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“Circus” - Britney Spearshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVhJ_A8XUgc

Britney Spears is an American singer who is part of the pop genre. This music video is named Circus and stars Britney Spears. Although this music video is of the pop genre as well as the artist, the visuals on the screen have extreme themes of burlesque performance such as costumes and regular shots. I therefore think this music video would be an excellent analysis to help me in my production of my music video and ancillary tasks.

The music video begins with low angle close up of two perfume bottles. Furthermore when cutting on to the next shot, we are presented with an interesting choice of composition of the star looking in the mirror. This shot is a mid shot at 0:14 seconds and informs us on character and status

(uses of gratification theory).

The choice of lighting in this shot creates a mysterious atmosphere. I feel the directors intentions were to present the artist as a heroic figure (8 stock character). There is a yellow tint to shot creating a glamorous effect to the shot. I think although there isnt a lot going on in the shot, the spot light on the main character in the shot creates a dramatic and exciting atmosphere. I feel this would appeal to a target audience as it creates a burlesque atmosphere, due to the mysteriousness. The props in this shot are quite distinctive. The brightness and intensity of the big, bold jewellery makes the artist look like a stereotypical burlesque performer. In burlesque performances, distinctive costumes, jewellery and make up are often featured as a big convention as seen in this shot.

We instantly see at 0:26 seconds that we are presented with a iconic burlesque shot. This long mid shot ensures us as the target audience to be able to identify the emotions intended by the director. Although the location of this shot is dark, the intense lighting behind the artist, creates a

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silhouette look intending for us to see her again as a heoric figure (8 stock characters). The lighting creates a sexy figure whilst hiding the identity of the artist. To add to the mystery of this shot, a prop of a hat is used. This prop is also often used in burlesque performances and burlesque movies such as the film Burlesuqe who stars Christina Aguilara.In today’s society, females are often portrayed in music videos as a sexual object. In this music video starring Britney Spears, I feel the directors intentions were to create a seductive image to reel the target audience in through entertainment (uses and gratification theory) . I feel this type of shot would stereotypically be target towards females as a form of entertainment (uses and gratification theory), but also to women so they can aspire to look up to them (Gaze theory).

The editing so far and also throughout the music video is quite fast. Due to the lyrics and music included in the music video, it makes sense for the editing to be quite fast. I feel the editing has a huge impact on the audience appeal, as it makes the music video interesting and entertaining (uses and gratification theory). The sharp cuts give the music video power and dominance. It enables us to see that this is the connection to burlesque as its controlling and mysterious.The editing of the music video is fast due to the transition of cuts from each shot making the music video have a powerful and dominant impression causing the tension to increase. This type of editing causes a dis equillibrium due to the uprising tension, however forms to a new equilibirum when the editing slows down and becomes more calmer.

This long angle shot from a low point of view at 0:52 seconds enables us to identify the surroundings and mise en scene. Judging from the surroundings we can see that it has a circus theme due to the stereotypical objects we can identify due to our upbringing. Circus’ are usually entertaining and a reminder of fun

and children. This may cause audiences to feel entertained due to the brief bright colours from the lighting and staging. The characters are formed in a group and represent an army due to the bond they have during the choreography. This creates a dominant atmosphere which is often a theme seen in burlesque music videos and performances.

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The narrative of this music video is very much centred around a circus. It brings out the performance and drama side of it. This establishing shot at 1:17 gives us almost a burlesque insight. Comedy is a theme that is often conventional in burlesque performances and entertains the target audience (uses and gratification theory). I feel the chosen location being the circus connotes laughter and comedy, which has a strong connection to the funny side of burlesque. The costumes used in this shot are tassly, netted tights, corsets which are conventional to burlesque performances.I think the idea of these costumes attract audiences to the performance side. Therefore the music video would attract audiences and make them feel entertained, however the music will have a huge impact on their overall impressions. The lighting here is more dramatic. There are more spotlights used to dramatise the shot and make it more like a performance. Due to the choice of shot we are able to see the surrounding stage and sand. This gives us an indication of location.

