Textual Analysis - Katy Perry, Last Friday Night

So after reviewing my blog, I decdied there wasn't much textual analysis of music videos as I would of liked, so I've decided to analysis a few more music videos. I've decided to look at Katy Perry - Last Friday Night, as this is what I would class as you're run of the mill pop music video, but with a strong sub-genre of comedy.

Camerawork
There are many close ups of our artist, Katy Perry from the very beginning, which is a key aspect of Goodwin's Six, of her both performing to the camera and playing out her narrative. A lot of these closeups are for comical effect as Katy Perry is playing a character called "Kathy". With these shots we can see the disgust on her face when discovering her messed up house and when having her 'mustache' waxed. Her facial expressions are purely for comical effect as they are outrageous and quite funny. There are also many midshots of her in her room both tidy and the morning after the party. This shows the contrast between time periods and could represent the transformation her character makes throughout the course of the music video. When she goes through her physical transformation of costume, hair and braces removed there is a large increase of mid to long shots of katy perry. This could be due to another one of Goodwin's Six, referring to voyeurism, as she now looks more attractive and desirable for a male audience. In contrast when she is in her 'nerd' outfit, there are many more close ups rather than mid or long shots, as a 'nerds' body is not necessarily desirable to the main male audience. The camera itself is very steady which is conventional for most pop music videos.

 Mid shot after the transformation- voyeurism

Close up before transformation- comical

Mid shot transformation through parallel editing- after

before

Editing

The editing pace of the music video is generally quite slow, considering the song is quite fast and upbeat. The pace does pick up a bit when the party moves to her house, and is mixed with lots of jump cuts between different acts. This could be the suggestion that our character could be drunk at this point, and is remembering the party is fragments, and there is a shot of her being sick. The only other time there are several obvious jump cuts is when she reveals her new look walking down the stairs. This again could be linked to Goodwin's voyeurism as it takes several seconds to move up each section of her body. There are some wave cross-fade transitions during which represents either a flashback to the night before and later on for the imagination of the geeky boy. During these imaginations there is also evidence of a green scene as both Katy and him are either in front of a volcano fighting the jock or a castle after winning his "damsel". I believe these locations have been chosen for the connotations of knights, heroism and damsels. 

wave/cross-fade transition

 Jump cuts between sections of her body - voyeurism

green scene - connotations of heroism

Mise En Scene

Costume: Katy at the beginning is dressed in very stereotypically nerdy clothes, a pink turtleneck jumper and dungarees. The fact that these two items have been selected together shows that the character has no idea or concept about fashion or 'looking good'. However, she predominately in pink which does suggest she has some femininity, which is revealed later on. To solidify her geek persona, she is wearing oversized glasses and an outside brace for her teeth, both incredibly stereotypical for this character type. Later on, she is wearing a tight bright green pencil skirt and a pink crop top. This is highly revealing in comparison to her earlier costume and suggests voyeurism. Her glasses and brace are also gone which suggests she wants to embrace her feminine side. Her only other outfit is when she is in the geeky boy's dream and she is dressed as a stereotypical medieval damsel. As she still has her brace and glasses on during these scenes, it suggests that this male character find her attractive regardless of her clothing; and is also for comical effect.

Setting: The main set is her and Rebecca's house, which is typical of most teenage parties. By using this kind of setting could be an attempt for the audience to relate to Katy situation and wish to be there with her partying. This also has a strong visual representation of the lyrics and visuals. The setting is also a message to the audience that everyone has fun! There is not a single character in the music video who, by the end, is not happy and show's a nice light hearted view to american teenage life.

Props: There aren't any main props involved, but the few we see being interacted with are all purely for comical effect. For example, the wax on the upper lip which she licks, the chicken fillets which Katy sniffs, an 'muscled' torso which is touched with extremely funny reactions, Just Dance and a saxophone used by a featuring musician.

Overral I love this music video as it's lighthearted and funny. Katy Perry takes the mickey out of herself, which is nice and refreshing to see in a music video. The comedy is used well and not thrust in your face and I think it's just generally a feel good song.

Here's the music video!