Research & Analysis - Lana Del Rey - Blue Jeans

The music video for Lana Del Rey's Blue Jeans, starts with a high angle shot of water rippling, as the shot goes on, Lana Del Rey's becomes more visible to the audience, however it is rippling like the water, so it gives the audience the impression that she is underneath the water looking up to the camera. This shot lasts 30 seconds before a straight cut to a plane black screen, which then cuts to show a close up of a tattooed man smoking. 

A straight cut then shows the same man still smoking, but the location is now established using a low angle long shot of the man stood around a pool which looks to be in a private location such as a home or a villa. 

A straight cut then goes to show a close up Lana Del Rey lying down with her eyes closed. The close up allows the audience to see water reflections across her face, allowing the audience to understand that she is lying under the water. Towards the end of the 2 second shot, Lana Del Rey's eyes open, which at this point there is another straight cut which shows the sky, the fact that palm trees are in the shot as
well as the sun establishes a warm location.











Another straight cut continues to show Lana Del Rey lying down with water reflections on her face like the previous shot, however this shot is a mid shot in comparison to the close up. This shot establishes that she could possibly be lying at the bottom of the pool that was shown at the start of the video. This allows the audience to make the connection between this shot and the previous shot, and it also allows them to make the possible relationship link between Lana Del Rey and the tattooed man at the start of the music video. During this part of the music video Lana Del Rey begins to lip sync to the song.  The relationship between Lana Del Rey and the tattooed man is established even further, as there are a number of straight cuts between the two. A number of the shots appear distorted to the audience. The shot shows the tattooed male to look distorted as the shot shows ripples going across the male, this gives the impression that someone is looking up at him from the pool he is stood round. A shot then shows the man taking his top off around the pool, this is shown through the use of a low angle mid shot, there is then a straight cut to a low angle close up which once again looks distorted, this shot is showing the man continuing to take his shirt off. This once again allows the audience to make links between the Lana Del Rey and the male, in order to establish a relationship between them.

  The relationship between the two is once again established further through the use of a shot which shows Lana Del Rey actually watching the male. However rather from within the water, which is expected by the audience it is what looks to be a window. The reflection of the rippling water is still key within this shot, as both Lana Del Rey are slightly distorted by the reflection.

A straight cut then goes back to showing the male getting undressed, the shot uses the distorted low angle, creating the feeling he is being watched again from underneath the water. Another straight cut then shows Lana Del Rey lying down lip syncing, once again with the water reflection across her face.

The audience have previously been made familiar with the males tattoos, therefore when the close of a tattooed hand is shown moving it's way up a female body that is wearing a white swim suit which had been seen previously on Lana Del Rey earlier in the video. The audience can make the link between the two features of each character and establish their relationship further.

A straight cut then goes to show the male diving into the pool, this is shown through the use of a high angled shot.

Another straight cut shows Lana Del Rey walking towards the pool, that the male character had just dived into. The camera angle is a low angle, and looks as if something within the water is watching her. A straight cut then goes to show the male within the water looking towards something. It is then made clear to the audience with a number of eye line matches that the male is in fact watching Lana Del Rey

Another straight cut goes to show a crocodile swimming through the pool, as the music video develops, this crocodile is shown to be mimicking the males movements, for example as the male swims forward within the water, so does the crocodile, and the male comes up to the surface of the water, so does the crocodile. These movements and use of shots allow the audience to make a link between the male and the crocodile, and establish that the male is actually being represented as being the crocodile. 

A number of straight cuts show Lana Del Rey and the male swimming towards each other. Which once again is establishing the relationship between the two.













As the two meet in the pool, and begin to kiss, a number of straight cuts show a number of crocadiles swimming around Lana Del Rey as she swims.

After this a straight cut shows a close up of a crocodile, then shot pans up, and before it reaches the top of the crocodile, the shot shows a females legs being wrapped round the crocodile, the audience once again make the connection between Lana Del Rey and the male, as well as the male and the crocodile. 

A number of quick straight cuts, cut between shots lasting roughly one second, of Lana Del Rey and the man kissing, as well as shots of female legs being wrapped around the crocodile. This again establishes the link between the male and the crocodile.

A straight cut then goes to a distorted image of Lana Del Rey, once again looking as if s

he is underneath the water looking up to the camera.

A number of straight cuts go between Lana Del Rey looking as if she is under the water and shots from underneath the water looking as if he is looking down into the water. These shots all look distorted as once again you can see the ripples across both of their faces.

A straight cut to a close up shows the male putting his hand round Lana Del Rey and pushing her down into the water. A number of straight cuts into high angle shots show Lana Del Rey elegantly lying in the water, as the man holds her and they move gracefully through the water.
 

A straight cut low angle shows a distorted shot of Lana Del Rey, looking as if she is looking down into the water. Another straight cut goes to a high angle showing the male with his hand still around Lana Del Rey's neck, slowly moving down into the water, giving the audience then impression that the male has killed Lana Del Rey.  However, at this point Lana Del Rey looks peaceful rather than distressed.

Throughout the video the male character is represented to have control over the female, this supports Laura Mulvey's theory that females are objectified. However this is not due to the way that the female character is acting or dressed. The use of shots make the female look small which represent her as vulnerable and having no control within the relationship.