Purposes of research:
Research is used to find out facts, statistics or opinions about a chosen subject. There are two types of research; the first is primary which is when you go out and find out the facts about your subject yourself, for example interviewing people, carrying out questionnaires or experiencing to find out about this. The other type is secondary research which is when you gain information from someone else's research, such as looking on wikipedia, reading books and other sources.
‘Bad Romance’ released on 25th October 2009 is a song by American recording artist Lady Gaga. It is the lead single from her second studio album, The Fame Monster. Directed by Francis Lawrence has directed for such artists as Aerosmith, Jay-Z, Gwen Stefani and many more, as well as being director on the highly acclaimed film “I Am Legend” starring Will Smith.
Lady Gaga’s ‘Bad Romance’ video is typical of her oddball, random and theatrical performance style. This is shown clearly throughout the video. Gaga uses her odd-ball theatrical presence to its full extent to shock and fascinate the viewers. Although she is considered a pop artist her unique style of music and visuals are not the stereotypical representation of a pop star.
The video is very much concept based with hints of narrative depicting the music industry. The conceptual ideas of the video are shown through use of symbolism and visual metaphors mixed with sheer randomness. ‘Bad Romance’ describes the dark side of the music industry, by symbolically depicting Gaga as a sex slave, albeit a willing victim. An example of this is the movement of her dances which are very stiff and robotic as if she is being controlled (0:50), which represents that she is a puppet doing what is necessary to fulfil her desire of fame. This idea is continued through her being scantily dressed and thrown around, almost bullied. However, there is a juxtaposing message when she appears with no make-up and crying (1:47) showing a more human side, showing her vulnerability and possibly sadness at the lengths she has to go to achieve her dream. Another use of this vulnerability is people ripping off her clothes as she covers herself as if she was naked in front of a group of men sitting down watching this whilst drinking, which is showing she feels exposed.
The first scene has all performers in pose and static symbolising the nature of the music industry having to pose or show a facade for the public. The second scene begins in darkness inside a foggy looking room with light slowly moving through a window with the camera panning across coffins followed by light fading to dark and vice versa on each coffin before the main lights coming on and creature like women in costume crawling out(0:20-0:38). Another effect the director uses very well is the use of quick flashing transitions to the beat of the music (3:27). To convey the sense of strangeness in the video there is various scenes when Gaga has been edited so her eyes are oversized which fits in the scenes where she is made to look like she is going insane, which is also reflected in the scenes when she is being forcibly restrained as if she is a mental patient.
At face value, the song lyrics seem to be about her wanting to have a romance with a kind of psychopath, but the video reveals that she is expressing the lengths she would go to for fame.
The song is probably aimed at 14-25 year olds as even though it is quite a dark song at heart the pop beat makes it more of a mainstream youth type of track.
Justin Timberlake – Cry Me a River (Directed by Francis Lawrence)
‘Cry Me a River’ is the second single from Justin Timberlake’s solo debut album Justified. Released on December 17, 2002, the single, which features guest vocals and production by Timbaland & Scott Storch, won Timberlake a Grammy Award for ‘Best Male Pop Vocal Performance’ in 2004. The song title comes from ‘Cry Me a River’ written in 1953 by Arthur Hamilton and sung by Julie London in the Jayne Mansfield movie ‘The Girl Can't Help It’.
‘Cry Me a River’ is a typical Justin Timberlake video with many close-ups of his face miming the lyrics. This is done to reach his intended audience of young females. However the song of heartbreak is a role reversal as the stereotype is the man’s betrayal through infidelity whereas in this case it is the female. The video is narrative based and links totally to the story.
Even though this is the same director as ‘Bad Romance’ the difference in style is vast. Narrative is the key to this video as it tells the story of a boyfriend scorned as he breaks into his cheating ex’s house and records himself with another women in her room finally playing it on repeat for the ex to discover.
The scene is cold and dark, it is raining outside and Justin, Timbaland (the producer) and a woman are sitting in a car. The people who live there drive off and as the operatic vocal is sung the tinted window rolls down and the beat drops as the window is fully opened revealing Justin who begins to mime to the song (0:23-0:27); there are uses of transitions to the beat throughout the song. The director uses the symbolic use of water through the rain and the shower to represent the tears quoted in the lyrics. The mood of the scene very much reflects the mood of the story, it is very gloomy and the colours used are dull. The pace of the video also reflects the mood of the music being very slow and measured.
Although it is a story of heartbreak they have still included the element of dance which appears random to the storyline but typical of Timberlake’s videos thus further appealing to his main target audience(1:50-2:24).
The director’s use of close-ups is used to great effect as it conveys Justin’s emotions towards the events. At first his face is smug as he enters the house, dancing around before sleeping with another women in her bedroom, however when she arrives home and he begins to watch her, his face turns to sadness showing that even though they are over he still has feelings for her.
(The video doesn't usually contain the lyrics but was the only one I could find that would let me post on to my blog
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