Task 2.1: Research into existing products (Lady Gaga - Bad Romance)

At the beginning of the music video, all of the men are dressed in black. They are dressed in black because they have the authority over the women; they are the ones in control. All of the women apart from Lady Gaga are dressed in white. This portrays them as being innocent and vulnerable to the men around them. However, she is wearing gold to show that she is the main attraction to the men, which is also emphasized by the fact that she is in the middle of the wide shot so Lady Gaga is the main focus. 

The shot above is of Lady Gaga wearing glasses that are made out of razor blades. This suggests to that audience that she feels on edge and so is being defensive against or towards someone. She has them to protect her and she will use them as a weapon if she needs to. This portrays Lady Gaga as being a very vulnerable character in the video and also foreshadows that something bad will occur later on which therefore intrigues the audience to watch the rest of the video. 

In this part of the video we see 6 people dressed as monsters coming out of pods. This is a connotation to show them being born as innocent and vulnerable people. Furthermore, their clothing covers their eyes so that they cannot see. This implies that they are not aware of their surrounding or anything going on around them and therefore are blind to what will happen later on in the video. The monsters in the video are also wearing white which emphasises their purity and innocence further. 

From this close up Lady Gaga's eyes appear to be really big. This conveys her to be like a child who notices everything but is also as naïve as a child. She notices everything whereas the monsters are blind to it and don't know what is going on. She wears white and her hair is pale pink. These are colours which you would expect to see on a baby. It is also the most innocent that she looks throughout the video. 

 

Throughout the start of the video with the montage of shots, there is a close up shot of Gaga showing her face and the fact that she is naked in the shot too. This conveys vulnerability further because she has been striped of everything including her personality leading to her being powerless. Her lack of make up emphasises this further because when you usually think of Lady Gaga, an image of her full face of make up comes to mind but it doesn't show in this clip; it is a contradiction to what is expected from her. 

After she has been given the drug you see a wide shot of her and other monsters/prostitutes that have been given the drug performing in front of the superior men. The men are dressed in black and some of them are topless showing their tattoos. The tattoos highlight to the viewer that they are superior and not ones to mess with. In this shot, Lady Gaga is dressed in diamonds and jewels whereas the other females are just in white meaning that she is the main attraction and all of the men want her. Furthermore, this is also implied through the fact that she is dancing in the middle of them so is the one that they will naturally look at first. 

Following this, there is a mid shot of her in something that looks like a cage with low key lighting. She is naked and looks severely malnourished as you can see all her bones and distinctively, her spine. Animal connotations are created here, she is caged and mistreated like an animal. The men don't care about her welfare and only want her to be able to perform for them and that is it. 

All of the animal connotations throughout the video are summed up by a close up shot of a sphynx cat. The cat is seen hissing which could symbolise Lady Gaga rebelling against the monsters when they were trying to give her the drug. Also, the men are treating her like an animal and the shot of the cat emphasises this further. 

After Lady Gaga has performed, in the now high key lighting, with the other prostitutes and she goes over to one of the superior men, all of the 'Beats by Dr Dre' branded laptops change to say 'Sold'. This is significant as it relates to the fact that women were and still are seen as being property towards men, especially prostitutes. She has been bought by one of the men for $1,000,000. Moreover, the high key lighting symbolises her innocence and purity when she is performing before she is bought by one of the men. After this, the amount of light decreases to show a low key lighting wide shot of another auction where in which she is performing in front of the men again. 

Lady Gaga uses several branded objects throughout her video such as the 'Parrot' MP3 device at the beginning and then the 'Beats By Dr Dre' laptops. Furthermore, she also wears jewellery from her own collection. This works as advertising for the companies and it will equally encourage fans and others that watch the videos to purchase something that she has. They will have the mind set of 'If it's good enough for Lady Gaga, its good enough for me'.

In this next scene, a wide shot is used which pans around the room and then zooms into a mid shot of Gaga (as shown below). In the shot, we can see that she is the main attraction to the men surrounding her. Here, she is objectified again as they get to bid in an auction for her, she is property for sale. 

