Research - Music Video Analysis

As part of my research, I will be analysing the music video for Bad Romance by Lady Gaga. What I feel makes this a great music video is that it follows pop video conventions, whilst breaking others, and contains strong examples of editing and mise-en-scène.

The video begins with an establishing shot, with the artist sitting on a throne in the centre of the frame, surrounded by men and women. The camera slowly zooms in, cuts to a closer shot, then a close-up of the artist’s face (all whilst continuing to zoom in). This is an example of how the shots in music videos are rarely static, but what I found interesting is that ‘Bad Romance’ combines a significant amount of static shots too. For example, nearly all the shots during the opening sequence (where the white latex wearing women rise from their ‘coffins’) are static. Yet the editing plays a significant role in keeping things moving and bringing energy to the video. The fast cuts utilize ellipses of time, whilst accompanying shots of the artist keeping eye contact with the camera engages the viewer. Speed editing is also used which is a frequent feature of pop videos, for example there is quick shot towards the beginning that is sped up when the music begins, and a slow motion sequence before the climax.

Many base tracks are used, possibly more than your average music video (which gives the video a busy but exciting feel); significant ones include: close-up of the artist singing to the camera with a white background and minimalistic make up, the artist dancing with back-up dancers in front of several men (which seems to be following Laura Mulvey’s thoughts on the representations of gender in music video), the artist with big cartoon-like eyes (most likely edited in post-production) in a bath tub, etc. Another major example of obvious editing is present during a particular scene where the artist is surrounded by diamonds/crystals suspended in mid-air, whilst the camera revolves around her.

The transitions throughout are constant, until we reach the climax of the video where fades to black are used in quick succession whilst the scene cuts back and forth between different base tracks. The mise-en-scène is consistently futuristic, with white being a predominant colour for the setting and costumes. In the climax of the video, the artist and dancers are introduced in a new scene with red clothing that contrasts with the rest of the video. The video ends with a dramatic shot as the camera zooms out. This is the only time throughout the video that a zoom out is used which brings the video to a fitting close. All of this seems to be putting emphasis on the closing scenes of the video, and I am given the impression that this particular focus is placed to leave a lasting impression on the viewer.