale mis-en-scene which takes place inside Taylor's head as she walks past her crush, reinforcing the idea that only princes and princesses are capable of having a perfect "love story".

The video begins with an establishing shot of a high school. This sets the scene and signifies to the audience that this video will be set in a high-school setting. Actors imitating students and a school flag are also present to create a high-school atmosphere. 

 Next we see Taylor in a stereotypical student costume. Her hair is curled, long and bouncy, stereotypical of a high school "girly girl". She is clutching text books, showing she is a student and also a bag which appears to be relatively full, again reflective of student life. Her make-up features heavy eye makeup which contrasts with her nude lips, this could possibly suggest there is more to what meets the eye and there is a flirty, darker side to her, seen later as she "sneak[s] out to the garden" after bedtime to meet her prince.

A full body shot is hen used to introduce Taylor's love interest. He is dressed in all black which adds an air of mystery to his character and he contrasts with Taylor, with his dark hair and attire. 

The video then switches to a fairy tale theme, with Taylor now wearing a ball gown and her hair coiffed in an updo, supposedly to resemble a princess.She is leaning out of a large window and the building is regal like a castle. This scene replicates the stereotype of a damsel in distress, suggesting girls are weak and defenceless and need a prince to "save them"

Plenty of closeups are used in the music video to focus on the expressions

of the characters to show their love towards each other.

2 shots also heavily feature in the video as it is a romance, therefore the shot is used to establish the relationship between the protagonists and the audience can clearly infer the two are together.

Beyonce - Pretty Hurts (concept)

The "Pretty Hurts" music video focuses on the concept of being "pretty" and explores the lengths girls in particular, go through in order to achieve beauty and be "perfect". There are elements of a narrative video as we see Beyonce play as a pageant contestant and the steps she takes before the pageant itself, however the video is mainly tackles the concept of what it means to be beautiful in today's society.

The video begins a busy room full of girls preparing for the pageant. There are quick shots of the girls doing some absurd things in order to look "perfect" for the stage. In this still, one girl is forcing herself into a dress that is clearly too small, most likely in order to feel more beautiful as a smaller size. In other shots, the girls are seen spraying hairspray onto their outfits, squeezing their non-existent love handles and rubbing petroleum jelly onto their teeth, to create the illusion of shine. The quick shots emphasizes the rush and desperation of the girls to look perfect and the hurried nature backstage. 


2 and 3 shots are also used to show the hostile, catty nature of the girls to each other, before the curtains come up and the fake smiles are plastered on their faces, this reflects the real world where some girls can be fake and pretentious in private, but act sweet and nice when they know others are watching.

In this  full body/ long shot, Beyonce is seen wearing a gold bikini with her sash across her her. Despite her beauty, her lean bikini body and her gown in the background, she is hanging her head down in sadness, suggesting that being beautiful means nothing if you are unhappy on the inside. The long shot, allows the audience to see the contrast between the large room and her possessions and her dejected body language. 

There is a heavy use of closeups in the music video to focus on the things the girls are doing in the name of achieving beauty which may be overlooked, if they aren't clearly focused on. The actions include, the well known secret of eating cotton balls dipped in juice to trick the body into thinking it's full, constantly checking their weight, taking weight loss pills, or maybe pills for depression and the stress of ensuring a thin waistline is maintained. 

The video ends in silence, with Beyonce exhaling after finally removing the makeup, crown and other material accessories, representing her exhaustion of the constant effort needed to maintain perfection and the sigh also shows her liberation from the constraints of tight dresses, elaborate makeup etc. The final shot shows her sash laying abandoned over a chair, implying Beyonce has decided to fling the idea of fake beauty away. The sash now reads "Pretty Hurts" which is the title of the song, this is the last shot and is almost used as a way to sum up the entire song and the strong message it carries.

Demi Lovato - Heart Attack (performance)

 This video is mainly a performance video with small elements of a concept style in it. The song is about Lovato building up emotional barriers due to being hurt previously and constantly choosing the "wrong guys" however a new boy has entered her life who she is afraid to open up to but makes her very happy.

Demi Lovato's video for her song, has the stereotypical features of a performance video. Throguhout the song, she is seen in various locations including an underground stage setting and a constructed sets, typical of a performance video. As expected in a performance video, Demi sings the lyrics of the song throughout the video and in one scene performs with  a band behind her.

There are also a lot of closeups in this music video which are also common in performance videos as the video is centred around the artist. The closeup at the to allows the audience to focus on Demi Lovato's  blackened hands which she explained represented the pain and hurt left over by previous relationships, so closeups allow her to express her feelings through her facial expressions.