Media Studies Advanced Portfolio: November 2009

Demi Lavato Lala Land: Video Analysis By Natasha Khaleeq

the following link will take you to the video that I am analysing:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmjO1p9Oxrk

Demetria Devonne ‘Demi’ Lovato was born on the 20th August 1992; she is an American Actor, songwriter and singer. Her most famous roles include Mitchie Torres in Camp Rock (a Disney movie) and Sunny Monroe in Sunny with a Chance, ‘Don’t Forget was released on September 23, 2008.

Lovato was born in Dallas, Texas to father Patrick and Dianna Lovato, she is Hispanic, Irish and Italian, Demi Lovato is one of 3 siblings as the middle sister, her older sister is Dallas (a singer and actress) with 5 years difference and a younger half sister called Madison DeLaGarza. She rarely sees her father as he suffers from health problems and got a divorce from Demi mother in 1994. She is also home schooled by a tutor because of her career.

At the age of 6 Demi landed her first acting job as Angela on Barney and Friends (where she met her best friend Selena Gomez). She also started to pursue her singing and instrumental career. Demi had a small part in Prison Break and in January 2007 she got the role of Charlotte on As the Bell Rings. Her first movie was Camp Rock, which co-started the Jonas Brothers and Alyson Stoner.
Demi has many talents such as acting, singing, being a songwriter and musician.
Performing her first tour as an opening act for the Jonas Brothers on their summer tour in 2008, and together they co-wrote some of her songs.
She also wares a purity necklace, just like they do apart from the fact that theirs are rings.

Quotes: (taken from one of Demi’s fan websites).

Demi: The only thing I could see myself doing is music – songwriting or producing or something. I've never seen myself being in any other business, I've been working in this one since I was 5 years old! I could do other things, but I wouldn't want to !

Demi: (On her CD) I'm really excited about these songs. I feel like I've really grown as a songwriter with my last few songs, and I'm anxious to see what the fans think of them.

Some of Demi Lovato’s musical influences include Christina Aguilera, Kelly Clarkson, Avril Lavigne, her sister Dallas and rock band Paramore. However one of most important inspirations for her ‘Don’t Forget’ CD (which features her song ‘La La Land’) is John Mayer; as Demi quotes ‘he inspired a lot of the album just because he’s such an incredible musician’. Lovato would also love to perform songs with her rock star icon, and says that his compliment about her song ‘La La Land’ being very sophisticated was the best compliment she had received in the business.

“La La Land” was first shown on the Disney Channel on December 19th 2008,
The video shows Lovato who portrays a young artist, (like the one she is in real life) in Hollywood, the video features things like a red carpet, limos, photo shoots and her life back at home in Texas. There are also appearances from her co-stars in her new TV series “Sonny with a Chance.

La La Land is one of the songs by Demi Lovato on her “Don’t Forget” CD, it was written by Demi and The Jonas Brothers, the genre of the song being mid-tempo pop rock, whilst the message behind it is to be you’re self even if you are famous.

In Lovato’s opinion the song is about going to Hollywood, where lots people try to shape and mould you into what they perceive as perfect (what they want you to be). The song is about staying true to yourself (keeping it real despite everything else being fake) while you’re in Hollywood (the “La La Land”) you start to put pressure on yourself but you try and ignore it, if you lose/gain weight/ try to be something you’re not, then you are not yourself. Demi also says that she is who she is, as she doesn’t try and be anything that she is not. She is also considered to be a role model to people furthermore she is very glad about that.

La La Land was directed by The Malloys, and it was released to promote Disney series Sonny with a Chance. Therefore the music video was important to re-launch Demi’s TV series career after so many years of being away from the TV screen.

Hollywood Records is a record label owned by the Walt Disney Company, its main focus is pop music. Hollywood Records started in 1990 and was previously owned by Elektra Records until 1995 when it was distributed by PolyGram (Universal group). Hollywood records have also released many Disney soundtracks.
It is common for the record label to be made up of a lot of young stars from Disney Channel such as the Jonas Brothers, Corbin Bleu, Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato, although some experienced artists such as Queen have been signed to the record label which operates as a unit of the Disney Music Group.
Staff members include: President (Bob Cavallo), SVP/General Manager (Abbey Konowitch), SVP Marketing (Ken Bunt) and SVP of Promotion (Justin Fontaine).
Hollywood records usually spends less than $150,000 on its music videos, which is a significant drop form the 90’s budget of $700,000; suggestions for the decrease in budget is that piracy is making record labels lose all their money.

