Music Treatment: Taylor Swift- Shake It Off

Track Title: Shake It Off

Artist: Lily Palmer

Director: Siân Fields

I have decided to choose Shake It Off for Palmer’s music video because I think it would look really fun and represent her as a great pop artist and really appeal to her fan base.

Overview

The Shake It Off video will be performance-based and will reflect Palmer’s style. It will appeal to her fan base because it will be visually exciting and humorous. Furthermore it will be appropriate for its audience as it will not be overly sexualised.

The video will predominantly be shot in front of a white background with Palmer lip syncing. This will put the focus on her and promote her as an artist. This is important for Palmer, as her ‘girl next door’ image is a significant part of her career.

Through the video Palmer will perform in a range of costumes, which each reflect the lyrics she is singing. There will be 15 different outfits, for each of which I have assigned a ‘character’. The variety of looks will be visually exciting and also present Palmer as an actress as well as a pop artist.

The Costumes

 

“I stay out too late”

For the opening line to the song Palmer will wear bright, heavy makeup. This will include pink lipstick, purple eyeshadow and black winged eyeliner. Her hair will be worn down and tightly curled. She will wear a black leather jacket and a mini skirt.

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Got nothing in my brain”

 Here Palmer will pretend to be a model, playing up to the stereotype that models are not very intellectual. She will pose mockingly and have her hair loosely slicked back, with fairly natural makeup and glittery eyeshadow. She gaze deeply at the camera, and put her hand on her hips. Her expression will be very serious. She will wear large heels and a dress.

“I go on too many dates”

Palmer will be dressed up really nicely, wearing a ‘Little Black Dress’- as if going on a date. Her hair will be styled in large curls, and her make-up will be immaculate (including classy red lipstick and false lashes). She will also be holding a single red rose and a clutch.

 

“But I can’t make ‘em stay”

For this part Palmer will be wearing the same outfit as the previous lyric, however she will have mascara running down her face to suggest she has been crying. Her hair will also be messy and she will have an overly exaggerated distressed look on her face.

“But I keep cruising

Can’t stop, won’t stop moving”

Palmer will wear a flower headdress and a kimono. The overall look will be very boho/festival themed and she will be riding around on a small bicycle with her knees above the handlebars. This will give a very humorous look, and by appearing to mess about Palmer is presented as a fun-loving, laidback teenager. Unlike most of the video, this section will be filmed in a street and Palmer will not be lip-syncing. This will seem to give the audience an insight into her life away from her career. For the first line, Palmer will be stood on the bike, gliding through the air. For the second, she will be comically cycling as fast as she can. Throughout she will have a huge smile on her face and be laughing.

 

 

“Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play”

When singing these lyrics Palmer will dress slightly provocatively as she is dressing as a ‘player’, however this will be kept appropriate to her young fans. Therefore she will wear a black leather jacket to give a somewhat masculine vibe, with a low cut top. She will wear fairly heavy make-up with smoky eyes and a bright pink lipstick. Her hair will be messy with a blasé attitude. Palmer will also use playing cards as a prop for these scenes. She will hold the cards to face her and have a ‘poker face’ to represent slyness and also lack of sensitivity.  

“And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate”

This is Palmer’s opportunity to hit back at people whom unnecessarily, harshly criticise her. The look will be very dark and very over the top. She will look pale but wear excessive black eyeliner and shadow to show that she is mocking ‘haters’ rather than being serious. She will look very angry as she lip-syncs. Palmer will also wear a hoodie with the hood up.

 

“Heart-breakers gonna break, break, break, break, break”

The aim here is an absolutely stunning look; natural-looking but long lashes and heavy lip-gloss but otherwise a fairly natural, youthful appearance. Her clothing should be preppy but not nerdy- wearing a shirt and a short skirt. The overall appearance should present her as the ‘perfect yet unobtainable’ girl.

 

“And the fakers gonna fake, fake, fake, fake, fake”

This look is intended to look ridiculous. Palmer will wear a foundation much darker than suited to her skin. Think Ross counting ‘Mississippily’. Her eyebrows will be drawn over with a dark brown pencil, contrasting greatly with her blonde hair. She will also wear ludicrously large false eyelashes and her lips will be made larger with a lip pencil and shiny pink lipstick. This will mock women who try to be something they are not, and suggest that Palmer is totally opposed to this; she is happy in her natural appearance. Despite the idea of this look being rather stupid, as with all the looks Palmer should not look unattractive.

 

“I never miss a beat

I’m lightening on my feet”

Palmer will wear a very cute, athletic outfit; a baggy American football shirt and small fabric shorts with knee high socks and pumps. This will be another scene shot outside, at a park. During the first line she will be shown bouncing a basketball, and for the second she will do a track start. This will present her as a strong woman and disprove female stereotypes.

“I’m dancing on my own

I make the moves up as I go”

This look will be very laid back and relaxed. Palmer’s hair will be in a messy, high ponytail complete with a scrunchie. She will wear a fairly plain oversized t-shirt and her makeup will be very natural. She will sing the first line into a hairbrush and then spin around for the second line. Palmer’s fans will enjoy this scene; it resembles a girl dancing around her bedroom and so appears to give viewers a more intimate insight into her private life.

 

“But I keep cruising

Can’t stop, won’t stop grooving”

This mood board shows the kind of style and setting I will aim to achieve. It will be quite hipster, with Palmer sat down riding a skateboard down a suburban road. She will wear a beanie and have her hair in beachy waves. She will have a checked shirt tied around her waist and distressed jeans. She will wear a plum coloured lipstick and have smoky eye makeup. A handheld camera technique will be used to give this scene a homemade, laid back look.  

 

Schoolgirl Look

For one of the verses in this video Palmer will be dressed as a schoolgirl because the music at this point sounds like a chant, and the “Oh, my god!” is rather typical of teenage girls. This look will also emphasise her youth, and her fan base will be able to relate to this look as most will be young schoolgirls. I will be careful to find a balance between a normal school uniform (fans will want something more glamourous and grown up to aspire to), and an inappropriate version. Palmer will wear a white shirt and black tube skirt, with a tie loosely tied around her neck. Her hair will be down so that she doesn’t look too young.

 

 

Artist Look 1

This will be the look used for most of the video; to be paired with the lyrics which do not link to a particular image. As the other styles will be particularly eccentric/themed, this look will be very toned down. I will use current trends to keep the look relevant, with a polo neck white top and mom jeans for a look reminiscent of the 90s. Palmer’s hair will be straight, in a fairly ordinary hairstyle. Her make-up will be fairly toned down, however she will wear red lipstick to give the look a splash of colour. This outfit will also be used for the rap verse, however I will also add hoop earrings, a necklace and some hipster glasses. I will also edit that scene to be in black and white.