Britney Spears…Baby One More Time

So as to create a music video that is believably within the pop genre – I shall analyse 3 real products:

• Britney spears, “Baby One more time”• Ella Eyre, “If I Go”• Avril Lavigne “What the Hell”

I will be using Goodwin's music video analysis theory to analyse these products.

Goodwin Theorised:1. Music videos show genre2. There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals3. There is a relationship between music and visuals4. The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist (so as to sell the artist, and create recognition) and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work - The artist may develop a certain visual style as a trademark.5. There is frequently reference to notion of looking (screens within screens or telescopes) and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body6. There is often intertextuality - references to films, TV programs and other music videos

Goodwin Theorised that Music videos show genre characteristics:

Britney Spears, wears 90s clothing with pinks so as to represent the 90s girly style typical of the time, as well as the actors wearing sports clothing, this video is therefore exhibiting current fashion trends.

Large number of extras, surrounds the artist and creates a representation of the artist being approachable and popular.

Frequent shots of extras smiling, upbeat and happy tone. High key lighting links to the upbeat tone throughout the video.

Britney Spear’s video involves both illustrative and contradicting elements, for example, “my loneliness is killing me” is matched with a shot of the artist surrounded by people therefore not mirroring the lyrics, however “I shouldn't’t have let you know” is matched with a shot of the artist sitting alone in a large room, this is illustrative as represents loss and regret.

Goodwin Theorised that there is a relationship between lyrics and visuals, these are either:

Illustrative: The lyrics are directly copied by the actionAmplifying: The action is an exaggerated visualisation of the lyrics

Contradicting: The action contradicts or completely contrasts the lyrics

There is a relationship between music and visuals, for example, the beat and dynamics of the song:

The visuals in Britney Spears’ video are illustrative in relation to the audio, e.g. at the slowest part of the song, when the music is low, the artist is shown alone in a large room, and when the music immediately increases, the artist is shown with a large group of dancers and a large use of lighting, this shows the contrast and mirrors the music.

Britney Spears is shot close up at multiple points throughout the video, only the artist shot close up so as to allow the audience to recognise the artists as the most important person within the video and to establish the image of the artist.

The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist (so as to sell the artist, and create recognition) and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work - The artist may develop a certain visual style as a trademark.

There is frequently reference to notion of looking (screens within screens or telescopes) and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body

• Britney Spears is shown in a school uniform, with thigh high socks and the shirt tied around her midsection, this makes the artist look more promiscuous and places the artist within the male gaze.

• The image of a schoolgirl is often sexuallised and fetishised, as a result also giving this image of the artist

There is often intertextuality - references to films, TV programs and other music videos

While Spears does not reference other works, the inspiration of the video was her fans,hence the costuming and school setting, the artist wanted the video to reflect the lives of her fans, teenagers, this was behind the artistic decisions within the video.