Welcome BACK to the Magic of The Music Video feature! We have been having a break from this but now it is back and this time it is on the new day of Saturday afternoons! Every month we will take a look at the music videos of certain artists and bands more in depth to explore just why I love them.

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.

To celebrate the return of Magic of the Music Video, we are going to start with a Duet Special Part 2. Back in MAY 2021 we had a look at music videos of duets and this month we are going to look at many more!

Today we are going to look at a collaboration by the biggest name in pop and one of the biggest names in rock.

Me – Taylor Swift feat Brendon Urie

Why did you choose this particular video?

If there is someone who has a lot of money put into their music videos then it is Taylor Swift and that means that there is a lot of cinematography when it comes to them When you look online, you can GURANTEE that there will be an article somewhere completely analysing the video. This article will solely be about the editing techniques I like in this video as I will not be able to compare to the depth in which they write. I like this song and this video is fun so I thought why not write about it.

So, what is the narrative?

Apparently in the documentary Miss Americana Swift states that the concept of the music video as having been based on the song’s message of individualism and self-empowerment, by demonstrating the hobbies and characteristics that make herself and Urie unique.

Favourite parts of the video?

The music video is full of colour so the use of dark and muted bold colours at the beginning really creates a sort of paradox as it shows the negative part of the video is in a darker world then the rest of Taylors world. It is a very clever piece of cinematography that really indicates the situation to the audience incredibly quickly.

One thing that is great about this video is that there are some really fun video transitions throughout. One of them that is really striking is when the video pans through Brendan’s heart. The graphics used are whimsical and really fun and it sticks on trend with the colourful images throughout and also creates a really fun journey through the video. It also brings you into an even more metaphorical world that is even beyond the first surrealism in the video. This is to show the softer side of Brendan’s character in the video and the love compared to the argument they had at the beginning.

Another thing that is amazing about this video is the graphics – the whole world is a sense of surrealism and these images of paint exploding, prisms that they dance in and the text on the floor and much more brings this bright coloured world alive. It sort of has a sense of Wizard of Oz and Charlie and The Chocolate Factory to it – I don’t know why but it really does.

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