Pop rock is a mix of pop music and rock music which promotes a catchy pop style with soft lyrics and guitar based songs, there are lots of different forms of pop rock, such as a slower and mellower form of rock music to a subgenre of pop music. Although scholars have noted that pop and rock are usually known as opposites because pop is more of a commercial product and rock is more wild and individual.
The basic genealogy of pop rock based on Reebee Garofalo’s ideas, is that over a period of 23 years (1955-1978) there has been more than 700 artists and 30 different styles of music between the genre of pop and rock. Although the length of time that each performer is top of the charts can be limited, the overlapping of genres allows you to compare the longevity and influence of multiple artists from the same period of time. The birth and genealogy of each genre of music is given as well as a share of total record sales of the artist.
Genealogy of Pop/Rock Music is referenced in Edward Tufte's, Visual Explanations: Images and Quantities, Evidence and Narrative (Graphics Press): "With intense richness of detail, this nostalgic and engaging chart fascinates many viewers ... Also the illustration presents a somewhat divergent perspective on popular music: songs are not merely singles — unique, one-time, de novo happenings — rather, music and music-makers share a pattern, a context, a history."
Although most pop video’s tell stories usually involving the lyrics with in the song that it is promoting such as in La La Land, it tells the story of how Hollywood is fake by using props such as a “BFF for hire” leaflet and a magazine which contains a picture of Lovato and a “mystery man” on the cover. However the genre that Lovato is a part of is pop rock and yet, the video does not contain any of the basic connotations of rock music videos, such as performing on a stage and clips of instruments.
Lovato’s target audiences are mostly 10-17 year olds who are mainly females, of all races and classes. Her lifestyle and attitudes are mostly about staying true to who you are, whilst having fun and being a good person at the same time. She also cares for the environment a lot. Therefore by using Young and Rubicam’s ideas I would say that Lovato attracts the Explorers as most of her songs involve lyrics about finding ones self, and she could also attract the mainstream type as most young people who are Disney fans, enjoy her musical talents.
The video portrays its demographics by using a diverse range of extras, as well as actors from the show “Sonny with a Chance” which the music video is promoting. For example in the first few shots there is glimpse of infamous girls being photographed by the paparazzi which shows that teenagers are attention seeking, there is also a shot of 3 girls (of different ages) dressing the same which portrays teenagers as being sheep and following the crowd. Teenagers are shown as being popularity seeking as a group of girls hand Lovato a “BFF for hire” leaflet.
They also want to be considered as important and have a sense of authority as Tiffany Thoronton (Tawni Hart in ‘Sonny with a Chance’) gets photographed, but is then stopped by a bodyguard when walking down the street to allow a younger Allisyn Ashley Arm (Zora from the show) to walk in front of her which shows that teenagers desperately trying to grow up before they are meant to.

Lovato represents teenagers as laid back and comedic through the mise-en-scene of her costume and body language for example when she is wearing a checkered shirt, leather jacket and jeans she has her hands in her pockets and when she is wearing her pink dress with a pink wig she is exaggerating her facial expressions which adds a comic twist to the pop video. Through her black dress she represents teenagers as being classy and sophisticated/ the typical rock chick.

A different extra looks at a magazine with Lovato and a man on the front cover, she looks shocked, this relates to the audience as it shows them as being people who like to read gossip magazines such as ‘Bliss’ and ‘Teen Now’ and the seeking for knowledge about all their favourite stars. The use of mobiles as props portrays teenagers as very sociable people.

However the most appealing thing (apart from Lovato) is the music video’s intertextuality with the show “Sonny with a Chance”, for example the use of the same actors and connotations of the different characters personality traits in the show for example Lovato is the protagonist in the music video and is also the protagonist in the hit Disney show “Sonny with a Chance” as she plays Sonny.

The music video starts of with Lovato being interviewed by her co-star Doug Brochu on a show called Rumour Has It. After the shows title which is the first thing that appears on the screen sets up the main idea of the video which is that everything is fake in Hollywood. The clip cuts to the interview and then to a close up of Doug who is wearing a suite, which implies that the audience likes sophisticated men. As the shot is also in a studio it implies that the audience is actually in the room which adds a sense of verisimilitude and reliability. The shot then cuts away to a two shot of the interviewer and interviewee, and then upon Doug saying “Demi Lovato” the shot cuts to a clip of her face as she smiles, she is wearing casual clothing, such as a skirt with tights, a cardigan, shirt, hat and accessories. Which shows that she is also sophisticated but in a different style to the interviewer, she is also juxtaposed against him as her body language is tense and aggravated as she may say something wrong; where as Doug’s body language is more exaggerated and full on, put more pressure on to Lovato.

