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.