Sunday 5 July 2015

Music video analysis - '...Baby One More Time' by Britney Spears



Most of the music video for '...Baby One More Time' by Britney Spears is taken up by a dance routine which is the only performance element as this is a pop song which follows Andrew Goodwin's music video theory. She is evidently a synthetic artist as she uses dance as a way of performing instead of playing instruments like a rock band commonly would.


There are links between the lyrics and the visuals as we see Britney lip-syncing most of the song which amplifies the relationship. Other examples include her singing 'show me' as she puts her hands to her chest, when she sings 'my loneliness is killing me' while there are shots of her alone looking miserable, and when she sings 'I still believe' as the entire video is a dream. These examples all illustrate the relationship between the lyrics and visuals.


There is also a relationship between the music itself and the visuals. The dance was choreographed to fit with the song and so the timing of the moves match the beat of the music. In addition, the cuts between shots, camera zooms, and flashes of light all match the beat as well to amplify this connection.


The demands of the record label are met within this video as there are many close-up shots of Britney as she is the only singer and therefore needs to be the focus of the video so she can be a recognisable brand who can be sold on her star image.


There isn't a lot of references to the notion of looking in this music video, however, when Britney is singing she looks right at the camera like she is singing to whoever is watching, which is emphasised with the close-ups. The way in which she is dressed could also lead to voyeurism as all of her different costumes show off her stomach to sexualise her and add to her star image.


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