Neon Lights (Demi Lovato, 2013)
Media Language
The message behind the video is to convey how love is like neon lights, in the way that it is passionate and sparks a fuse between two people. This is illustrated within the specific choice of lyrics relating to a partner or loved one sung throughout the video, including 'baby' and 'we'. Although this may appear to be the purpose of the video, the real intention is to highlight Demi's star persona.
Camera
Using Dyers 'Star Image' theory, we can conclude that Demi is to be seen as a sexual magnet with BCU's of her face being incorporated to capture her sexualised facial expressions. MCU's are also included to show non verbal language, outlining her bare shoulders in a mystique stance which suggests her confidence and passion for the song.
Although, despite this observation, Demi also closes her eyes a lot within the video which distances the audience from her. Adopting Dyer's paradox theory, this is because she wants to make herself absent at times in order to maintain the audiences interests. This is often referred to as the incoherence of the star image, which ensures that audiences continually strive to 'complete' or 'make sense of' the artists image. Therefore, in disconnecting herself with the audience, they will want to continue watching the video in order to regain that connection.
Mise en scene
Accompanying camera angles emphasising her intentions, the use of pool shots that display Demi not wearing any clothes furthers her desire to be seen as sexy and appeal to the male gaze. She is also presented to be very natural, with minimal make up being worn to signify her beauty. The use of her hair being worn down adds to her good looks as it acts as a connotation of sexual desire, accentuating her feminine features.
Lighting effects such as UV lighting that feature in the video make it appear visually interesting, as it livens the frame by brightening it. The effect further acts as a contrast to the natural lighting we see in other parts of the video, making it appear more unique and creative to Demi.
Editing
Fast pace editing is consistent throughout the video which contributes towards the message of love and reflects upon relationships in suggesting how they go quickly. The use of editing also conforms to the pop genre in getting the audience to look at more than one thing, constantly encouraging them to be visually entertained (this in effect increases the videos repeatability).
The colour scheme of this video is blues and purples, not many other colours appear outside of this palette. I like the idea of basing every shot in our video on a select few colours, it will define the clothes, makeup and props used as well as any hues we want to layer over the footage in editing. It creates consistency between shots and brings the whole thing together so I definitely see this as a worth while feature of our own product.
ReplyDeleteWell done Charlie, your deconstructions are a high level four and you are using a wide range of media terms accurately and showing excellent understanding of theorists such as Dyer. To achieve full marks in deconstructions you need to include more specific examples to the text as evidence to points made.
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