Off To The Races - Lana Del Rey

I looked up 'Off to the Races' by Lana Del Rey and found the meaning of the song 'a young girl (sex worker/addict/prostitute) being saved from the streets of Vegas by a 'sugar daddy' (older wealthy man). A little bit "pretty woman" and a lot of inspiration from "Lolita" the words "light of my life, fire of my loins" are the first lines in the book. She knows she is arousing his sexual desire and he is happy to watch her and give her money/lifestyle that would be hard to leave.'

Therefore after reading this I have got inspiration from it and have a vague plan and story for the video, I believe i am going to have it mostly narrative-based.


I have also looked up the lyrics and are going through them to have a look what sort of words are included in the song.



I think these lyrics do represent the meaning that I found when researching, because lines such as 'My old man is a bad man', this quote shows that he isn't her age and that he is a 'bad man', therefore does dodgy things, referring to the 'pimp/sugar daddy'. 'He doesn't mind I have a Las Vegas past', this sounds like she lives in a busy town and because she's mentioning it, it's not a good past. 'He loves me with every beat of his cocaine heart', this quote shows that he has taken drugs, therefore links to the 'bad man'.

'Watch me in the swimming pool bright blue ripples you, sitting sipping on your black Cristal', the use of 'watch me' implies that she's an object therefore he can watch her, but she doesn't mind because she's telling him to watch her, not stating that he is watching her.

One of the confusing, yet clever things about this song is that all the chorus' in this song aren't the same because they have a few lines that are changed such as, in the first chorus she sings 'I'm your little scarlet, starlet...' in the second chorus she sings, 'I'm your little harlot, startlet...', therefore for the video I won't be able to have a recording that I can play for every chorus.

LYRICS

My old man is a bad man but
I can't deny the way he holds my hand
And he grabs me, he has me by my heart
He doesn't mind I have a Las Vegas past
He doesn't mind I have an LA crass, way about me
He loves me with every beat of his cocaine heart

Swimming pool glimmering darling
White bikini off with my red nail polish
Watch me in the swimming pool bright blue ripples you
Sitting sipping on your black Cristal
Oh yeah

Light of my life, fire of my loins
Be a good baby, do what I want
Light of my life, fire of my loins
Give me them gold coins, gimme them coins

And I'm off to the races, cases of Bacardi chasers
Chasing me all over town
Cause he knows I'm wasted, facing
Time again at Riker's Island and I won't get out
Because I'm crazy, baby I need you to come here and save me
I'm your little scarlet, starlet singing in the garden
Kiss me on my open mouth
Ready for you

My old man is a tough man but
He's got a soul as sweet as blood red jam
And he shows me, he knows me
Every inch of my tar black soul
He doesn't mind I have a flat broke down life
In fact he says he thinks it's why he might like about me
Admires me, the way I roll like a Rolling Stone

Likes to watch me in the glass room bathroom, Chateau Marmont
Slippin' on my red dress, puttin' on my makeup
Glass film, perfume, cognac, lilac
Fumes, says it feels like heaven to him

Light of his life, fire of his loins
Keep me forever, tell me you own me
Light of your life, fire of your loins
Tell me you own me, gimme them coins

And I'm off to the races, cases of Bacardi chasers
Chasing me all over town
Cause he knows I'm wasted, facing
Time again at Riker's Island and I won't get out
Because I'm crazy, baby I need you to come here and save me
I'm your little scarlet, starlet singing in the garden
Kiss me on my open mouth

Now I'm off to the races, laces
Leather on my waist is tight and I am fallin' down
I can see your face is shameless, Cipriani's basement
Love you but I'm going down
God I'm so crazy, baby, I'm sorry that I'm misbehaving
I'm your little harlot, starlet, Queen of Coney Island
Raising hell all over town
Sorry 'bout it

My old man is a thief and I'm gonna stay and pray with him 'til the end
But I trust in the decision of the Lord to watch over us
Take him when he may, if he may
I'm not afraid to say that I'd die without him
Who else is gonna put up with me this way?
I need you, I breathe you, I never leave you
They would rue the day I was alone without you
You're lying with your gold chain on, cigar hanging from your lips
I said "Hon' you never looked so beautiful as you do now, my man."

