Katy Perry Thinking of You

Katy Perry Thinking of YouMicro analysis unit 3Jesse Hammond

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdGZBRAwW74

"Thinking of You" is a song by American singer-songwriter Katy Perry, taken from her second studio album, One of the Boys (2008). The song was released on January 12, 2009 as the album's third single. The song was written by Katie Perry and produced by Butch Walker, and is a pop rock and soft rock power ballad, with the influence of country music. Lyrically, the song deals with a break-up in which Katie Perry does not want to move on but has no choice, and feels nostalgic of a previous lover while in a relationship with another man. It is one of the three songs on the album that Katy Perry wrote solely herself.

The song received generally positive reviews from music critics; however, it is Katie Perry's lowest charting single from One of the Boys. The song peaked at number 29 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, becoming the album's only single to fail to reach the Top 20 in the United States, and peaked at number 27 in the United Kingdom. There are two music videos released for the song. The first was released in 2007 and featured Perry in two different rooms, black and white, and was directed by a friend of hers. The second was the commercial release in 2008 which was set in the 1940s and featured Katy Perry playing a woman who lost her lover, a soldier (played by Matt Dallas), in battle during World War II. Katy Perry began playing the song during gigs as early as 2006, and performed the song on all of her concert tours: the Hello Katy Tour, the California Dreams Tour and The Prismatic World Tour.BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Katy Perrys Music VideosI will be analysing Katy Perrys commercial music video, inspired by the 1940s about a breakup between a couple with one partner not being able to move on. The music video is filled with emotion and is very touching.Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thinking_of_You_%28Katy_Perry_song%29DIFFERENT VERSIONS OF THE MUSIC VIDEO

The first scene opens with a fade in the an peculiar image of the actress shoes. There is a soft focus overlay which enhances the 1940s style.Fade inThroughout the music video there are many jump cuts from one scene to another. It is a manipulation of temporal space using the duration of a single shot, and separating the duration to move the audience ahead. This kind of cut abruptly communicates the passing of time as opposed to the more seamless dissolve heavily used in films.EDITING

The next scene is a close up of Katy Perrys face which gradually comes into focus, showing her emotion of the tragedy from the break up. Not only does this scene have a close up but it is a side shot with her face, to the left of the screen, cutting out part of the actresss head which signifies she is not the centre focus.

Variations of shots

EDITING - FLASHBACKSFlashbacks are used to express the actress previous relationship compared to her new one which she is not as happy in. The use of flashbacks creates emotion and allows the audience to comprehend the two relationships that the actress has been in.

Flash back to the relationship she was happy with, to the one she has currently.During the music video, many flashbacks are used purely to bridge time, place and action to reveal a past emotional event or physical conflict that affects the character. In this case its looking back on Katy Perrys affectionate relationship with a solider. Sometimes, it gives insight and understanding into a character's behaviour or solves a past mystery; it explains her current emotional state of being disconnected.

When the actress looks at her previous lover, it reminds her of the life she used to love.

As the story progresses, the story develops to the loss of Katy Perry's soldier. The video exposes the past time with the solider then adjacently to that it reveals the life she lives now which shows her new relationship in the bedroom and how her new partner is obsessed with her, yet her life revolves around looking back to the solider.

MISE-EN-SCENEThis music video was created to be set in the 1940s which has been shown through the neutral colours, clothing and the setting for each scene. I researched into the 1940s to form a general idea as to what the so called fashion was. The decade was filled with pastel colours, swing dresses and, the hair style of Victory Rolls. Below are some images I collected to compare to Katy Perrys Thinking of You music video.

The music video was based for the 1940s, which had is successfully identifiable partly because of the clothing that the actors wore. On the left are images which were prominent in the 1940s, many of these styles were grasped in the music video, although some of Katy Perrys outfits have a modern twist to them.

The settings remains in a neutral colour scheme, which keeps to the 1940s theme. When Katy Perry is at her desk, as an audience we can see that it is a traditional wooden desk with a simple floral design on the draws, the top of the desk has an oval mirror in a wooden frame. This desk was common for the 1940s, the desk is placed in Katy Perrys room which is undecorated. Across the window are plain, white net curtains that allow light to come through delicately.

The setting of each outdoor scene is an open space which is filled with nature. When Katy Perry is looking back to her last relationship she is always enclosed in a small space which could mean she is trapped within her current relationship, compared to being filmed in large, open fields where their love is essentially free.

MISE-EN-SCENE - LIGHTINGLighting is a key element in Katy Perrys Thinking of You music video. It has been used to signify thoughts and feelings; when Katy Perry is looking back to her previous lover, the lighting normally drops and is quite dim creating a gloomy atmosphere. This emotion reaches the audience subsequently meaning that they will understand the loss of Katy Perrys solider. But when Katy Perry has flashbacks to her former relationship, the lighting is bright and carefree which characterises the actors affectionate relationship. In Katy Perrys music video the lighting is one of the main elements that convey meaning to the audience. As a viewer I can pick up on the emotions due to the lighting; often when Katy Perry is sad there is low-key lighting, but when she is happy the lighting lifts to realise Katy Perry is in a much happier position. During the end of the song the video shows the death of the solider (the one that Katy Perry loves and always looks back at). The mood changes almost immediately because there is now realisation to why Katy Perry cant get him back. When the death of the solider happens, the shots are in black and white which, as an audience, is discouraging to see because now that the colour is gone, so has his life. Katy Perry gets ready to attend her soldiers funeral at the end of the music video, the shots used emphasise the melancholy mood. Her makeup changes from rather delicate, soft to harsh and dreary. This change connotes the bereavement of her loved one. In previous shots from earlier on in the music video, Katy Perry is seen to wear, light and revealing clothes but now has changed into a formal suit with her face covered by black netting; this could imply that because she is now alone in some sense, she has closed off all emotion and that is why her current relationship isnt fulfilling enough.

