Textual Analysis (Lily Allen)

'22' was directed by Jake Scott, the son of Ridley Scott. He is an English director who works mostly on music videos and has therefore worked with the likes of Soundgarden, The Smashing Pumpkins, U", R.E.M and The Strokes.
Here is the link! please copy and paste into the url bar & check it out :) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWjNFC-FinU

I think this is a concept and performance based video. The performance element focussed on the lip syncing throughout not only with Lily, but also the girls looking in the bathroom mirror

Another key performance aspect is the dance routine between Lily and a mysterious man in the bathroom about two thirds of the way through the song as it comes to an end.
The song is conceptual in the way that Lily Allen attacks the assumption that a womans life is over once she's past a certain age. The video features Allen as both a young woman on a night out and as an older woman doing the same when they 'shouldn't' because they're past their youth.


MISE-EN-SCENE
The majority of the video is set in the ladies bathroom of a nightclub, the room is dominated by women going in and re-applying their make-up and sorting out their hair, which most women can relate to when going out for a night out. The glamorous costumes/hair/make-up worn by all the women suggests they are on a night out. There is sometimes a quick glimpse of a glass with a drink in it suggesting they are in a nightclub, I think Allen's key prop in this video to portray the idea of appearance is the lipstick she uses to re-apply later on in the video when Allen is trying to show the 'older' woman who is worn out and messy but doesn't realise what kind of state she is in, here are two shots showing the younger "in controll" Lily, and then the older "out of controll"




mirrors are an essential prop in this video as they reflect the representation of self image and how important it is to these women, also the point of view shots when Allen is looking into the mirror focusses the audience into what she is seeing.
This low close up of a woman's legs again shows that she is dressed up (with the high heels) but also the smaller detail such as the toilet roll and wine bottles on the floor confirms it is a bathroom they are in and that they are all getting drunk in the club or bar where ever they may be.



CAMERA
Jake Scott uses a lot of facial close ups that show expressions of Allen and the women in the bathroom, this particular shot shows the 'bitchyness' of how sometimes women look and judge eachother and is likely to happen in the bathroom where they are all applying their make-up and making adjustments.



This over the shoulder close up shows Allen putting on her lipstick and staring into the mirror where her former, younger self is doing the same in the reflection. Then the 'younger' Allen continues to sing the song, therefore leaving the 'older' Allen to put on her lipstick.



There is no obvious change in Allen's appearance throughout the video even though the concept about the young and old, however the messier look alone still manages to convey this idea without making it too blunt with using prosthetics etc.

These wide shots signify the begining and closure of the song, firstly with her walking into this bathroom where she spends the entriety of the video, and once again after the final singing piece into the mirror when she then walks out of the room and off into the distance. As the music fades out the audience are aware this is the end.

EDITING
With regard to the edits in this video I have established that this video consists of straight cuts which are generally fast paced and rapid. These edits used throughout keep the video flowing at a realistic rate and doesn't confuse the viewer with time and space elements and is therefore not a post-modern text. As Allen approaches the large mirror in the bathroom, the camera forcuses on the reactions of the women around her, this particular sequence is very pacey and allows the audience to capture a glimpse of the womens reactions. Also the edits not only focus on Allen singing into the mirror at this point but also the other women arround her that are applying makeu-p, this gives the audience awareness that she is surrounded by lots 'vein' appearance based women.





One convention often recognised in music videos is direct address to camera, even though Allen does not look straight into the camera, she often sings into the mirror, looking slightly off the camera but still engages with the audience. These close up mirror shots fit into one of Goodwin's six in the way that the use of close ups is very dominant for star status, and even though Allen is well recognised this still emphasises this!

SOUND
Goodwin says that music videos can have a link between lyrics and visuals. In the first verse, Allen sings "When she was 22 the future looked bright, but she's nearly 30 now and she's out every night. I see that look in her face, she's got that look in her eye, she's thinking how did I get here and wondering why". These lyrics alone link to back to not only the visuals of Allen in the nightclub as her younger self, and the 30 year old.
After the last chorus, we then see Allen dancing around the central sink in the empty bathroom with a handsome man, this particular dance is significant to the video because it is something we haven't yet seen and breaks up the performance based style. However, after this sequence it cuts back to Allen alone at the mirror and therefore implies that the dance was all a figure of her imagination. The dance sequence is broken up with close up shots of Allen and her mysterious man's feet as they dance. This is something we have used in our own music video, a variety of shot types so keep the viewer engaged.





Thanks for reading, Lorna. :)