And we're off to the races, places
Ready, set the gate is down and now we're goin' in
To Las Vegas chaos, Casino Oasis, honey it is time to spin
Boy you're so crazy, baby, I love you forever not maybe
You are my one true love, you are my one true love

You are my one true love

Treatment

Actors/Performers

For the main female role I have chosen to use Charlotte Hunter, she's 17 years of age and attends the acting club, 'Inspire' therefore she is has more than average knowledge on performing, which will make the music video look great. She has very long brown hair, quite curly, which will go well with the female role in this music video, as she's supposed to be quite bubbly, fun and adventerous, 'up for anything', which I believe curly hair pragmatically links with that; like in the musical 'Grease' the main female character, Sandy, turns into a 'bad girl' and changes her hair from straight and dull, into a curly perm. The performer is in the age of the target audience, therefore links in well with the target audience, she's also a pretty, 'English rose', sort of character therefore will attract male attention, therefore selling Lana Del Rey's song even better. She also attracts female attention, because the young female girls look up to her as a pretty thing who is showered in attention and riches.

Height: 5'5"     Size: 8/10

For the main male role I have chosen to use Bonar Michael, he's also 17 years old and attends the same college as me, therefore he is local and I am able to update him on a daily basis of where, when and how we are meeting for filming. He is quite a big teenage boy, tall and fairly big muscles, therefore he will be brilliant for the 'sugar daddy' role. This actor is in the target audience age range, therefore will appeal to the target audience better than if it was a 30 year old man playing the role. This also appeals to the audience because he's an attractive, young male who will attract young, female attention and attract young, male attention because they look up to him being powerful, rich and having a girl madly in love with him.

Height: 6'1"

Camera Angles

 

The main camera shot that I will be using in my music video is the close-up, this is because in music videos the aim isn't always the story behind the song, it's the performance of the singer, therefore it's easier for the audience to see the artist. I think using this camera angle for the majority of the video, it will also bring the audience closer to the performer and the meaning of the song, it will help the audience understand whether the singer's hurt, in love, happy, anything.

I will also be using a few extreme close-up's to show the main female characters emotion, because the narrative is about her falling in love with the main male character who is a 'sugar daddy/pimp' and he doesn't love her back, therefore I am going to use extreme close-up's on her to show how much emotion she has an usually mid/long-shots on the main male character. Like the previous camera angle it will also bring the audience even closer to the singer and their emotions than the regular close-up, it will create a strong bond between them and the lyrics will mean much more.

The main camera angle I will be using the most is 'eye level', because the music video isn't meant to be a short film, it's a performance-based video which includes a background story. Therefore, the audience can see the lip syncing easier than if I used a high angle all the time. 'Eye level' is very common in music video's because it creates a level with the audience and the performer therefore helping the audience understand things such as, emotions, actions and doings of the performer.




I will also be using some 'high angle shots' to show that the performer is vunerable as she has fallen deeply in love with her 'sugar daddy'. I won't be using many of these because it could be implied that the audience are looking down on her whereas that's not what I want the audience to feel, I want them to have an understanding of what she is going through, rather than looking at her as if she is pathetic.



Some 'low angle shots' will appear in the music video, because I think this angle implies an understanding from the audience, it also implies that the audience look up to the performer and that is an aim because the performer/singer wants respect and people to want to listen to her, rather than using a lot of 'high angle shots'.

Permission for Track

This is the e-mail I have sent to Stranger Records, Lana Del Rey's label to ask for their permission on using this track. I have stated the reason and also asked for some extra information which could be used in research.

