Using the Camera for Interpretation - Lauren

The video I chose to interpret in terms of camera techniques is Ke$ha’s music video for her song “Blow” which can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFWX0hWCbng

(Just a forewarning for those who have not watched this video yet, it is my favorite music video solely because it is weird and wild from start to finish).

The video starts with Ke$ha talking to two unicorns; as we can see the chairs are angled toward each other and the frame exhibits a wide shot, even though the lighting effects force the viewer to focus on her upper body as if it was a medium shot.  For a majority of the video, Ke$ha’s dancing and singing is captured using a medium or close up shot, emphasizing her “sexiness”, especially when there are extreme close ups of specific body parts.  When Ke$ha isn’t dancing and is seducing the man across the room, many of these frames are medium shots since we never really see Ke$ha or the man’s lower half; the camera is occasionally tilted slightly up to produce the idea that these characters are superior and confident.  In the middle of the video when the two are talking, the camera uses a frontal angle as well as an over the shoulder angle to show a good mix between the unicorns in the background and the actual conversation that is occurring.  Finally, much of the fight scene consists of medium shots with a long focal length, and the dying unicorns are shown with the same frame and focal length, but with an angle tilted upward, emphasizing the dramatic collapse of the unicorns.       

One of the big factors that made the video the way it is aesthetically is due to the lighting effects, which the article doesn’t talk about.  While lighting in the music video will not be commented on, it is important to note that the lighting plays a huge role in the aesthetics.