Kelly Clarkson Since u been gone analysis

Another music video that I looked at and gained inspiration from was Kelly Clarkson's 2005 video 'Since u been gone.' The narrative of my music video is also similar to the narrative in 'Since u been gone' as Kelly Clarkson's boyfriend has also left her for another girl. My music video is also the same genre as Kelly Clarkson's 'Since u been gone' as they are both pop/rock genres.

A medium close up is used to show Kelly Clarkson holding a heart locket. This symbolises Kelly's heart break as later she puts it down.

Similarly, I have also used the symbolism of a heart by using a close up of a sketch of a broken heart that the singer has drawn to show she also has a broken heart.

Long shots are used to show Kelly Clarkson trashing her boyfriends apartment as she is angry that her left her for another girl and therefore wants revenge on him. For example, she throws his clothes out of his cupboards, pushes his cd rack over, smashes a photo of him and his girlfriend and rips up his pillows and jumps on his bed. In my music video, I also trashed my bedroom and used long shots to show the singer pushing a chair over violently and wiping papers off a desk to show the singers anger.

There is also a performance in 'Since u been gone' where we see Kelly performing on stage to a crowd of happy fans. Close up's are used to show her singing in order for the viewer to get an experience of what she would be like to see live. Similarly, I have also used close up's of the singer singing in my music video to promote the singers image and to appeal to my target audience through her style of clothing, hair style etc.

A tracking shot is used in the video to show Kelly Clarkson's ex-boyfriend walking with his new girlfriend. This shows that he has left Kelly for someone else and thats why she has trashed his apartment. Similarly, I used a medium shot in my video to show the singers boyfriend hugging another girl. This therefore explains why the singer is angry and upset as her boyfriend has also left her for someone else.

Avril Lavigne Don't tell me analysis

'Don't tell me' by Avril Lavigne was one of the music video's that inspired me and gave me ideas for my music video. The video was directed by Liz Friedlander in 2004. The music video and song is about Avril Lavigne being mad at her boyfriend and breaking up with him. For example, some of the lyrics are: 'This guilt trip that you've put me on won't mess me up, i've done no wrong, any thoughts of you and me have gone away . . . I'm better off alone anway.'

A close up is used of Avril's legs which shows the viewere her black, pink and white skull and cross bone socks. This represents Avril's pop/rock and pop/punk genre of music as this styling is often used to promote this music. Similarly, as Avril Lavigne uses a recurring them of black and pink throughout her music videos and costume to promote her pop/punk image, I have also used a recurring theme of black and pink in my digi pack to appeal to my target audience of young teen girls.















Furthermore, Avril's costume when chasing after her boyfriend also clearly represents the image, style and genre she wants to create. She wears a tight black corset top with skinny black jeans, a silver studded belt with silver chains, converse shoes and a black glove. This style of clothing again appeals to her target audience. For part of my music video I also wore black skinny jeans and a silver studded belt in order to show clear representations of my genre of pop/rock.
















Fast paced editing is used to show Avril's anger as she throws a glass of water against the wall to smash it. This builds up excitement for the viewer and shows Avril's rebellious side which again suits the genre of pop/rock and pop/punk music.





























I used a similar technique in my music video, as I used two seperate long shots to show me throwing and smashing a see-through flower vase against a wall outside. I also, like Avril Lavigne, wanted to build up excitment and show the singers anger and rebellion. I also kept the smashing sound of the vase in my music video, as Avril Lavigne does as I thought it gave an interesting effect as it stands out in the song and therefore, the viewer is drawn to the sound of the vase smashing as well as the video which adds to the anger felt by the singer.















Long shots are used to also show Avril trashing her bedroom. This again shows her anger and again appeals to her terget audience of teenage girls as they would be experiencing anger and confusion with relationships and boyfriends etc.














I also used long shots of me trashing my bedroom for example, I pushed my chair over and sweeped papers of the desk . I also wanted to reflect teenage girls and to show that I am also angry at my boyfriend and am rebelling.

Editing, special effects and filters

When editing, I used some special editing effects in order to improve my video. For example, for some shots, I adjusted the brightness, such as the shot where the singer is crying and smudging her make-up in the mirror. I made the shot darker to reflect the singers emotions as she is upset and heart broken.











I also used special effects such as slow motion in some shots. For example, to accompany the lyrics 'slow it down,' I used a slow motion effect on the shot when the singer pushes a chair over. I did this to show a relationship between the visuals and lyrics as this one of Goodwin's six points. I thought that this effect also emphasises the anger the singer is feeling as she trashes her bedroom.











On the other hand, I also used an effect where I sped up the pace of some shots. For example, I did this for the shot where the singer wipes papers off her desk. I felt that thia was a usefull effect as it made the singer seem more anngry and violent and she did the motion faster which shows her rebellious side.











I also used this technique as well as the slow motion technique in the same shot. I used the faster paced technique when the singer is ripping up a past love letter from her ex-boyfriend, then I used the slow motion technique when she throws it on the floor and stamps on it. I thought this was effective as she looks angrier when ripping up the letter, but then the slow motion used after, contrasts with this to show her emotions and facial expression as she is upset and heart broken.