I have not yet received a reply

Risk Assessment

For the filming of my music video I will be doing very unusual angles, therefore may have to use things such as ladders to get up and take high shots. This may put me in danger, but I have checked the areas for certain risks such as:

Danger at night scenes:

- I will be accompanied by an adult

- Film earlier in the night, as it is winter it will be getting dark at around 8:00pm

High angles:

- I will be having someone accompany me, whether that be an extra person or one of the actors when they are not being filmed, to stand next to me in case I fall

Accidents and Injuries:

- Got emergency numbers of parents/guardians/999

- First aid kit

Lights
- First aid kit for burns or injuries
- Cables out of the way of me and actors
- Only ever on when needed, to avoid bulbs bursting and overheating

Lana Del Rey's Record Companies

 Like many of the other new and young artists, Lana Del Rey was founded after uploading her tracks on YouTube, shows that the social networking buzz isn't just for chatting with friends.Stranger Records is a record company who discovered and signed Lana Del Rey and released, 'Video Games' which was a huge success.

One of Lana Del Rey's labels is Polydor, a British record label who is owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in Germany in 1946, it wasn't established in the UK until 10 years later which was lucky because it was in the rock 'n' roll era which had a huge impact on all present and future artists. Polydor have founded a lot of bands and artists such as Snow Patrol, The Who and many more.

 Lana Del Rey is also signed with Interscope Records, on her Wikipedia page this is listed as the first label, therefore it could mean that this is her main label or it's just a coincidence. Interscope Records is an American record label who, like Polydor, is also owned by Universal Music Group, therefore answering the question of why she has two record labels. Obviously, Polydor is to sell her in Britain and Interscope is to sell her in America. After looking on both websites, they don't hold any information about them and Lana Del Rey on their, only information about her such as her latest photo-shoots and her latest number ones.

 

Magazine Advert Idea Sketch

I will be creating another draft of the magazine advert with real images and computerised text, this was just a draft of an idea.

Costume and Prop Ideas

I have chosen these range of clothes because stereotypically I believe this is how a wealthy 'sex object' would look like. I have also added on some simple clothes like the black vest, plain black high heels and the shorts because I will be filming the actress for the videos of her before she met the 'sugar daddy', so she won't be in the expensive jewellery and the fur coat.

I have chosen this range of clothing for the main male character because I want to be able to show the audience that he is a wealthy, sugar daddy, but I'm not wanting the male character to be a stereotypical 'pimp'. I think this would probably look tacky and ruin the feel of the video, therefore I have included some stereotypical signs of a 'pimp' but having the big, gold chains, the big, gold rings and the canes. I also wanted him to show that he has money to spend, therefore the gold cufflinks and the smart suit.

Audience Research

After researching the genre that Lana Del Rey has labelled her music as, I have had to research different genres of target audience. The first one is 'alternative hip-hop', I believe that the stereotypical target audience for alternative hip-hop is the younger generation from the ages of 13-35. 

'I think Del Rey believes her target audience is everyone (from hipster bloggers all the way to top 40 radio), and Born To Die is the sound of her failing to be all things to all people.' This is a quote from an album review on the Internet[1], I agree with this statement because not all her songs are the same, people may say that she has 'depressive music', but a lot of the songs are actually about her being in love and her voice is very entrancing, deep and slow, therefore that could be the 'depressive music' that the non-fans are hearing.

'Perhaps even more interestingly, she's been catapulted to pedestal pin-up girl status for lesbians.' This quote is taken off a blog, the post is called, 'Turning gay for Lana Del Rey'[2]. I believe that this quote isn't to do with her voice as much as it's to do with her looks and the image she portrays, quite a gangster-like, seductive woman. This probably has something to do with her video 'Summertime Sadness' which doesn't show anything explicit, not even kissing, but it hints to the audience that Lana Del Rey, in this music video, is in love with a woman. Which personally, I think shows her fans that she's comfortable with any sexuality, therefore welcoming lesbian and gay fans.

I believe that Lana Del Rey's target audience is a huge range of people, I don't think it's a niche market.