The shot then cuts back to a two shot of them both to further emphasise the contrast and then back to a close up of Lovato, as the music starts to play the shot zooms into the television screen between Doug and Lovato and does a cutaway to a mid shot of her walking next to a sign that say’s “be seen section” which implies that Lovato is going to an audition. Her costume (Jeans, leather jacket and checker shirt) shows that she is laid back and has a very casual personality, this is supported by her relaxed position of hand in pockets and her attitude in this shot is very different to the pervious one, telling the audience that even celebrities get nervous sometimes.
As Lovato walks past paparazzi taking pictures of girls in the “be seen section” it shows that she is not desperately seeking fame like the extras and wants some privacy, (something that all teenagers want). The shot cuts away to a close up of Lovato saying the line “That’s just me” which implies that she is happy with who she is (something that not all teenagers have, but maybe want). The shot then cuts to a mid shot of her, turning her head and looking disgusted at 3 girls dressed identically in pink track suits (that are frantically being photographed by the paparazzi) which shows that Lovato likes to be an individual which is what the rock genre is something that stand out of the crowd.

This then cuts to her co-star Tiffany Thoronton posing for the paparazzi, this cuts to a mid shot of Lovato who is still walking down the street, a girl who is carrying a “best friend for hire” leaflet, hands one to her. The two girls juxtapose each other as the extra is showing a lot more skin which creates a sense of voyagerisum she is the typical blond bombshell, which is a contrast to Lovato’s brunette hair. Who automatically chucks the leaflet away.

This cuts away to a shot of Tiffany (who is wearing sunglasses to prevent her emotions from being shown which portays teenagers as being secretive) being forced to let Lovato’s other co-star Allisyn Ashley Arm infront of her which shows the audience that even if someone is famous previously they may not be famous afterwards this is proven by the clips lyric of “some may say I need to be afraid of losing everything”. Again this clip in followed by another close up of Lovato who this time is very expressive in her movements showing even more of a contrast to the very first clip of her.

This clip then cuts to Lovato and an attractive young male who is also dressed in Jeans, leather jacket and shirt (a bad boy contrast to Doug’s sophisticated character) accidentally bumping into Lovato, they appear to have a moment of flirtation (this shows that teenage girls like the bad boy type) which is captured through Sterling Knight (another one of her co-stars) black and white camera lens which is a frame through frame shot as the music video is the camera lens.

This cuts to a shot of a teenage girl reading the magazine in which the pervious shot is on the front cover and hides the most part of her face which is the similar to Sterling Knight in the pervious shot, and creates a further connection between the two scenes.
This shot cuts to another close up of Lovato who has changed costume to a more ‘sexy’ classic black dress (has connotations with rock music) which reveals more of her skin (her legs below the knee, arms and more of a neckline is shown) which is a sign of voyeurism. The shot cuts away to a tracking shot of a section of paparazzi and their camera are, taking pictures of Lovato and her “Sonny with a Chance” co-stars who are on the red carpet. Upon the line “who say’s I can’t wear my converse with my dress well baby that’s just me” the shot changes to a close up of Lovato’s feet wearing converse she further highlights her feet my moving them into a ‘show of’ pose, the two fashion correspondents (who look like worn down adults) look disgusted. However Lovato does not seem to care which emphasise her confidence and care free attitude even more. The shot then cuts to two adults posing which is a contrast to Lovato’s fun and ‘messing around’ personality, (which represents teenagers and the pop rock genre as free spirited).

During the line “who say’s I” (cuts to her ) “can’t be single, have to go out and mingle” the camera shows two of her attractive male co-stars (one dressed in a suite and one dressed in causal clothing and ‘bling’) which shows teenagers different taste in the opposite sex. This is followed by medium long shots of her other co-stars and more medium close-ups of her, dancing and having a good time. The fast paced editing goes along with the beat of the music which is also fast paced. The next few shots show a contrast between her causal look and her ‘sexy’ one, however the shots are all medium close-ups and she has the same goofy body language and facial expressions which shows that Lovato is comical and can dress in to completely different ways but still act the same, (something that the youth culture of today forgets). This shot cuts two 3 teenage girls on their mobile phones and Sterling helping Tiffany with her bags to line of “everything’s the same in the La La Land” which shows that even though some teenagers are famous they still do the same general things as normal teenagers (target audience) do such as constantly text and ask boyfriends to carry their bags for them. This creates a sense of verisimilitude.

