Lady Gaga- Papparazzi

This music video is directed by Jonas Akerlund and was released in 2008. There are scenes in which performances are shown in this video however overall this video can be seen as a narrative. I am fond of this video therefore I am going to show a deep understanding and analysis of the video 'Papparazzi'.It features a murderous plot line involving a doomed starlet who is constantly followed by photographers. From the opening of the video the audience can immediately tell this is a story line based video. In the beginning of the video there is no music present we just hear sounds of scenery such as water, birds and the piano playing very softly in the background. The opening begins with many quick shots of the setting; The low angle shot of the palm trees can indicate to the audience that it is set in Los Angles. The setting of the house looks very posh and affordable therefore we can understand why the director would have chosen this place. It connotes that celebrities are able to afford such furniture such as chandeliers. We are shown a logic pattern of shots of the house, high angle shots are used to show the state of the house.

From this shot we can tell this video is shot in a very posh traditional setting. There is typography present in the opening of the video. This makes the video seem more movie like. There are also subtitles present to translate the Swedish they are speaking, in order for the audience to understand. All these features can also be seen in a movie therefore Papparazzi is known as a 'mini movie'.

The font and setting allows the audience to recognise some past facts aboout the 1950's. For example, the typography used shows the type of fonts which were used in movies at the time. The video is trying to bring the old within the new. The opening setting uses a scene from a movie in the 50's called Sunset Boulevard.

Furthermore, this medium shot gives credit to the Artist by Lady Gaga being placed on the money. This can have many connotations such as her success in her career and that she has got far in life. It can also show that maybe she is in charge of the relationship she has with her partner. However it may also show her importance in USA.

This shot can tell us that there are hidden Papparazzi involved in her life. The man is looking directly at the camera and the directors intentionally done this to convey a message to the audience that he was involved with the Papparazzi. Instantly, the audience would probably think that Gaga is going to get revenge on her boyfriend.

The colour scheme throughout the video can also be analysed. The colour purple is used quite often in the video. Purple can connote poison and revenge. The fact purple is used and not red can indicate that Lady Gaga is not an typical artist like others and therefore she is unique.

In the first image there has been subverted stereotypes. For example, the carpet is purple instead of red.This can show a sense of richness and revenge. Also this can show the different stages celebrities go through to get what they want and that everything is not easy.

These shots of Gaga being in the newspapers can show her reputation and status. In the first image, she can be seen as not that well respected however after she kills her boyfriend and gets revenge on him everyone seems to 'love her again'. This can indicate that people go through a lot to maintain how they are seen in society. It can also link to her music title 'Papparazzi' and that they tend to capture all stories about the celebrity however these stories change over time and because of the Papparazzi, the celebrities reputation and fame changes.

In the video, a variety of mise en scene is used to convey the message. The dance scene of Gaga holding crutches is very different because it portrays her as a robotic character due to her costume. This marganilses' her from the other dancers. There are close ups of Gaga's eyes and lips when she is dancing. This can show sexual representations and that things have changed since the 1960's and the appearance of women have changed as they now wear make up and revealing clothes. However her costume in another shot can be seen as Gothic when she is wearing a black skirt and white suit. The close up of the dog also connotes messages with the video title. It shows that Paparazzi's are restless and violent. Towards the end of the song, a dissolve is used and fades in with the servant at the table. At this point, Lady Gaga is wearing a yellow mini mouse jumpsuit. This can be seen as an intexuality because she is showing similarities between her and the cartoon character; Minnie Mouse. The yellow suit can show her 'nice' side however the close up of her black lipstick can show 'danger' or 'death'. When she puts poison in her boyfriends drink, the audience would assume she is an evil character.

This video can reflect upon Post feminist views as it shows Lady Gaga with the most loyalty in her relationship. This music video can be seen as different to most videos because firstly it is a 'mini movie' in which there is a story line in such a small period of time. There is a very traditional theme used throughout this video, the costume is very unique. However there can be some conventional features such as dancing scenes and the theme of relationships. The target audience for this video is possibly teenagers as some enjoy looking forward to what happens next which is exactly what 'Papparazzi' conveys. There are many techniques used in order to produce such an effective video.