Gaga is wearing minimal clothing and so this portrays her as being in a state of vulnerability like an animal being backed into a corner or caged; this is shown earlier on in the video when she is caged like an animal. She has beads and diamonds wrapped around her, restricting her movement. This adds to the aspect of her being in a vulnerable position and trapped by the possessiveness of the dominating males around her.

Following this is a wide shot showing Lady Gaga walking away from the camera wearing a white fur coat. The coat was made from a polar bear as you can see its head facing the camera. A polar bear is presented as being a dominant animal but here it is no longer in control because it is dead. This links to the fact that at the present moment, Gaga has lost her control, however, it could also foreshadow that she is going to gain her control and power back at some point towards the end of the video. More over, this emphasises the use of animal imagery within the video and also highlights Gaga's gain and loss of power throughout.

Then the camera does a 'shot - reverse shot' as it shows who she is walking towards, the man who purchased her. He is sitting on the bed, all dressed in black and leaning forward to imply that he is waiting for her and is engaged in the moment. A shot of the bed implies that they are about to have sex and that he is going to be receiving the service that he has bought the prostitute (Gaga) for. The entirety of the room is white whereas the male is dressed in black. This creates symbolism as the whole situation and scene would be innocent if he wasn't there. He takes away the innocent aspect of it just like he has taken away Lady Gaga's innocence too.

Next, she is laying on the floor with the other prostitutes in another scene. They are all dressed in red, a colour of desire and passion but also danger. The characters are all lying on the floor hinting that they are exhausted from being sexually used and abused. Their innocence has been taken away from them and they feel useless and vulnerable, hence the fact that they are lying on the floor because they do not feel worthy. Then, there is a dramatic dance that happens in this same scene when Lady Gaga raises her head and the others follow. She stands up and they all follow, again. From this, the audience can pick up that she is sick and tired of being mistreated like an animal or an object and she is standing up for what she believes in because she knows that she shouldn't be seen as being a piece of property. Furthermore, she is going to fight to gain her control and power back from the male.

Lady Gaga removes the polar bear coat to reveal that she was only wearing underwear underneath. The underwear is white which links to that fact that she is about to gain her innocence back and also her power over the male in front of her. She raises both of her arms open wide to tease and fool him into having sex with her. Gaga does this as she will then get to use him rather than him using her, she takes advantage of the situation in order to deceive and trick him.

Fire ignites, surrounding them and closing them off from the rest of the room, symbolising her trapping him. In this wide shot, it also shows the polar bears mouth as being open as if it is growling at a predator and this is exactly what Lady Gaga is doing. She has trapped her prey and isn't going to let go of it until it is dead. The room goes up in flames and she is no longer in the shot which implies to the audience that she has set him on fire and has left him to burn which is then confirmed by a close shot of her standing in front of the fire and its flames. She is standing extremely close to the fire but isn't being burnt, adding to the symbolist effect that has been created here. She has killed him meaning that he has lost his control and she has gained it, she is superior to him.

The final shot shows Gaga lying on the bed next to a corpse who we assume is the male who used her. There are sparks of fire coming out of her chest and she is smoking a cigarette like the men were in the beginning of the video. With the flames sparking out of her chest, it is confirmation to the viewer that it was in fact her that killed him and also, she is seen looking at the camera as it moves away which implies that she has no shame for what she has just done and that she is proud of her actions. Her underwear is now black, just like the antagonist's clothing was. This highlights how the power has been gained by Gaga.

Task 2.1: Researching into existing products (Lady Gaga - Paparazzi)

At the beginning of the video for Lady Gaga's Paparazzi, calm non-diegetic music is playing throughout the establishing shot of the white house which is surrounded by flowers. You can also hear the diegetic sounds of birds and the sea. This sets a very tranquil mood but also hints to the audience that all could be not exactly what it seems. Next, cartoon/animated style writing appears on the screen titling 'a serial pictures production'. The style of the writing implies that the video was made to look as if it was set in the 1950's.
The video looks as if it is set somewhere hot and sunny in the Mediterranean; it is somewhere you would go on holiday. Along with the flowers as well, it looks like a perfect place where nothing could go wrong 
so it is deceiving to the viewer.  