This mid to long shot from a low angle gives this figure status. This is presented at 1:26 seconds and is a traditional burlesque image.The idea of having a blacked out stage with one single spot light focusing on the centre stage is stereotypical. The colour red connotes fierce, danger, love, sex and blood. This reflects onto how

the director may have intended us to view the artist. She comes across as a sexy and dominant female, which connects to the red curtain falling down behind her. The colour red is conventional to burlesque and comes across strongly through the props, makeup and curtain. Burlesque performances are known to be sexy and fierce, so I think having this shot backed onto this colour gives the audience an indication of how to see the artist. It enables them to connect the different possible connotations to the narrative, shot and character.The costumes in this shot are stereotypical burlesque outfits. The glitter, shot and revealing outfits are often starred in burlesque performances and help us in the informative point of view when looking at this image

(uses and gratification theory).At 1:41 we are presented with this wide angle long shot. Females are very much stereotypically expected in burlesque performances, however there is occasionally male interferences. This shot

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best describes a burlesque performance due to the props, composition and lighting. The chairs are used as part of the dance routine and are often seen in Burlesque performances when the performers are creating a seductive or comedic atmosphere. As well as this the female artist is surrounded by male dancers who outnumber her. This creates sexual tension and would appeal to the target audience. The lighting creates a mysterious atmosphere due to the lack of it and the dimmed effect on the background rather than the foreground.The props are very simple, hands, cane sticks and chairs to assist them in the performance. This would appeal to the audience as it is not a general “dance around” type of music video. The music video is made much more interesting when there is a range of composition. Due to the female being the centre of this music video, she is presented in the centre stage, with two men either side of her. This could connote dominance and bravery. It shows how she is in control and what seems to be quite seductive. This may appeal more towards to male audience (uses and gratification theory) members due to the choice of costume and self character. The lighting on the foreground is very much minimal and quite dark. However as you travel to the background the light begins to be more intense and bright. This would cause the audience to keep focus on the front. It also creates more shadows, giving the shot a much

more interesting composition.

This shot is shown at 2:03 and is quite distinctive compared to the rest. This powerful wide angle mid shot would appeal to all the target audience, being people who love music, performance, theatre, fashion and dance. This shot is powerful in terms of character dominance. First of all the costume

is covering a lot of her body compared to other burlesque outfits we have previously seen. This mysterious, seductive outfit is in contrast to the striking red curtain in the back. This stages a perfect burlesque scene, and is assisted with the falling of the bright lighting. It is almost a ‘rain’ of lighting around the centre character. The hair of Britney Spears in this shot is quite vintage. It was previously quite naturally straight and flowy, however now it is more styled and unique. This ‘updo’ is an iconic look and completed the look of a burlesque dancer.

The artist is represented as a seductive, powerful and confident woman. This therefore enables us to make a judgement on the representation of the genre through the themes such as location, lighting and composition. It is often the same as burlesque performances.

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Up until now the music has been upbeat, with strong loud instruments such as the drums which play an important role in the audio. It assists on the editing due to the increase in cuts and different shots throughout the entire music video. However, as the music video comes to a close, and the previous shot at 2:03 is presented, everything becomes slightly slower. This gives an audience memeber time to take everything in and perhaps pay more attention to detail and care. At the end of a performance in real life you usually have big lights, noises and a closing curtain. I think the slow editing towards the end, the continuous fall of showering lighting, and a decrease in pace of dancing, indicates to the audience that the music video is coming to a finish.

At around 3:25 a sudden introduction of red lipstick appears on Britney Spears’ lips and still wearing a hat which connects us to the burlesque themes. The red lipstick could connote love, passion, danger and sex causing this to appeal to a target audience through the sexual appeal (uses and gratification theory). This could indicate the power and dominance she has gained and the end performance.

The end shot is quite comedic due to the smiles and laughter we see. This connects to burlesque due to the comedy that is included during

perfomances. The narrative shows that the finale of the circus performance is happening due to the breathing fire, all the dancers appearing and coming together. The end shot fades to black as expected in a real performance to indicate the end of a show. The spotlight dissapears and the music video ends. This again reveals the mystery of the shot

and character, wanting the audience to be informed and entertained more (uses and gratification theory). I think this would b appealing to an audience memeber due to the costume, dancing, audio, lighting and camera shtos/angles. Judging from this video it is easy to judge that it is a performance music video. Judging this from Godwins music video theory I had to look at the beats of the music varying from each chorus. As well as this we have to base the decision of the artist and performance and how they are presented. Due to the performing elements in this film such as the stage, the backing curtain and the other elements such as dancers we can conclude this is a performance video.