Lady Gaga

Telephone ft. Beyonce

Joe Gow would categorise the video for ‘Telephone’ as either a song & dance number or a special effect extravaganza. The majority of the video is made up of shots of the artists lip-synching and performing choreographed routines, which is focusing on the presentation of the artist’s image rather than the lyrical content of the song. This ties in with Goodwin’s theory where-by many close-ups of the artists are included for promotion.

Goodwin also states that voyeurism often plays a major part, especially for men, to increase interest in the music video. This is very apparent in this particular music video as it featured a large number of female dancers/actors wearing minimal clothing along with the main artists.

A technique occasionally used in music videos is intercontextual reference. In the case of ‘Telephone’, the director has included sections

which relate closely to the film ‘Kill Bill’ (2003) in which the main character drives a truck called the ‘Pussywagon’. Beyonce is seen to be

driving a similar vehicle in the music video.

Film – Kill Bill Music Video - Telephone

Goodwin’s final factor found in music videos is a relationship between the music and the visuals. As ‘Telephone’ is an extended video with a story being told in-between sections of the song, there is less need to illustrate the meaning of the song with the visuals. The director (Jonas Akerlund) has, instead, used editing to represent the feel of the song through visuals. An example of how this has been achieved is by using fast cuts during more energetic/chorus moments of the song and slower, fade transitions at breakdowns.

Chorus – Quick cuts between angles with main artist centred in the middle.

Breakdown – Soft fades between shots for a calm effect in the quieter sections of the song.