Katy Perry Music Video Analysis

Katy Perry's 'Thinking of You' is a narrative based music video, presenting the lyrics within the video. The lyrics talk about a couple torn apart by war and the female lead trying to move on but not quite feeling right with her new partner. The video features a past and present insight into the woman's life, showing her new failed attempt at a relationship and the funeral of her ex boyfriend the soldier, this is coupled with flashbacks of the couple before the war, including them going on dates such as dancing and picnics.

At one point the video cuts to a panning shot of the female's new lover as the line 'I guess second best is all I will know' is sung, this clearly reflects the woman's feelings about her new relationship and that she has to settle for someone who will never truly replace her first love. Similar to this, when Katy sings 'I am thinking of you' the video cuts to a flashback clip of her and the soldier having fun, symbolising exactly who she is thinking of. The line 'and bust in the door' is sung as the female protagonist closes the door, this creates a direct link between the lyrics and the visuals. It also amplifies the tragic nature of the video as she is wishing for the soldier to return home, we re actually seeing her close the door to attend the same soldier's funeral.

There is a strong connection between the music and the visuals shown through the order and timing of the cuts, that work perfectly in time with the beat of the track. The cuts are smooth and run evenly, without becoming jumpy or unnatural in the slightest because they are guided by the beat of the song. There are a range of close-ups of Katy perry singing the song, this helps establish Katy as both the artist but as the female lead, separated from her lover by the war. This promotes Katy as a singer but also an actress, and fans love it when their favourite musician isn't just as musician. The close-ups also bring the audience closer to the artist, they also enable us to see the raw emotion in this song, which gives the music and visuals an even more coherent link.

Within the music video, the male gaze of the new lover is used a fair few times, this is to encourage the audience to indulge in similar behaviour. the character looks at Katy in a very sensual and predatory manner, this results in the sexualisation of the artist and makes her more appealing to the audience. The mise-en-scene, regarding clothes, backs this up in that it is very scant, aside form her funeral outfit, Katy is seen in either her underwear or very little clothes, this has probably been done to portray Katy as sexually desirable, which would promote her as an artist, especially to male viewers, but it also makes her seem a little elegant as although she is dressed scantily clad, she is still presented as a classy woman. Although, she is presented in very little clothes and the camera does take on a voyeuristic approach, the main focus is on Katy's eyes and lips rather than breasts, legs or bottom. This is probably due to the nature of the music video being very tragic and the over sexualisation of Katy would ruin this, so the filming technique and style creates an impression of elegance and attractiveness but certainly not promiscuity.


There are slight bits of footage featuring Katy and her new lover having sex, but they are short and modest, so as not to make it a highlight of the video, but rather presenting it as sad and emotive, particularly as it is evident that Katy is not truly interested. 'Thinking Of You' is primarily narrative based because the footage does follow a storyline; a soldier and his girlfriend torn apart by war, her attempt at replacing him but failing and also the revelation of his death in her preparing for his funeral, coupled with shots of their time together pre-war. However, the music is also partly performance based because it features Katy singing snippets of the song in character whilst also acting as the female lead in the video.

Research Findings (500 Words)

The research of my production consisted of a questionnaire on Survey Monkey and the textual analysis of some music videos. This has helped me with what I should be aiming for when making my music video. Following the release of my survey I collected thirty-five responses, most of these being female. This means I will have to be targeting my video slightly towards females. I found that my music video should be aimed at the 14-24 year old demographic and between three and five minutes this is because the majority of the people who answered my survey fell into this age category and would only watch a music video of a maximum of five minutes.

The majority of people who took my survey listened to rock the mot, so I will be incorporating this into my music video. The other responses included alternative, indie, metal and grunge, again all sub-divisions of rock. Therefore the track I shall be choosing for my music video will be a rock due to popular demand. The majority of people would like a storyline alongside the music as part of the music video which is understandable as a just music would be boring, I will have to try to create a short story that works with the music and the rest of the shots in my video. A narrative based music video shouldn’t be too hard to achieve and it would be a lot more enjoyable than one without any narrative in the slightest.

The music videos I analysed were very different from one another. The first being Sweater Weather by The Neighbourhood, this was a very intricate music video, it didn’t really contain much narrative but more focused on the use of camera work to make the everyday things such as driving and sitting around more interesting. The best thing about the music video and what probably makes it a popular one was the editing used perfectly in time with the music. This will be something I will be trying to replicate, as I really liked the way it was executed in this video.

The second music video, What I’ve Done by Linkin Park, had elements of a plot, but it was more of a general plot stretched across the video, the whole video is about pollution and man’s relationship with nature. It is a very symbolic music video, containing very little exposition; this is designed for much more of an active audience. This could be because Linkin Park both wanted to get across their view on pollution but have done it in a subtle way because they know that only true fans will actually pay attention and interpret it correctly. These subtle signs, in my opinion, are an interesting concept used in music videos and one that again I will be trying to replicate.

Summarising my research I have decided my music video should be aimed at 14-24 year olds, the genre of music should be rock; my video should be between three and five minutes long and contain a little narrative. I also wish to use some editing in time with the music and possible include some subtle messages too.