Research into Star Image

     The music video I have chosen to analyse into star image is When I Look at You by Miley Cyrus. This particular music video sells to its audience ( teenage girls)through a variety of different elements. The song itself is very closely linked to the film The Last Song which also features the characters shown in the video. This then attracts an immediate audience as the fan base for The Last Song will instantly recognise the actors in the video.

   In terms of the camerawork, there is a blurred close up of Miley at the beginning which directly allows us as the audience to distinguish it as being her song. The camera slowly pans across a piano with Miley’s reflection in it. This lets the audience assume she is talented and has a close connection with the melody being played. There are a number of wide shots showing scenery in the background which is significant as it features in the film The Last Song. It also gives an impression of feeling peaceful which conforms to the melody of the song, but contrasts with a lot of Miley’s previous upbeat music videos. This sells to the audience as it allows us to see a variety of music from her. Throughout the music video, Miley is singing into the camera. This allows the audience to feel connected with the song; however it seems to be more about her image rather than a deeper meaning in terms of the song itself. There are wide panning shots of a male actor Liam Hemsworth who stars in the film. This is also a selling point as he is a good looking man and as the song is aimed at teenage girls, it would draw attraction to him. By panning round Miley in a circle, it allows us to fully see her singing which may sell to the audience because of how engaged she looks when she is singing.

   The mise-en-scene plays a main part in selling the song to its audience. The location in which the video is set is peaceful and quite cinematic. It may sell to the audience as it is an isolated and romantic setting and so people may feel they connect with the song. The clothes Miley is wearing are long flowing dresses which would also attract the female audience in which the music video is aimed at. It also conforms to her star image as they are elegant and girly. By using the piano as a prop, it allows the video to sell to the audience by allowing us to think Miley is talented and is singing meaningfully. At one point, the lighting is dark and giving the impression of being on a beach. This immediately attracts the female audience as people connect because of the romantic atmosphere.

    The editing in this video is all quite fast paced as there isn’t much time to fill, however the camera shots are all quite slowly panned. Personally I feel this didn’t work as well because not a lot seemed to happen in the video. On the other hand, it will allow people to enjoy the video as it is quite calm and slow moving which conforms to the romantic lyrics. In some of the edits, there has been a blurred orange transition which allows anyone who has seen The Last Song to appreciate it, as a main part of the film is a huge fire. This gives some of the audience a sense of understanding as they may feel special in knowing what it is about. The cuts from Liam to Miley also sell to the audience. This is because we assume she is singing about him which makes it passionate and fans will be drawn to this. In terms of the perspective, this is coming from within the video, and here is from Miley's point of view. 

  In general, the video sells to its audience through a variety of ways but I think the main one is having The Last Song as a pre-sold element. In terms of the theme, nothing really happened, which conforms to an artist’s music video being all about image. In terms of camerawork, mise-en-scene and editing, I do feel it was done in a way to try and engage the audience, however if the narrative of the video was a bit more exciting, people that hadn’t seen The Last Song could also connect with it.