CAMERA ANGLESA range of camera angles are used within Katy Perrys music video Thinking of You. Camera angles can be used for many reasons like: to create greater understanding of a situation, express someones view, emphasise emotion, etc.. Below are screen grabs of different shots used and why from Katy Perrys music video.

This scene is a wide shot of Katy Perry sitting at her desk, this is the very start of the music video. This shot doesnt represent much but it does show the era of the music video; there are many wood furnishings in this shot that were very popular in the 1940s; the dark, almost mahogany like wooden floor, desk and doorframes.

This shot comes into focus to show side of the actress face which is very close. From the previous shot we know that Katy Perry is sitting at her desk, potentially singing to herself over an unknown matter as the storyline has not yet been revealed. Not only does being this close to the singer allows us to notice all emotions that Katy Perry is feeling but also take more notice of the lyrics being sung.

The over-the-shoulder shot had been used well here because Katy Perrys emotion is reflected in the mirror so the audience can see how she is feeling. Whilst sinning Katy Perry is looking at a picture of a soldier that we later find out that he is her true love but were torn apart by war where he died in action. Through the tone of the song it is easy to tell the heart break that Katy Perry went through.

This shot is during Katy Perrys flashback to the relationship that she misses. It is a very wide shot as the subject matter (Katy Perry and the soldier) is visible but exceedingly hard to see. This clip is used between close ups of the couple. The use of this wide shot allows the audience to see that they are alone and happy. The flashbacks are normally to open spaces which entails the nature aspect to the 1940s.

CAMERA MOVEMENT LYRICS There is a lot of meaning to the lyrics that Katy Perry sings which are enforced by the visuals on screen. The producers of the music video have created a storyline that is described within the song. As the song goes on the music video shows insights of Katy Perrys life with her previous and new partner. Each line is either a flashback, lip singing or the current situation that Katy Perry is in. The video and the song go well together and intensifies the story line.

PanThe video cuts to a panning shot of Katy Perrys new lover when Katy Parry sings I guess second best is all I will know referring to her past lover that no one will be able to replace.

During a flashback Katy Perry sings thinking of you, the flashback occurs when she looks at a photo of her soldier and remembers her relationship with him. Throughout the music video it flashes back to the soldier whenever Katy Perry sings thinking of you.

The line And bust through the door is sung when Katy Perry closes the house door, this creates a connection between the lyrics and visuals which signifies the tragedy of death Katy Perry wishes hed come home so remains within the house. But now she is attending the soldiers funeral therefore shutting the door and ending the waiting by leaving the house.

Christianity is quite a predominant theme within the music video, but I have yet to work out the significant of it apart from the adultery that Katy Perry may have committed when the solider went to war because the lyrics say He pulled me in I was disgusted with myself when showing her new relationship.

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NARRITIVEThinking of You is primarily narrative based which follows a closed structure because the plot is revealed to the audience, then drawn to a close. It is all from one persons point of view; Katy Perry's. The story line is about Katy Perry finding love with a soldier but they were torn apart by war, where the soldier died in action. Thus meaning Katy Perry tried to find love again with another man but she could never forget her soldier which was revealed as Katy Perry attending his funeral. Throughout it was interspersed with flashbacks of the pre-war relationship when Katy Perry was happy.

The flashbacks are in order but are fragmented with clips of Katy Perrys new relationship that is dispirited because of Katy Perrys love for the dead soldier. Although the music video narrates a heart-breaking story, it is also performance-based as a third of the time clips are shown of Katy Perry is singing the song Thinking of you.

Combinations

Camera angles and Mise en scene The use of the wide angle shot (shown below) helps portray the 1940s because it shows the interior decoration within a house at that period of time. There is a traditional wooden desk with a set of mirrors in a wooden frame. This desk was common for the 1940s, the desk is placed in Katy Perrys room which is undecorated. It also shows the pastel colours, mainly peach which was also one of the main elements to the 1940s fashion.

Audio and VisualsThere is a lot of meaning to the audio which are re-enforced by the visuals on screen. The producers of the music video have created a storyline that is described within the song. As the song goes on the music video shows insights of Katy Perrys life with her previous and new partner as it tells a story of her love life. Each line is either a flashback, lip singing or the current situation that Katy Perry is in. The audio and visuals go well together and intensifies the story line.

The line And bust through the door is sung when Katy Perry closes the house door, this creates a connection between the lyrics and visuals which signifies the tragedy of death Katy Perry wishes hed come home so remains within the house. But now she is attending the soldiers funeral therefore shutting the door and ending the waiting by leaving the house.

Mise en scene, Lighting and Camera AnglesLighting is a key element in Katy Perrys Thinking of You music video. It has been used to signify thoughts and feelings; when Katy Perry is looking back to her previous lover, the lighting normally drops and is quite dim creating a gloomy atmosphere. This emotion reaches the audience subsequently meaning that they will understand the loss of Katy Perrys solider. But when Katy Perry has flashbacks to her former relationship, the lighting is bright and carefree which characterises the actors affectionate relationship, the camera angles are close up to show how happy they once were.

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