The next shot is at a high angle which shows Lovato (who now has a more clown like appears with a bright pink wig and matching dress with red lipstick which represents the pop rock genre as being very entertaining) as weak and venerable as she is being pressured into things that she doesn’t want to do (the fake like perfume advert), this presents Lovato as a comedian but also shows that she is quite girly. She is also sitting on a chair while her make-up is getting done which shows that she has lower status and that teenagers can be pressurised by their peers, as the director of the ad is Lovato’s co-star Brandon Mychal Smith. The line “tell me do you feel the way I feel, cause nothing else is real in the La La Land”, develops a further connection between teenage girls and Lovato, as they both feel like everything/ everyone is fake, (teenagers ‘bitching’ behind each others backs, the way that celebrates maybe portrayed is not necessarily the way they actually are.) This shot then follows a series of fast passed (medium close-up) cuts that takes the audience through Lovato’s different characters in the video, which represents teenagers as indecisive as they are becoming themselves so are tryout lots of different personality traits and that the genre of pop rock is a combination of the two similarly to Lovato being a combination of lots of different types of people. This clip also shows the genre of pop rock being fast paced and dramatic; Lovato’s facial expression and the electric guitar solo.

The camera does a medium long shot track of Lovato walking past all these nice cars and entering her old banger (a typical teen first car) which represents the target audience as poor which makes Lovato relate to them even more. The establishing shot of the car, shows a number plate which reads ‘Prizir’ which means someone who estimates or sets a value for a thing, this shows Lovato setting a bar for her self and her target audience as a new artist. As well as representing teenagers as trend setters and people who are always into the latest gadgets.

The next clip is a fast paced edits (happens on a drum solo which has connotations of rock music ) of multiple close ups this represents teenagers as always on the move living fast paced lives, which is similar to the one previously seen, although this one includes a medium shot of Lovato refusing to do the commercial upon the line of ‘I will stay the same’ which shows that teenagers can take control of their own lives, and grow up fast, this clip also includes a low angle shot of people from the shoot crowding Lovato and trying to persuade her to carry on acting, by taking multiple photos of her and irritating her face with make up (which shows that it is better for teens to be more natural).

Through out the last bit of the video fast passed edits (close up of the 3 diverse Lovato characters) are shown on the screen, there is a clip of high angle shot of a man who is considered to be a pun on Demi’s ex-boyfriend Trace Cyrus filming a ‘Rent Your Own Reality TV Show”, this shows that the artist is over her ex he remains in the background until the shot changes which indicates to her fans that she is defiantly over him and that they should put the pass behind him. This shot continues the round of close ups, which breaks when a shot jump cuts to Lovato being told of by the director of her ad while she is holding a stuffed fluffy dog and mouthing the word ‘what’ to emphasise the confusion that teenagers go through when they are experiencing all the puberty changes from being a child to an adult, Smith also smells the perfume bottle with a lot of exaggeration which bring Lovato back to her tense state that she was in at the beginning of the video, which shows that she is intimidated by a person that appears to have a higher status then her, something that all teenagers experience when they find someone who they view as better then them.
She also poses with an adult looking version of herself which shows that she aspires to be more confident and independent, as well as her own person like the adult is, however there is still a contrast between the two as Lovato is dress in a rock dress with matching accessories and has a goofy smile which show that she is fun and comedic, where as the adult is wearing a suite and has a stern expression on her face, which is the opposite of what Lovato portrays and shows the genre of pop rock as original and unique, which is sort of like teenagers a combination of both adult and child, pop rock is a merge of two completely separate genres. There a cameras taking pictures of her co-stars as they appear to love the ‘lime light’ which is different to Lovato’s character as she chooses to walk out of the set and return to being her goofy laid back self funny expressions (her second costume in the video) which shows that teenagers should have fun instead of trying to grow up to quickly. The Video ends with her blowing a kiss which is viewed through the studio TV screen, in the studio.
Lovato is then praised by Doug as the audience applauds her for doing such a good job, this suggests that the audience who is watching the video is going to like it as well as they are part of the actual video.

Throughout the 3minute 43 second music video there is approximately 90 different close ups of Lovato who is represented as being goofy, confident and laid back during the video changing into 4 different types of costumes to represent different types of teenagers such as sophisticated, relaxed, rock chick and poufy princess. The meaning of the video staying true to yourself and not becoming fake is really shown throughout the entire thing as she tries to avoid everything that could portray her as something she isn’t such as a fake best friend, in a relationship and a puppet that is controlled by the media.

Although this video is quite different to her others from the same album, as they all feature a stage performance and Lovato does not change costume as many times, which proves that ‘La La Land’ shows a new more story telling attitude of herself and how she has changed over time to grow as an artist.

Media Studies Advanced Portfolio

Monday 30 November 2009

shooting scheduel and equipment list: tuesday 24th and Thursday 26th November, Wednesday 2nd December.

Wednesday 25 November 2009

album cover

Tuesday 24 November 2009

Fast and slow piece of music, the videos and what i learn from doing the preliminary task.

Monday 23 November 2009

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Saturday 21 November 2009

This is my video Analysis.

Album cover.

Editing and filming

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