ACT: Madonna
YEAR: 1998
DIRECTOR: Unknown
GENRE:Pop, Electro - Pop
- The video is a day in a life filmed in four minutes. It was filmed in
Sweden, New York and Las Vegas using time-lapse photography. The shoot
took 14 days. Madonna had the idea for doing the closing nightclub
scene. It won the 1998 Grammy for Best Music Video Short Form and the
MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year.
- The lyrics reflect Madonna's interest in spirituality and her faith
- Microsoft used this in a 2001 advertising campaign to promote its Windows XP operating system.
- Some of the video is filmed using a green screen.
- The lyrics link to the visual in some aspects but not in others and not as strongly as it does in her other visuals which is one reason why I picked it.
- The genres are reflected strongly with the night club scenes reflecting the electronic and electro - pop well.
- there is a lot of star treatment used in this video which is to be expected.
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN VISUALS + LYRICS:
There
is no link between the visuals and the lyrics, meaning it to be a concept video. It is
also shot in a range of locations, with some use of a green screen for extra effect. Madonna although older is still represented in a sexualised way wearing slightly revealing clothing for her age.
GENRE CHARACTERISTICS:
Genre
has become an even more diverse, however this follows some of the
characteristics that we would expect such as the sexualised dancing as well as upbeat music and cutting to the beat.
INTERTEXTUALITY?
Non that I am aware of.
PERFORMANCE, NARRATIVE AND/OR CONCEPT?:
The
video is a concept video as it doesn't really follow a narrative and is quite random and has no apparent relation to the lyrics.
PERFORMANCE STYLE:
The
performance style is singing and dancing with madonna being the main focus with many of the shots taken are with the events in the background, this is done by a series of layers or use of a green screen. some of the dancing that has been shown has had some of the frames deleted in order for it to look 'alien' like but because of the nature of
it it could be described as cavorting.
STAR TREATMENT:
Star
treatment has been featured heavily in this video with the
concentration solely on madonna, This is stereotypically done in order to
sell the track but to also establish and promote the artist and the
album. This is also an example of Laura Mulvey's theory as the woman has
blonde hair and is wearing revealing clothing - Mulvey's theory being
that they are being objectified for the gratification of men. This can also be added with the view of madonna being a symbolic character and is known as the queen of pop.
PACE + ANY VARIATION OF PACE:
The
pace is varied throughout with scenes of slow motion, the cuts are
fairly quick which reflects the tempo of the song at times. There are a
range of inter-cutting shots with quick transitions and shots last no
more than a few seconds. Some of the shots are very creative and use
different camera angles with extreme close ups and use layering and green screen techniques.
SHOT VARIETY + NO. OF SETUPS:
various shot variety shown with range of creative shots.
LOCATION/S + MISE-EN-SCENE:
In the video there are a series of locations used but all seem to be taken in the vicinity of one another. that being the city but also the use of the green screen.
NOTABLE SHOTS/FRAMING:
close up shots of body