[1] http://ludditestereo.net/2012/02/02/born-to-die-lana-del-rey-album-review/

[2]http://everguide.com.au/music/gigs-and-festivals/news/turning-gay-for-lana-del-ray.aspx

Mindmap

Mindmap on Prezi

30 second storyboard on Lana Del Rey - Video Games

This is a 30 second storyboard of an existing video by the artist that made the song that I will be using for my Media project, 'Off To The Races'. This task was set to show how diverse a storyboard and a music video actually is, this is only 30 seconds and there's already 14 frames.

 

Genre Research

I found the artist Lana Del Rey and I am wanting to do the song 'Off To The Races', a song sang by her, I researched her and found the genre which is alternative hip-hop and indie pop.

I have looked up the conventions of hip-hop and included in the videos are usually a lot of money, jewellery, girls and cars.The lighting is usually low-key lighting, this is because hip-hop artists/stars are stereotypically party associated, therefore party and perform at night and sleep in the day; however many artists can be unconventional and use a lot of lighting, but stereotypically and usually it's low key. The camera angles are usually high and low to show power. There are a few examples above of the use of camera angles and conventions.

After having a look at who the top artists in hip-hop I have found Jay-Z, T.I, Snoop Dog, Missy Elliott, Lil Kim, Kanye West, Lil Wayne and much more. A lot of their music includes a very strong, deep bass which is one of the conventions of hip-hop. Rap is also usually included in hip-hop, although not in Lana Del Rey's songs so much because her music is 'alternative hip-hop' therefore not all the conventions of hip-hop are there. Many of the song lyrics in hip-hop include song meanings about sex and girls, which is where Lana Del Rey includes this but with more feelings, love and clever lyrics.

Not forgetting that Lana's genre is also indie pop, other popular artists that's genre is indie pop are, The Killers, Florence and the Machine, The Vaccines, Ellie Golding, The Wombats, Marina & the Diamonds and much more. It could be said that many of the songs by these artists include more meaningful lyrics that aren't as objectifying as a stereotypical hip-hop song, like Lana Del Rey does.

The camera angles of indie pop are as follows, point-of-view shots, close-up shots and handheld camera movements, these are used to show the emotion and feelings that are in the songs, they usually use fast cuts and straight cuts. Unlike hip-hop there can be a lot of different props used depending on what the song is about.

http://www.slideshare.net/JayThobhani/conventions-within-hip-hop

Lana Del Rey research

Lana Del Rey started singing when she was living in Lake Placid, on the outer edges of New York, where she also grew up. At the age of 18 she left suddenly for New York City, her life long dream. "Since I was little I knew I would end up there" Lana Del Rey said. David Lynch, Black and white 50's movies, Coney Island, Hip-hop and heartbreak were a few things that gave her inspiration with her music. 'Stranger are delighted to announce the signing of Lana Del Rey's debut single 'Video Games.'

Lana Del Rey - Video Games Analysis

Lana Del Rey's genre is pop and alternative hip-hop and the characteristics of these don't necessarily show in this video, it could be said that she has done this to show contrast and difference and not be the same as every other pop music video and use the original characteristics.

There isn't a very strong relationship between the lyrics and the visuals, but it could be said that the message behind the song and the visuals is quite strong. The song is about her falling in love with someone and the times they've spent together and there are quite a few bits of film where its a boy and girl together. There's also a part of the song where she sings 'swinging with the old stars' and there's a filming of some celebrities together leaving a certain place. The relationship between the music and visuals is stronger than the lyrics, with every sentence in the song the shots are changed, home videos of people being in love and having fun, this goes with the moral of the song, the beat and the genre/type of the song.

When the artist comes on screen she's only showed as close-ups, this is because the video isn't performance-based, therefore nothing more of her needs to be shown than her lips. There is a slight reference to the notion of looking because Lana Del Rey doesn't really look anywhere other than the camera, this suggests that these sections are performance-based and slightly personal, because if she's looking at someone personally and singing these sort of lyrics it tends to mean something.

This music video is mainly concept-based and the concept being home videos and vintage things, it links with the genre of music quite depressing, yet happy. But it's performance-based in some areas, such as when she's looking at the camera singing, that wouldn't be classed as a concept.

