Video Number 2Katy Perry - Roar (Official video)

o The Second video I have chosen to analyse is by Katy Perry and it is for her single ‘Roar’.

o This video was published one year ago on the 5h of September 2013 and so it has received 614,828,782 views since.

o Katheryn Elizabeth "Katy" Hudson better known by her stage name Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She rose to fame in 2008 with the release of the single "I Kissed a Girl" from her second album, One Of The Boys.

o Perry maintains that honest song writing is very important to her, "I feel like my secret magic trick that separates me from a lot of my peers is the bravery to be vulnerable and truthful and honest”. Perry’s reputation can at times be viewed as controversial, her albums One of the Boys and Teenage Dream, involve themes of sex and love.

Katy Perry’s latest album ‘Prism’, which features ‘Roar’.

The female solo artist Katy Perry.

The video begins with animation. The title of the song and the production company are introduced in a cartoon style font. Very bight colours are used to present these titles in order to make them standout, they cannot be missed by the audience and I think this is a hidden indication for what is to be expected from the video and song. It will be loud and dominant. The titles are then scratched away from the screen with a sound effect of a tiger roaring over the top. This can be seen as threatening but because it was animation the aggressiveness has been softened, it is less believable. Next as the camera gradually zooms forward a hole in the cartoon jungle appears and the audience find themselves entering into a real jungle and so no longer is it animation. Suddenly the threat has come back and the audience feel the aggressiveness may not be as dulled down as much as it previously was, there is a sense of foreboding about what is to occur next, the tiger’s roar may have been a warning.

From the expression on Katy Perry’s face in the still, to the left, it is clear she is distressed, however her boyfriend in the video hasn’t seemed to have noticed. Now this song isn’t a ballad but instead it is pop which is energetic. So right from the start it is clear that the video is supposed to be fun and entertaining. The expressions and explorer costumes are supposed to add a comedic effect which the audience can enjoy.

The still on the right shows the boyfriend posing for a selfie and this is rather ironic because the use of technology in the jungle isn’t something which is likely to happen in the real world. It again emphasises the use of comedy in this video and how the video is being funny deliberately in order to make the storyline obvious and to make it amusing to watch. This man doesn’t seem to be as unsettled as the girl and the audience can tell a nice man.

The audience can relate the lyrics to the video because they are almost a narrative. In the still to the left, the boyfriend can be seen handing all his bags over to the girl for her to carry and this doesn’t seem fair. “I let you push me past the breaking point” are the lyrics which Perry sings when this scene has taken place and so the audience can connect them and see what the meaning is. I think that this video supports feminism and evidently sends out the message to all females that they should not be pushed around by men.

The editing throughout the whole video speeds up as things get better for the character. Initially the shots are very long and drawn out in order to build up tension because the character’s fate in uncertain. But then as the character grows more confident and is finding that she is able to survive and overcome her fears the music become more upbeat and there are cuts become more frequent. The lighting also become a lot brighter and it helps illustrate how the character’s body language changes and enhances the atmosphere. The first part of the video shows her to be out of her comfort zone because Perry keeps her arms close to her side which is a defence mechanism and she is also frightened of her environment, it is dark and ominous. In the second part however, her body language changes and her arms are stretched out so she is no longer on guard, she is also seen to be embracing the nature and animals, the lighting is brighter.

In the middle of the video animation has been incorporated again to represent the character’s build up of confidence. It is like the video is symmetrical where on one side of the animation it is insecure and on the other side it is courageous. It is the point at which everything changes, even the music is at it’s chorus. Like the lighting and editing, throughout the video the camera angles continue to change also. At the beginning the angles and shots aren’t very varied and are all similar, most of them highlight how small the character is with high angles for example. Towards the end though as the editing pace picks up so does the amount of different types of shots. Many have now become long shots, and low angles to put this redefined character on a pedestal. Something which is very unconventional about this music video is that fact that the artist is acting in it. Katy Perry is playing a character and isn’t being herself. This is unexpected as the audience are used to the artist being parallel to actors in there are some involved.

In the still to the left Perry can be seen showering and even though the audience do not view the artist fully naked it is definitely insinuated. This can be considered controversial because even though it is not entirely explicit there are still connotations that come with it. Seeing woman dressed provocatively in music videos is often a common feature and parents are not always comfortable with this. For example, Katy Perry is most likely to have an audience of young fans and they can be impressionable. Wearing little clothes can send out the wrong message to young girls and that is not good.

The stills to the right show Katy Perry using lip stick and nail varnish and this can be seen in either a positive or a negative light. The positive aspect is that the character that is stranded in the jungle is making the most of what little she has and is fending for herself. She has managed to make light of what could have been a bad situation and made do to make her life better. This is a good thing. It is showing that she has not given up and has stayed strong in a difficult circumstance. However, the negative aspect is that the character is in the middle of the jungle and is putting on lipstick as though it is an important necessity. There are people all over the world that struggle to get even the basic resources that they need in order to survive and yet Katy Perry seems to be keeping her luxury items in check. It is also telling her audience that make up is a priority. In the video she is not seen to be trying to find food but instead is trying to paint an elephant’s toenails. Luxuries like make up should not be that important.