Analysis of media products with similar visual concepts to my music video

Lana Del Rey- Ultraviolence

According to Wikipedia Ultraviolence was shot “entirely on an iPhone on the 8mm Vintage Camera app”, giving the effect of an old home-made movie.

The filter overlaying the footage is very warm, the colours are saturated and the focus of the camera is very soft, making the video almost look dream-like and nostalgic.

This is synonymous to the intertextual references to the 1960’s era, for example the protagonist’s style of costume. The style of music is also synchronous with the visual concept, whereby it is reminiscent of 1960’s Hollywood music with its slow-paced, orchestral and climatic build up.

In the music video the main character, who is also the artist, is wearing a white veil and a white dress, symbolising marriage and her purity.

The close up shot of Lana covered by the veil is an intertextual link to marriage, which reaffirms the theme of purity presented throughout the music video.

Historically women wore veils over their face during marriage to signify their virginity and the man’s removal of the veil is a metaphorical indication of the couple’s consummation of their marriage. During this section of the music video there are subliminal cuts, showing shots of a man’s hands on the female characters face, signifying this.

Analysis of media products with similar visual concepts to my music video

A convention of this Indie/rock genre is an abstract visual concept without a narrative. The video is also discordant to the lyrics, whereby she talks about the irresistible nature of both drugs and abusive relationships (“He hit me and it felt like a kiss”); whilst the music video is almost Utopic. This subverts Andrew Goodwin’s theory that lyrics will make constant references to the visuals on screen.

The Utopic nature of the music video signifies the absolute complacency of the female protagonist in the music video, linking to Dyer’s theory that stereotypes are used in media to “help construct audience perception”. In this media product, the female character conforms to dominant patriarchal ideology and its stereotypes that woman are weak and submissive to their male counterparts.

The visual concept of this video is similar to the music video I want to create, in terms of the blurred/ distorted image and the themes of purity. I also want my video to be abstract and have a visual concept that is almost Utopic.