Because the song I have picked for my music video is by Lana Del Rey I thought I'd study a popular Lana Del Rey video, I am going to be using the 'home made video' effect in mine, but not as much as it's used in this video because it could possibly look lazy if I don't have the majority of the filming professional.

A-Ha - Take On Me Analysis

This genre is synth-pop and one of the genre characteristics that appear in this music video is the storyline goes fast, it cuts from one situation to another really quickly. Also, the music video is a love story, therefore this is shown to be different to rap, it doesn't have dancing girls, it has a storyline. The relationship between the lyrics and the visuals are quite strong, but its mainly the message behind the song that links with the storyline best. 'Shying away' this is at the end of the video, she climbs in a hole and escapes the men, which links with her shying away from danger, whereas he isn't. 'I'll be coming for you anyway' this is said after she has climbed into the hole, this links with him letting her go and coming after her after he's dealt with the danger. 'I'll be gone in a day or two' this links with him being a drawing and her not able to be with him because of that fact.

There are quite a few close-ups of the drawings and the people in real life, this is used for the storyline, rather than the rap genre, where they use close-ups to show how they can actually rap it rather than having it sped up, these singers don't have to prove any specific bits, a lot of the close-ups show reactions and emotion in this video. There is a reference to the notion of looking because the main female character is looking at the main singer in the magazine, this links with the storyline rather than the performance.

This video includes all three, performance-based because it shows the band playing their instruments and him singing in certain parts, it includes narrative-based because of the storyline of them falling in love and him being a drawing and being chased so they can't be together, but it also includes concept-based because of the idea of the drawings, the theme is a comic strip idea.

I analysed this video because I was wanting to do the cartoon strip idea, but after some thought I have decided against it, the research into it also helped me come to my decision.

Kanye West - All Of The Lights feat. Rihanna and Kid Cudi Analysis

The genre characteristics for this music video include, fast camera movement, this is usually found in rap/r&b music videos. This video also features police cars, the police come up quite a bit in rap because many of the artists believe they're better than them.

There are a few bits where there is a relationship between the lyrics and visuals, for example, the lyrics say 'I slapped my girl, she called the feds', in this time he hits another woman, it then cuts to the woman wiping away her tears and on the phone, therefore showing us she did call the police. 'She need a daddy', the camera then shows the little girl, this does have some relationship because the little girl is on her own so it does show she needs a parent. The lights that are mostly colours that police car lights use, this could have some relationship, because the whole song is about him getting put in prison and trying to help his little girl, so prison and the police do have a main part in this song. Also, there's a lot of text in this supporting the lyrics, this is narrative-based.

The relationship between the music and visuals aren't as good as the lyrics and visuals, at the start of the song it's quite classical, use of violins and there is a little girl walking on her own in the snow, showing she's innocent and pure. It's also in black and white, this shows its quite classical and not 'in your face'. When the music and bass quickens, the flashing lights get quicker.

In a lot of Kanye West's music videos he likes the angles to be close-up and high shots, he's been described to be very self-absorbed, therefore this style matches his ego. Also, the times when he is on camera, he's always moving, if it's not him its the camera, there's always something moving, whereas, with the other artists, they're stood still, or at least not moving as much as Kanye West. Not only do these shots match with what he likes in most video, they go well with the genre of rap because when the rapper are rapping, they like the audience to see that they can go that quickly and do it that well therefore a close-up in that situation is brilliant. There could be an intertextual reference because in the past there had been a case where Kanye West did hit his girlfriend, so this could be his almost apologising for it.

There is a hint of narrative-based in this music video, because at the start we have 00:01:08 of a little girl walking through the snow, on her own, with violins being played in the background. But, it's mainly performance-based because of the text used, there is a lot of it and it doesn't show a story it makes the video look good, just like the other majority of the video is Kanye West or Rihanna singing to the camera.

I'm interested in studying this video because I like the flashing effect and the many lights, I am wanting to add this into my video.