All the way through the video, you see shots of different designer brands for example, the rings that she wears from Dior and her own jewellery that she has designed herself. It is promoting the companies to a wide range of audiences that may or may not want to buy them.
Furthermore, fans and others that watch the video may be influenced to then go and buy something from one of the brands because she is seen wearing them in the video. It would have the biggest affect on her fans which would then want to have a look at her collection and merchandise and then might be persuaded to buy it. 



When she gets pushed off of the balcony, her boyfriend is looking straight into a camera as he knows and has asked someone to take pictures of him throwing her over the edge. He has done this to create headlines and then he would get a lot of publicity and a lot of money from it too. When she is falling, there is a background behind her of a black and white illusion. This conveys the fact that she didn't expect him to do what he did and she was blind to it. As Lady Gaga has landed on the floor, her blood is full of glitter and jewels. By doing this, she has glamorized the fact that she has died and turned it into a not so negative thing. It also adds emphasis to her fame and status and its what she is through and through, its what makes her. There is also a montage of shots of women that have died due to being victims of male violence. This portrays women in a good light and shows them as being innocent and vulnerable. More over, at the end of the video when Lady Gaga kills her on-screen boyfriend, she gains back the power that she lost to him so it makes her look superior and the one with the most control adding to the good presentation of women throughout. 

In this scene near the end of the video, her clothing has a pattern which is similar to that of Minnie mouse. By her wearing this it makes her look as innocent and naïve as a child but it is ironic that she then goes on to kill her boyfriend. The clothing that she is wearing is yellow which adds further irony as yellow is seen as being a happy colour and yet she is about to kill him. Her revenge is unexpected for the audience.
When she hands him the drink he doesn't make eye contact with her at all and this is because he believes that he has the control and power over her. However, the only time when he does look at her is once he has drunk the poison and he does this as he now knows that he has lost the control to her and she has won. The fact that he never looks at her also portrays women from in the 1950's as being irrelevant to society and therefore, the men never pay any attention to them unless they want something; they should be seen and not heard, like a child.


The drug that she gives him comes out of her ring from her own brand in which she designed herself. All of the jewellery that she is wearing represents danger as it is covered in sharp, metal spikes. It is deceiving to the audience because again, it is something that they wouldn't have expected as the ring just looks like an innocent piece of jewellery. In addition to this, she is wearing blacked out sunglasses too so that you cannot see her eyes. By wearing these, it creates a sense of mystery for the viewer due to the fact that she is hiding what she is about to do. The poisonous drug that she gives him is a red liquid. The colour red conveys blood and death which is foreshadowing what will happen next. Lady Gaga's on-screen boyfriend is wearing an eye patch in this scene, implying that he is blinded by her and doesn't know what she is planning to do. 

After she has killed her on-screen boyfriend, she removes her blacked out glasses so that we can finally see her eyes. She then puts the glasses over his eyes and smiles. This shows the viewer that her revenge was meant to kill him and that she has done it on purpose. Lady Gaga has no shame for killing him and it comes across through her facial expression of smiling too. The fact that she leaves her glasses on him when he is dead emphasises her revenge further because it would be obvious that she had intentionally killed him and the media would find out. However, because he tried to kill her first, the media would love her for getting her revenge on him.

In the picture above, Lady Gaga is seen having her prison photo taken. The entirety of the mid shot is captured in black and white apart from her nails which are purple and also some running makeup on her face which is also purple. This is significant to the start of the video when she arrives back at her mansion and walks on a purple carpet. The colour purple relates to royalty which portrays Lady Gaga as being a rich character who is highly important to society.