Conventions of a music video and analysis of Bad Blood

Andrew Goodwin says:

• a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals (illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the lyrics)
• a relationship between music and visuals
• particular genres may have their own video style and iconography
• a demand from the record company for lots of close-ups of the main artist
• artist develops their own star iconography in and out of their videos
• reference to voyeurism (screen with screen, binoculars, cameras...)
• inter textual references

Taylor Swift Bad Blood:

The video uses the process of synaethesia to allow you to visualise images by using the sound in the video, the traffic sounds allow you to imagine a busy environment and then the alarm tells you they are in some kind of trouble, the scream lets you know that something has gone wrong, the music then becomes more hopeful and upbeat signifying that the hero is winning, but once you hear the glass breaking you know something if off and then the lyrics start suggesting someone has wronged her and she wants payback. The futuristic video is showcased by the special effects and machines used to create a strong and more surprising story.  The sounds allow you to sense the mood through tone, pace and rhythm which is why the lyrics are less important as you are only able to tell the tone they are intended to be said in by the sound that is accompanying them. The focus is clearly on Taylor Swift as it is her they are primarily focusing on as the singer is the storyteller so she needs to be seen, the story told is never complete but rather provides parts or insights into. The video has many intertextual references to various other products or media such as the costumes and set up as well as the motorcycle sequence seeming like the movie Tron, the X-Men references are related to the idea of old friends against each other, as well as the clear abilities and traits the characters exhibit, there are references to The Matrix with the slow-motion glass window break and the falling in slow motion as well, the walking away from explosions references the Mad Max scene where the same thing happens in the film and the last reference I was able to notice was a reference to the Hunger Games with the training room and all of the martial arts going o focused around a female at that point. The video involves numerous cuts to different scenes or actions taking place depending on the rhythm of the beat or when there is a gap in sound. Her image is sold through close-ups in the video as it not only showcases her femininity but showcases her attractiveness to her fans and the viewers which sells her image as being attractive, young and female so she can access a wide demographic ranging from young girls who want to be her to young males who think she is attractive. Her lyrics match the video as it continues through the visuals such as the words bad blood are in time with her punching through walls and in the numerous shot-reverse-shot scenes it allows you to see who the enemy is, the scream of the word 'hey' as she comes out of the wall she has broken through match the video to the lyrics, the cigar smoke blow as there is a pause also adds to the tension in the video.