Poster Analysis

This poster is used to not only sell the album, but sell herself as an artist. This poster markets Rihanna as being a rebellious, young artist by having several small things on her poster, such as the use of smoke coming out of her mouth, this shows her bad and sexy side because smoking is portrayed as bad, therefore if Rihanna's doing it she's bad too. It also represents youth as it's usually young people who smoke to try new things and feel older, this is what young teens want. The black background on the poster helps Rihanna, who is lit up by the flash, stand out, so when people walk by bright Rihanna will catch their eye. It shows two different album covers, not only does this show passers by that there is a choice in album, but one of the albums is coloured and the only thing that is coloured on the whole poster, therefore grabbing people's attention. The rips on the poster represents herself as an artist being young, because stereotypically young teens don't look after their things, therefore getting rips. It also represents her music and attitude which are both intended to be bad and rebellious.

This poster was created to not only sell the album, but to sell Katy Perry. This poster markets her as being a fun, sexy, colourful, bubbly and enthusiastic artist. The use of the busy background implies that Katy Perry is a fun, young artist, this poster was created for a different audience to Rihanna's because Katy Perry doesn't look very rebellious, therefore the teens that are wanting rebellion aren't going to find it in Katy Perry. The text isn't very clear to see because of the busy, colourful background, but this could imply that Katy Perry thought her fans and people who are interested in her style of music would know about the dates. Katy Perry has a serious face, rather than her bubbly, smiling self, this could possible imply to her fans that her music isn't always going to be fun and careless, it may possibly turn serious and have some deep-thinking lyrics involved.

This poster was created to sell the album, but also sell the band as well, it markets them to be a young band, who enjoy the vintage look. They aren't portrayed to be as 'rebellious' as Rihanna, but they also aren't marketed to look as 'fun and bubbly' as Katy Perry, they're about in the middle. The clear difference between Paramore's poster and Rihanna's and Katy Perry's is that this one is landscape, this is used for a band more I'd say, because it's easier to fit all the information on and two or more people. The use of the 3D looking photograph of the band is to show casual-ness and friendliness, the photograph doesn't look fake, it looks like a friend has taken it while they were getting ready, this implies to their fans that they are a very laid back band and they write music because they enjoy it. The use of the butterflies gives quite a simple, yet brilliant vibe, because the butterflies are taken apart, they look like they're being examined, therefore represents their music on the outside amazing, but when looking deeper there's more too it. Like Rihanna's poster, this has a colour scheme, which is browns and yellows, this going with the background which is wood and goes with the album cover which is cream and yellow. All of the information is taped on, this gives a scrapbook effect, like I stated earlier a laid back feel to their album.

Digipak Analysis

The first digipak I have Paul Weller CD, the digipak has three panels, but also a magnetic flap to hold the digipak together, so it could be classed as four. The front of it is red and has used an ‘oil paint’ effect for the artist portrait. There is also a sticker on the front which holds the information about the album, therefore its able to be peeled off. There are two CD’s on the inside one on the left panel and one on the furthest panel, the panel in the middle has art work on it and holds a booklet. The third panel has a slit on the left hand side for the booklet to slide in and out of. 

The second digipak is Madness’, this album also holds two CD’s and a booklet too. But it has three panels, no flap to hold it together and the CD’s are placed one in the middle panel and the other on the furthest panel. The first panel on the left is used to hold the booklet, and like the Paul Weller digipak it has artwork on the front and like the Paul Weller album, the section that holds the booklet is the same. The artwork all over the digipak matches Madness’ CD’s and their style, which is black and white.

 The third digipak is Bruce Springsteen and only has two panels, unlike both of the other digipaks, this one only has the slit for the booklet and the CD to slide in and out of, rather than the CD’s being clicked in place. Because the inside of the digipak is like pockets to put the CD’s in, the art work is much more detailed and not just block colours, because it’s easier to see. Like the Paul Weller album cover, the artist on the front has been edited to look more like a drawing than a real person.