Preparatory Task Research For Advanced Portfolio B 1/3

Lorde- Royals

Lyrics: 

 I've never seen a diamond in the flesh
I cut my teeth on wedding rings in the movies
And I'm not proud of my address, in the torn up town No post code envy
 But every song's like gold teeth, Grey Goose, trippin' in the bathroom Bloodstains, ball gowns, trashin' the hotel room
We don't care, we're driving Cadillacs in our dreams
 But everybody's like Cristal, Maybach, diamonds on your timepiece. Jet planes, islands, tigers on a gold leash
We don't care, we aren't caught up in your love affair
And we'll never be royals
It don't run in our blood
That kind of lux just ain't for us
We crave a different kind of buzz
Let me be your ruler, you can call me Queen Bee And baby I'll rule (I'll rule I'll rule I'll rule)
 Let me live that fantasy
My friends and I we've cracked the code
We count our dollars on the train to the party
And everyone who knows us knows that we're fine with this
 We didn't come from money
 But every song's like gold teeth, Grey Goose, trippin' in the bathroom Bloodstains, ball gowns, trashin' the hotel room
 We don't care, we're driving Cadillacs in our dreams
But everybody's like Cristal, Maybach, diamonds on your timepiece.
Jet planes, islands, tigers on a gold leash
 We don't care, we aren't caught up in your love affair
And we'll never be royals It don't run in our blood
That kind of lux just ain't for us
 We crave a different kind of buzz
Let me be your ruler, you can call me Queen Bee And baby I'll rule (I'll rule I'll rule I'll rule)
 Let me live that fantasy (Ooh ooh oh)
We're bigger than we ever dreamed, and I'm in love with being queen (Ooh ooh oh)
 Life is great without a care
We aren't caught up in your love affair
 And we'll never be royals
 It don't run in our blood
That kind of lux just ain't for us
We crave a different kind of buzz
Let me be your ruler, you can call me Queen Bee And baby I'll rule (I'll rule I'll rule I'll rule)
Let me live that fantasy

Interpretation:


The lyrics of "Royals" illustrate that the song is about a hatred for mainstream culture and the thought that we're categorised into groups consisting of either rich and fortunate people who are surrounded by luxuries; "jet planes, islands, tigers on a gold leash" or those that are living in a fantasy and are struggling to achieve a common mans lifestyle; " we count our dollars on the train to the party" suggesting that they have to use a large fraction of their money in order to witness a fragment of a rich persons lifestyle.


Synopsis: The video starts off with an establishing shot of houses and is tracked to show the atmosphere of the location of the people its being aimed at. There's a cutaway to the singers face which holds no emotion and then a cutaway to a messy bed and then a mid-close up of the singer to show that the song will perhaps underline her attitudes. There's a cutaway to a basic room which consists of a television, a plant, cream/off-white curtains and a portrait and the lyrics: " I'm not proud of my address" are used to portray the idea of being unsatisfied. During the shots of the singer Lorde she is seen to be lip syncing to create the understanding that the song will have some relevance to her and the fact that she is lip syncing further implies that she is portraying her feelings personally. There is a cutaway of a shot of a white male sitting up in the same bed shown in the beginning and he is looking out the window, another cutaway of a male next to a tap with his face down that has been soaked and he is wearing a silver chain. There is a cutaway to a close up of the same male with a silver chain and beauty spots. The video mainly focuses on two individuals that are sharing a house, we are also shown the cliché stereotypes of males involved in sports when there's a shot of the actor looking up at a basketball net and walking in water that's just over his shoulders. There's two shots and overhead shots of two white males boxing and the lyrics " let me be your ruler" to show that they are each others support or guidance. We are shown a high angle of a male shaving his hair in a bathroom and the same male standing in a swimming pool with his head under the water with his arms crossed to show his isolation. We are also shown a shot of a male laying on a train platform and a shot of 4 males from behind and it is focused on one to show the division and a close up shot of him with his head leaning on a bus/train window. At the end we are shown the same establishing tracked shot of the location of houses to show that it is continuous and that this is their daily routine.



The music video is a narrative and performance based as it attempts to tell a story through a couple of males and the female singer lip syncing. The lifestyle of each individual is simply based on their daily routines and what they enjoy i.e sports.


Themes and Motifs:

The themes are connected to the mainstream culture. There's themes of isolation: several shots of individuals on their own to imply that they are on their own. Competition: two shot of the 2 males boxing.


Editing:

There's cutaways used through majority of the video to show the various actions throughout the day of a common individual. The cutting pace of royals is with the music to make the story quite clear within the viewers mind. There is a slow motion effect throughout the video so you are able to witness the different individuals. Lip sync is used throughout most of the video to show the two different perspectives of a female and male.

Mise-en-scene:
In terms of Mise-en-scene we are shown various elements from basic furniture like the television, the portrait hung on the wall, the plant and the curtains to suggest that they can only afford basic equipment or are happy with what they have. We are shown several locations mainly in the houses of the individuals to suggest that majority of their time is spent there and also the locations involve the idea that men are interested in sports or being athletic.

Camera:
The use of the two shot and shoulder helps combine two individuals together. The use of the establishing shots of the locations so we are aware of what the context is. Mid shots and close ups of the singer lip syncing instead of a long shot as it'll have more of an effect if the audience can view a closer view of the singer as it seems forceful. High shot to show the individual in the swimming being vulnerable and lacking power.

Target Audience:
The target audience isn't aimed at any specific person but in fact is aimed at anyone who doesn't support the clichè music videos or enjoys to standout and seeks satisfaction from being unique. They are encouraged to buy the record as it reinforces that it relates to every individuals lifestyle.

Ideas I could use in my own video:
I enjoyed the fact that the song uses a narrative as it makes the song more memorable and it leaves the viewers with something to remember and I found it interesting how the song begins and ends with the same establishing shot which I might consider using in my own video as it leaves a last impression. I also like the way that the video doesn't focus on one individual but quite a few that are going through a similar phase as it shows that there's always more than one person going through the same phase. I like how the cutting rate is in time with the music as it has more of an effect, as a viewer you feel as if you are involved in the song so you're able to empathise. The use of the cutaways made the video more effective as it is quite rapid and the still shots forced us to make an assumption of what the individuals lives are like.