Location Research

As a group we have concluded that we want to use mainly outdoor locations. Our reasoning for this is that we want the video to have a theme of nature. Similarly, we want Nova to appear as a down to earth type of character, therefore a literal locations of places outside will visually represent this.

Considering we have taken large inspiration from Lana Del Rey for both our character and overall video, we felt it would be appropriate to research into the types of locations Lana herself uses within her videos. 

Ride

In Lana's music video for Ride, a mass variation of locations are used in order to create a dynamic video. The main location present within the video is a desert. I feel this particular location was selected to indicate a sense of vulnerability and confusion - she is lost within herself, and this is represented by her being alone in the desert. I found this location intriguing as it is not a location you would necessarily expect, especially considering Lana usually uses extravagant, glamorous props and costumes. The location was effective in terms of delivering that 'shock factor' that will keep the audience watching however I feel the location does not particularly match the meaning of the song, which of course creates an interesting juxtaposition but it also means that the visuals do not match the lyrics, potentially confusing the audience.

Blue Jeans

The locations for Blue Jeans are far more minimalistic. The main location is a swimming pool. I feel the implication of the pool is her loss of an extravagant lifestyle as well as her loss of a partner as the song focuses on the closure of a relationship. The use of a pool as the main location is effective in the fact that it represents Lana as being glamorous and living the 'high life' motifs that I feel are regularly apparent within her music videos. In addition, the location allows for a range of different shots to be captured, both in and out of the water. Yet once again, the lyrics do not relate to the location, which may be frustrating for some fans who want to see a visual representation of the lyrics.

 

 

 

National Anthem

 

The video for National Anthem uses a range of locations yet the one that stood out immediately to me was the use of the flower field. The boldness of the red flowers caught my attention, making me quickly associate the colour with its meaning of love and passion. This is a clear link to the lyrics which appear to show Lana deeply in love and wanting to be adored by her lover the way that she adores him. I feel the use of the flower field helps to enhance the retro sort of feel Lana was clearly going for with the video and makes it appear feminine. Although it looks nice on the eye, I am not sure whether it holds much depth. If my group wanted to use a location similar to this I feel it would only be in the video very briefly, perhaps in snapshots.

 

 

 

 

 



Video Games

Video Games is potentially the most simple Lana video out there in terms of location. A majority of the video is just a montage of old clips so there is no one set location. However, the clips of Lana lip syncing are filmed in the corner of a room against a plain wall. I can understand why they chose this location, as they didn't want to take away from the meaning of the clips they had chosen. However, it is very simple and not very enticing. I do not feel that we would use a location like this within our music video as it wouldn't bring anything to it, nor would it be a visual representation of the lyrics.

 

 

 

Summertime Sadness

Summertime Sadness uses one singular location - the edge of a cliff which looks over the skyline of the city that she is in. I feel this use of location is successful because it manages to look professional whilst capturing Lana's true emotions, you can see her reminiscing on a summer love she once had and her emotions seem raw and genuine as she is by nature. Due to the fact I cannot fault this location I think it is a location that me and my group will consider for our own video.

 

 

Born to die

 

The location for Born to die is one of Lana's most extravagant. She is mainly in one location throughout the entirety of the video. It appears to be a grand hall within a castle or something similar. She is sat on a throne expressing her views on herself, she feels she is a strong, important female and this is something we want our artist Nova to present herself as. However, she is wearing a flower crown rather than an actual crown, indicating that she is still down to earth regardless of her fame and fortune. I feel this is one of Lana's best locations as it represents her in terms of the music industry - she is very popular and looked up too. Regardless of this, I do not feel a location like this would be appropriate for our video as 1) it is not accessible to us and 2) our artist, Nova, is just starting out in the music industry therefore this type of location would not be very fitting.

 

 

 

 

In conclusion, as group we have decided to have a mixture of both indoor and outdoor locations. Saying this, we would prefer to feature more outdoor locations as we feel they are broader and allow for a mass range of interesting shots to be collected. The link to our Prezi I have inserted below entails the locations we are hoping to use and our reasoning for picking them.


https://prezi.com/ppr-l4ebpqvb/locations/#