Textual analysis of music video


 In the essay I will be analysing Lilly Allen’s music video, LDN, produced by future cut. The genre of the video is pop. This is clear as it consists of the broad characteristics of a pop video. It is predominately performance based but has a narrative within the lyrics linked with the images. The images contradict what Lilly is singing. For example, Lilly sings “There where people having lunch in the park, I think that’s what you call al fresco” Then the image shows the real truth that it is really tramps sitting on a bench eating sandwiches. This is not a typical stereotypical pop video but the actual song is a pop like song. The relationship between the music and visuals is that after each line sung the real truth about London is shown. The video cuts to the beat. For example, “It doesn’t get me down and I feel ok cause the sights that im seeing are priceless” then the images show how bad London really is. The video is very different and interesting to any other pop video. The record company is looking to sell this video through its uniqueness and narrative. The audience can relate to the video as it is showing that things are not quite what they seem to be. The image that Lilly Allen is giving it that she wants to be different and that she is not a stereotypical pop artist. She is trying to give the impression that being different is a good thing. You can tell this by the clothes that she wears and the style of her videos. All of Lilly Allen’s videos are very different, going against the typical features of a pop video. They are all very unique and show her outgoing personality. There are several motifs that have been used within the video, for example Lilly’s big golden chavy earrings. This is symbolic to her character and shows that she is careless of obtaining a perfect image for herself. In the video, LDN, she is wearing a long red dress with white trainers, her hair messily put up with hardly any makeup. This shows that she doesn’t take her appearance seriously and isn’t looking to come across like all the other stereotypical pop stars. However, if you were to look at her videos nowadays she has began to perfect her image, looking a bit more stereotypical. However, her music and videos still remain the same style. I don’t believe that there are any references to the notion of looking. Lilly is not displaying herself in a sexual manner to sell her song. The camera work doesn’t focus on any bare skin, just generally her facial expressions. There is an intertextual reference at the beginning of the video. She uses synergy as she is talking to the shop owner, there is a song of hers playing in the background. This is used to promote her own song through her own video. The video, LDN, is mostly performance based as it is Lilly walking down the streets of London singing her dong. There is also a narrative as the lyrics and images have narrative features. The pace of the video isn’t that fast. It flows with the lyrics as she is skipping down the streets of London. There are several different camera shots within the video. There are several close ups of her facial expressions and of each piece of clothing she is wearing. This is to emphasis her different choice of fashion. There are also close ups of each thing that she shows is wrong about London. In some sections the camera pans right as she skips down London, afterwards revealing how bad London really is. In conclusion, Lilly Allen’s music video LDN is a very unique video. It has its own style and doesn’t completely follow with the common conventions of a pop video. Lilly Allen is known for her distinctiveness and this clearly shows throughout all of her videos. This helps her to sell her videos and makes it clear to her fans which videos are hers, they are easy recognisable.