As you may know, I am a Video Editor – and one of the things (probably the main thing) that inspired me to work in television post production was actually music videos.

Music videos are one of my favourite things in the world and I spent hours and I MEAN literally hours when I was growing up watching them Even now in the modern world, I can find myself getting lost on YouTube watching music videos for hours on end – they are an addiction.

This month we look at a musician that creates some of my favourite videos. At university, my housemate and I used to be so excited on new Lady Gaga Video day as you never knew what to expect from them and they were always so magical. I find her music and her videos really inspiring because she always goes above and beyond to do something that no-one else has thought of. So this month I want to celebrate and look at the queen of pops music videos. Be warned, some of these analysis could be essays because there is a lot I love about her videos from an editing perspective.

Lady Gaga – Telephone

Why did you choose this particular video?

This is my favourite video by Lady Gaga, there is sooo much to love about it. My favourite parts is they way that the narrative is built up and it is like a miniature film, I love the connotations and the little things you have to watch out for and ever frame has something to look at that you didn’t realise was there. The fashion is another thing that is amazing in this video – only gaga could make Cigarette glasses and coke cans in her hair fashion items. I always love when a music video creates this magic world and you can disassociate with the editing and this is one of those videos I love it so much as it is so well done. This video has some amazing video edits so prepare for an essay.

So, what is the narrative?

Lady Gags is released from prison and her partner in crime Beyonce picks her up from the jail. They go to a cafe to make Beyonces boyfriend pay for what he has done…

Favourite parts of the video?

There is so much to see in this video but we are going to focus on a few dfferent shots. This is one of those videos I could probably write a whole essay on but I am going to keep it short. Due to the fact that we are looking at the music video we are going to only focus on sections with music.

The first shot we are going to focus on is when the music starts and Gaga is in prison, I love the way the music becomes part of the scene and that it is the words that Gaga says on the phone call. It is such a simple thing but it works so well. I really like the way that this section of the video is edited and that the visual technically is ‘corrupted’ as it does these very quick edits and manipulation of footage to go in time to the beat of the music and to create a sense of things to come.

One of the things I love about this video is the transitions there are so many unique and clever ones throughout that it is a joy to see them. I really like this diner one because just like the music in the shot above, I really enjoy the fact that this logo is part of the narrative and scene and then is moves in a really creative way to jump scenes. These clever transitions really amp up the fact that this story is fictional which is vitally important when you are dealing with murders and deaths.

The section of the video when Gaga starts making a poison based lunch is really interesting watching as the editing completely changes again. This time the editing is faster and the graphics are more cartoon like. This again is to highlight the fiction style of this narrative which is important for younger viewers. The shots are quickly cut and sped up to create this really interesting montage.

After the murders have been committed the style of the video changes again to a dance routine and the girls are wearing American flags on their dresses. The scene feels like it is trying to represent Natural Born Killers in some shape or form. Also there are clips where it goes to close ups of Beyonce and the footage has been manipulated to look like it is in time to the beat.To me this is a clever call back to the beginning of the video and this particular shot is a great example.