How I used Goodwin's six points.

My music video follows the conventions of a pop/rock music video by my choice of costume, song, mise en scene and theme of the video. For example, my video is about a girl getting angry and upset with her boyfriend and wanting to rebel. Other artists of a similar genre of music as pop/rock such as Avril Lavigne, Evanescence, Pink and Kelly Clarkson have also used this narrative and theme in their music video's as this would appeal to teenage girls who are fans of this genre. I also used similar clothing and a similar style to some artists of a similar genre in order to attract my target audience and to clearly show my genre of music.

I also used another of Goodwins points as there was a connection between the lyrics and visuals of my music video. For example, accompanied by the lyrics 'people work all day and they go the extra mile and their working hard . . .' there is a long shot which shows the singer sat at a desk and reading through books in her sixth form or college to literally show that she is working hard.

Similarly, there is also a connection between music and visuals in my music video as I have edited most of the shots in time to the music. This therefore, makes the visuals and the music go together and makes my video more realistic and professional.

I also used another of Goodwin's points by using lots of close ups of the singer miming. This allows the viewer to see the singer in action, as if they wanted to see her live, they know what to expect. I have also used recurring images and motifs in my video such as the singer trashing things, for example, she smashes a vase, rips up paper, throws a chair over and pushes paper off a desk. This fully shows the singers anger and draws the viewer in as they want to see what the climax is.

Another point I used was the notion of looking. For example, I used a close up of a phone screen to show the audience the text the singer recieved. This makes the audience feel involved as they can also read her message, which feels like they are looking over her shoulder.

Shot List

In my music video I used a variety of shots. These include:

• Long Shot - I used a long shot for the very first shot in my music video to establish the location of the park.



• Medium Shot - I used a medium shot to show two of the 'popular girls' laughing at the singer, to emphasise that they are picking on her and annoying her.



• Close up - I used lots of close ups to show the singer singing so that the singer can connect with the viewere by singing directly into the camera so the viewer feels like the singer is singing directly to them.



• Panning Shot - I used a panning shot to show the singer leaving a classroom as this makes the viewer feel like they are part of the shot as they following the singer as she is walking.
• High angle over the shoulder shot - I used this shot to allow the viewer to see the keepsake box and to also see the singer looking at the box. This effect is similar to Goodwins 'notion of looking' point.

The process of filming

• The first filming I did was of me miming to the music in my bedroom and jumping up and down on the down on the bed.
• Then I filmed the narrative side of the music video. I wanted to film the singer having fun with her boyfriend at the park, then I wanted three 'popular' girls to come and make fun of them, and I wanted to show one of the girls flirting with the singers boyfriend to make the singer angry.
• I filmed again on the same day at sixth form. I Wanted to film the singer trying to work and two of the three girls laughing at her. Then i wanted to film her leaving the room but finding the third girl hugging the singers boyfriend outside.
• After editing all these shots together, i decided that the shots of the singer miming in her bedroom didn't quite fit it. Therefore, i decided to re-film, so i filmed in a different room, and used more of a variety of camera shots and made sure the miming was more realistic.
• After replacing the old shots with the new ones, i decided this as my first draft and showed in to other student and teachers to receive some class feedback.
• After hearing that people thought some of my filming of the singer miming were not energetic and didn't show the singer wanting to rebel, I decided to again, do some more filming to show the singers anger and frustration.
• Therefore, I decided to film the singer crying and smudging her make-up, smashing a vase against a wall and ripping up a love letter etc.
• After editing in these shots, my music video was completed.

Final Music Video

Overall, I am pleased with my final music video as I think the genre is clearly portrayed through the lyrics, narrative and costume of the singer. I think I have also presented my singer in a similar way to how I think her record company would, which makes her appeal to her target audience and connect with the viewer.

I was also pleased with the audience feedback I recieved as the teachers and students genuinely seemed to like the video. A student commented that my music video looked like an Avril Lavigne video which I was really happy to hear as I had looked at her video's for inspiration as she is one of my favourite artists and is also from the same genre of rock/pop.

There were a few differences between my final music video and the original animatic I made. This was mainly due to the fact that after I had shown the first draft of my music video to people, I was advised to make some changes to my video and to add some new shots in order to improve it. Therefore, some shots that I drew in the animatic are not in my final music video. For example, shots of the singer miming in her bedroom and jumping on the bed are not in my final video as I was advised to re-film them in order to take shots to show the singers anger.

Final 'Slow It Down' music video

Feed back

After showing my music video to the class, I was given some ideas from teachers and other students on how i could improve my music video.

One of these ways was for me to film the singer getting really angry and violent to fully express her emotions and to trash her room or smash her phone in order to show the rebellious side of the singer which is reflected in the lyrics and genre of the song.

Other options to show more anger in the singer would be to film the singer throwing things into a fire and ripping papers and letters and showing her with smudged make-up.

I was also advised to break up the shots of the singer miming as at the moment, these shots are too long.

Rough cut of my music video