Taylor Swift - White Horse

Here is a music video from Taylor Swift’s song White Horse. This video inspires me to choose one of her songs the songs themself have a strong meaning and play a narrative video. I like the way the audience get to see into Taylor’s personal life it makes them feel as though they are a part of it. The video uses close ups and extreme close ups to capture her feelings then fades into a memory, it is a very creative yet simple video. I like the way the memories act as flashbacks as she is talking this is something i would like to create in my video. Looking at this video has inspired me to follow a narrative structures video and has already given me ideas to put on my storyboard.

 

Cinematography:

The video uses a variety of shots, most commonly used are close ups and extreme close ups this is so that the cinematography is rhythmic to the style of the music. The song is steady and allow the close up's of the two trap them both into the frame connoting how she is trapped in the past. The single close ups highlight the fact she is now alone with nobody these shot are shown whilst she is in her bedroom to emphasise that even further a long shot is also shown to show that she is alone. The close ups capture her emotion and allow her to make eye contact with the camera reflecting on the audience making them able to read her emotions and feel for her. The audience like this because they feel as though they are part of her and she is revealing her story to them privately. There is also a number of pull focuses in the video these act as point of view shots the audience feel like they are looking through her eyes and the blur represents the confusion of the relations which leaves her with rhetorical questions such as why did he leave me? i thought everything was perfect, wasn't it?. It also leaves the audience on her side as they stand up for Taylor and understand her emotional crisis.

 

Editing:

The editing of this music video is very simple. The shot transitions are simple cuts however this has been done to fit with the music. Rhythmic editing is important when creating a music video because if it doesn't run smoothly then it looks really bad, for example this video would not suit fast paced editing and flashes distorting the colour the video fit the simple because she is telling a story. It is a narrative video of her in the present and she is looking back on the past the video plays the story as she sings it. This is why the editing fits.

 

Performance:

The performance of this video looks simple but it can be really difficult to perform in a number of such tight close-ups and it's hard to make the person look a believable sad. With the shots been very still and hardly any camera movement it is important that the artists move but only slightly as you don’t want to lose them out of the frame. The emotion of the song is also very deep so as the artist is singing it is important that she performs her emotion and really shows the audience her feelings. And the audience want to see her perform and get really into the song as it's their favourite artist.

 

Mise-En-Scene:

The video is set in various locations being Taylor Swifts home, a cafe and on a street. The locations are simple it is the lighting that effects them mostly. However the simple setting works because it allows the audience to feel closer to the artist because they feel as though they have been let into their private life and the artist is haring her secrets with them. The relationship between the artist and the audience is built up through feeling accepted and using simple real life scenarios and emotions to create a friendship. The lighting of each scenes effects them greatly when we are in Taylor’s house which is the present the lighting is very dark and only lights up on her face this is to signify that she is in the dark she is hurt and confused however the spotlight is on her because she is performing to her fans and to her fans she is still fascinating: this is in complete contrast to the next scene in the artists house which is the past the lighting is really bright and pure which connotes how she thought their relationship was pure however it makes the setting look colder which could connote how he had a deep side to him. Her clothing is also very simplistic she wears a big baggy jumper and jeans which connotes how she felt comfortable with him but it also shows how she is uncomfortable and she just wants to be comforted but she has nobody.