Animatic Storyboard

Analysis of 'Just Dance' by Lady GaGa

The music video I am analysing is called ‘Just dance’ by Lady Gaga. Just Dance is written by Gaga and Akon with co-writing by Redone. The video was directed by music video director Melina Matsoukas. It was released in 2008 as the lead single from Gaga’s debut album ‘The Fame’. Being Gaga’s first video, this video is extremely important in presenting her image to the audience, and positively received by critics, the video was very popular on the internet, and selling over 3.3 million copies. The characteristics of electro-pop videos are based on the club –like nature so typically parties and dancing will be featured in the video. Following this, electro pop videos normally consist of people having a good time, dancing and usually loads of people are involved in the video.

The relationship between the lyrics and the visuals are very clear and we can see this as we work our way through the video. The most obvious of lyrics is the chorus ’Just Dance’. These words are amplified through the visuals at the start of the video one of the dancers puts a Discolite Boombox on, blaring the music through the house. The crowd at the party appear to be sleeping in different areas, and are awoken by the music. They all start to dance with outbursts of energy when she says ‘just dance’. She also states in her video ‘we’re all getting hosed tonight’ as she pours a bottle of champagne onto the floor, showing the audience that she wants to get drunk. She also states in the lyrics where are my keys, I lost my phone’. as Gaga says this as she empties her bag and pretends to look through her keys however we see her using her phone even though she says ‘ I lost my phone’. Only in this section do the visuals contradict the lyrics. This video has the conventions of a typical house party due to music blaring, dancing and alcohol.

The relationship between the music and the visuals helps the audience understand the music and tempo better. This video definitely cuts to the beat because of its genre which elect which in turn enhances the effect of the party- like nature. Solo instruments are illustrated at the start of the track. It is used to show the build up of the track, so when the beat starts it has a much bigger effect on the audience because of the suspense. The video does change pace with the music because it cuts to the beat.

In this video there are a variety of shots of the artist but mainly close-ups. This is because it gets the audience’s attention and shows off her unique style. There are mainly close-ups of Gaga in her videos because she is the main attraction. She wears a blue, lightning-bolt shaped sticker beneath her right eye like that on the single cover, which was a tribute to her music idol David Bowie. This is another reason why close-ups on her face are so important. Although this is Gaga’s first video, she instantly creates motifs and characteristics in her video. We also see evidence of this in her later videos and gain knowledge of how the record company is trying to sell her music. For example there are more close-ups shots.

When watching this video you get a sense that the artist is on sexual display which is shown through certain factors such as camerawork, costume and dance. In the middle of the video a man looks though a camera a takes a picture of the professional camera as if he is taking a picture of the audience.
The camerawork reinforces sexual display by using close-ups and long shots of her face and body. When the camera focuses in on her face, our main attraction is her eyes because it pulls her audience in making them want to see more. It also shows off her personality which is interpreted through her make-up that is influenced by David bowie. Her costume is also an important part of her being sexy and stylish. Her short dresses and revealing top puts her on sexual display for most of the video. Gaga’s choreographer clearly had the vision of sex appeal and used her flirtatious dancing to put her on sexual display to help make this particular video more popular.

In Gaga’s video there is a inter textual reference to new years eve. The is a part where an old lady is wearing 2006 glittery glasses and most people would wear these if it was news years. There is also a party going on which could be a new years party maybe suggesting a new revolution (herself).

This music video is definitely performance-based. It follows the stereotype of an electro-pop beat and just normally features people having a good time and some sort of party going on. This enables the audience not only to enjoy the rhythm of the beat, it allows them to watch something enjoyable as well. Lyrically, the song doesn’t focus on anything accept the fact that she wants a good time so it makes a lot of sense being a performance based video.

This music video is clearly uplifting and enjoyable to everyone especially the audience. Gaga comes across quite strict and militant in her hand signals at some points in the video. However this is a good thing as it shows she knows what she wants and her militant ways shows that she is the leader or the soul of the party.

The Music Genre: Electro/Pop

The genre I will be focusing on for my video is electro/pop. Electro-pop (also called techno-pop) is a form of electronic music that is made with synthesizers, and which first flourished from 1978 to 1981. The genre has seen a revival of popularity and influence since the late 2000s. "Electro-pop" is the short form of "electronic pop". The term was used primarily during the 1980s to describe a form of synthpop characterized by an emphasized electronic sound (often described as cold and robotic) and by minimal arrangements. Electro-pop laid the groundwork for a mass market in chart-oriented synthpop. Electro-pop songs are pop songs at heart, often with simple, catchy hooks and dance beats, but differing from those of electronic dance music genres which electro-pop helped to inspire such as techno and house. It was popularized by many artist today. For instance Lady GaGa, Katy Perry and of course Inna.

