Textual Analysis of Ellie Goulding - Burn

Ellie Goulding's new song 'Burn' was released this year and so I decided to do a textual analysis of her video, as it is contemporary and most people will know it/ can relate to it. This is the first shot we see of the artist and it creates a sense of power, as we see her walking confidently down a runway. This shows he outgoing personality, and shows to the audience that she is an independent artist that isn't bothered about what others may think of her individual style. The fact that the artist is in black, connotes sadness, however this contrasts to the song as it is quite upbeat and positive about life. Therefore this may show that just because she is wearing black does not mean that she is 'depressed' or that black is a negative colour. In a way, this shot goes against 'Star Theory', which is the opinions of the media industry. These opinions are that the industries try to create their own stars within the artist by making them look a certain way such as what clothing they wear. However, in my opinion I feel that this is Ellie's own look as she looks quite 'casual' and not the typical look for a 'pop star' in their  music video. 

This next relevant part to the music video, shows a group of teenagers jumping over and breaking into a fence. This relates to teens as they are trying to have fun and love the sense of being 'mischievous'. As we can see in the screen shot, the sun is about to go down which shows that it could be getting later which shows a contemporary side to teenagers, of that they enjoy staying out together as a group. It allows the artist to connect with a younger artist as the music in the video is upbeat and 'enjoyable'. Also, it is the type of music that you would expect to here at a party where teens would be. However, this screen shot could have negative affects on the audience as it may influence younger people to go out and do things they shouldn't, which may in turn mean that the artist receives negative feedback about the video. The clothing that the people are wearing the video is similar to the artist, and is also contemporary to what the style and fashion is at the moment for teenagers in the UK, which shows that teens will relate to this and may see the artist as someone who they idolise. 

 Throughout the music video there are many close up facial shots of the artist, which shows the artist to be confident and 'real'. In pop music videos, there are usually close ups of the artist as they try to sell themselves as well as their music. They also get a lot of help from music producers with this, and her music production company will have probably encouraged many of these shots to occur throughout the video. This will have been so that the media and the press know exactly who 'Ellie Goulding' is and will know who she is if they saw her in the street and paparazzi could take photos, leak stories etc. However, in my opinion this artist is quite grounded and wouldn't do anything outrageous. She seems to be very focused on selling her music and not selling stories or information about herself. The way that she looks into the camera on all of the close up shots, shows that she is trying to engage the audience into her song and interest the viewers more. It also allows the younger artists to know who she is and become idolised by her, therefore creating more money as she will be able to sell tours, posters etc, and more people are likely to buy her album if they know who she is. Where as in for example, an Arctic Monkeys song, they are not in the music video and so new audiences are less likely to know who they are.

The two photos (left and below) promote the video in a positive light and relate to groups of teens in a positive manner. In these two shots near to the end of the video, one shows them all dancing and one shows them watching a fireworks display. In my opinion, it creates a sense of belonging within teenagers, and allows them to reminisce on memories they may have had similar to these within their own friendship groups. However, older audiences may see these shots as negative and that it is influencing teenagers to go out and go to parties, which could then influence other things such as alcohol and drugs. In my opinion, teenagers of around my age can relate to this music video very well, which then forces teens in a way to like the song and the video. There is also an element of romance to the second shot, which teens could also relate to and also shows a soft, emotional side to the artist, which viewers may like and feel as if they know the artist more. Throughout the video, there seems to be a slight 'sepia' effect on the camera which makes the video more contemporary and creative. This may have been influenced by music producers to make the artist stand out more and to make her look 'different' from other music artists and their videos. An older audience may have negative views of the video, due to the amount of flesh being shown on some parts of the video e.g. girls legs being out. However, I feel that this shows the confidence of teens and would not see it as negative unless the people in the video were more nude. 

Overall, I feel as if the music video gives a positive view of the artist and the audience, no matter what age will enjoy it. It is interesting and different from a lot of music videos in the music world, and shows the artist to be genuine and herself from start to end. Below is the music video on Youtube to watch.