Lady Gaga's telephone analysis..

There are numerous codes and conventions within this music video which can be related and linked to other media music productions.
The opening shots consist of a montage of quick, short, establishing close ups which reveal a realistic mise-en-scene. The director has used juxtaposition between the setting and costume where one represents realism and the other is very outrageous and erotic.
The opening credits allow the music video to be seen as a short film, making it very cinematic, this is a convention of film. During the narrative before the song has begun there is a lot of emphasised diegetic sounds.


At the beginning of the video we see images of CCTV which gives the element of realism as it looks as though it could be something we see on the TV News for example, which could fit in with the video. The shots of Lady Gaga walking through the prison cells are very provocative; the costumes are extremely sexualised and erotic. We are presented with a close-up of one of the inmates licking the bars of her cell which is a code for sexual behaviour. The women in the video are very butch and masculine which is a typical stereotype of female prisons.


We are then presented a close-up of a lesbian kiss which is also a stereotype. We see a close-up of a hand moving up her thigh, this is a code for sexualised behaviour.
The director has cleverly used product placement as a way of advertising, we first see this when a mobile phone is used showing the Virgin Mobile logo but we see this repeatedly throughout the video e.g. when Lady Gaga used coke cans as curlers in her hair. This creates a very post-modern feel.


When the song begins and Lady Gaga answers the phone we see quick static shots which fit with the beat of the song. We than have the dance scene where the costume and dance moves are very erotic, we get lots of close-ups on body parts, long shots and mid shots which are all edited together to fit the music. A close-up on her breasts is a code for sexuality. After this we see a series of stylised images shown in a starcarto, stalled way to mimic the song. Lady Gaga is wearing nothing but yellow police tape which is very irrate.


The video then goes back to the narrative where we see a breaking of the 180 degree rule when she gets into the car. We also see a lot of sexualised behaviour and phallac imagery i.e. Lady Gaga and Beyonce eating and sharing a sausage roll. In this scene we see an element of intertextuality as there is a relation to the film Kill Bill.
As this scene develops we see a very bright, bold colour scheme and cartoon like images suggesting a post-modern feel. Adding to this, when they enter the diner the director has chosen to use a split screen and on screen effects i.e. poison symbol which also relates back to the cinematic element.


The narrative continues with Lady Gaga and Beyonce poisoning everyone in the diner and we hear loud, exaggerated diegetic sounds of people dying and we see close-ups of the dead corpse. This is a code for death.