The Artist

The artist I am focusing on is Elena Alexandra Apostoleanu best known as Inna. She is a Russian singer, actress and model. Inna debuted in 2008 with the album Hot, produced by Play & Win. The main single from the album, was called "Hot". Inna also released a single titled "Déjà Vu", in collaboration with Bob Taylor (aka Fizz), that was a major hit in Romania, Moldova, Bulgaria, and Russia. This is the video I will be focusing on for my own music video.

Star Image Analysis: Kelis Rogers

The artist I am analysing is Kelis Rogers. Kelis was born august the 21st 1979 in New York. She began recording her first album kaleidoscope in the summer of 1998 and it was finished within a year. Her album was produced by other well known artists such as Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo. Her main genres are R&B, hip-hop.

Kelis’s early image was portrayed through an R&B/ dancehall track called ’Milkshake’. This gave her audience an insight on how she controls and manipulates men. She uses her flirtatious nature and body language to overpower men. In the lyrics of this song it states ‘my milkshake brings all the boys to the yard’. She uses the word milkshake as a metaphor to describe herself and say that the boys love her. Kelis constantly uses sexual suggestion in her music video to help them sell. Being a R&B track, it is normally dominated by male artists and women are normally used as pretty objects and for selling tracks. In one of the scenes from her video we see a couple that are sitting down and the man becomes entranced by kelis. We can clearly see that from this one video that Kelis is a sexual and persuasive character. Kelis has had a strong image since the beginning of her career.

However, in her later career she seems more vulnerable and less independent. In her music video ‘4th of july’ she seems very dependant on the man she is talking about. In her lyrics she says ‘ didn’t think I needed you, never seemed to but I'm living proof ….. nothing will be as good as loving you’. This is a big change in her personality from her earlier career. This is because she has now started to have feelings for this person compared to her earlier career where she seemed very promiscuous and flirtatious. It is like she is care free and wild so that she can sell herself better to fans at the beginning of her career but now she has settled into the business she is starting to show her true feelings.

She doesn’t often act in her videos however in her video ‘caught out there’ she plays the character of a lady who has been cheated on by her boyfriend. She is shown performing when she goes crazy and starts throwing things across the room. It also shows her in a stray jacket suggesting that she is restricted in what she really wants to do. This relates to the majority of women who feel they cannot do anything about it. But in this case she has hurt her cheating boyfriend. This video has a very strong but general message and was made so that women worldwide wouldn’t feel alone and it shows how certain people would react to the situation.

This is an image of her leaning against a window and looking into the camera. this suggests that she is trapped and is searching for help.

One of the main motifs in kelis’s videos is that there are close-ups of her face. She uses this to express her emotions and to gain sympathy or love from the audience depending on what she is singing. The record company attempts to sell kelis by using close-up shots because this shows her expressions and grabs the audience's attention especially if she has lots of make-up on. For instance in her video ‘caught out there’ her hair is a blonde afro with pink tips showing the situation is natural but the pink (which is an unnatural hair colour) also shows she gone mad about what has happened. The colour also signifies girl power. The record company attempts to sell kelis to her female and male audience several ways. In videos such as ‘4th of july’ or ‘milkshake’ they both have very different messages such as vulnerability and promiscuity yet they will both attract her male audience because the majority of males appeal to these things. Whereas in her video ‘bossy’ it will attract her female audience and she is shown to be a strong and powerful. This will appeal to her female fans because it will give them inspiration being that males are normally dominant.

The camerawork and editing reinforces her roles and positions in her videos. For example the video ‘bossy’ shows loads of close-ups of her face to show that she is the boss of the video. The video also cuts to the beat and shows different clips of her being bossy.

For example in one clip she is standing on a mans back wearing high heels. This gesture definitely shows her dominance while showing the mans submission. This is also her album cover so even before we hear the music we can see that she holds the power.


Overall I think that kelis has gone through different phases and experiences in her life which in effect has changed her style and genre. But when summarising all the meanings of her together it makes a lot of sense. In the beginning she was cheated on by her boyfriend. Then a little while after she was on the rebound and became very flirtatious and seductive. Then finally, after overcoming this bad experience she was able to trust again and starts talking about her love and romance in her songs. To me she is a very good example of how women can defeat their troubles and bad experiences and because she went through different stages and the outcome was positive. It shows that time is a healer.