Music Video Analysis 2

Demi Lovato; Made in the USA

Demi Lovato is an American singer/songwriter that usually releases pop style music. Her  albums have debuted across the globe scoring herself many awards for there talent. The Made in the USA song was part of her album DEMI which was released in 2013 and follows the Pop genre. It was directed by Demi herself alongside Ryan Pallotta.

This video contains both semantic and syntactic elements suggested by Rick Altman in his genre theory. The variety of medium two-shots and close ups of the man and women together implies to the audience that video is following a love story which is conventional to the pop genre. Syntactic elements are themes which the director has produce to engage the audience. This video follows the theme of love and romance which is conventional in the pop genre.



The audience demographic for this video is mainly straight, white american females aged 12-18 that enjoy love story narratives. This is because its following a traditional love story of a man and women in america. Also fans of Demi herself would watch this video as she appears performing the song alongside the narrative. This music video offers this target audience an escape from everyday life along with entertainment and a connection through music. Young and Rubican would categorise the target audience for this video as being in the mainstream group as they connect with other people through the music. The socio-economic status of the target audience for this music video would be D/E.

The Director has decided to the follow a non-linear narrative to keep the audience engaged and give them a chance to be apart of the story line from the start till the end. A montage is used to follow the love story of a young American couple through their dating phase until the man leaves to fight in a war and leaves the girl at home waiting. Angela Mcrobbies theory can be supported through this as the man going away to fight for his country represents him as powerful and superior where the women is shown as weak staying at home waiting for him to come home. Meanwhile in the video flashbacks appear from the carnival where they initially met. Having the flashbacks give the audience an understanding of the whole story and allows them to connect and develop sympathy for the characters. The climax of the video (Disruption according to Todorov's narrative theory) is the chaotic scene with the boy in the battlefield where he appears to be dying. However the resolution then appears when the girl and boy are reunited at the end of the video giving relief to the audience. 

Different camera shots have been used in this music video to strengthen the narrative and allow the audience to see different perspective in the scene.

An establishing shot is used at the beginning to introduce the audience to the setting of the carnival. This sets the scene ad allows the audience to become familiar. This followed by single shots of the couple making it easier to identify the main characters.


Close up shots of them both adds emotion and give the audience a connection. All camera shots are eye level to the audience making it more real and the camera is always still looking into the scene from the audiences perspective.

The costumes in this music video are very basic and stereotypical of an american couple. In the carnival scene the women is wearing denim shorts and a USA flag top. This top reinforced the lyrics 'made in the USA'. The man is wearing a basic white top and jeans. Theses basic outfits are what's in fashion at the moment making it relevant for the young target audience. When the guys at war he's wearing the army uniform with the american flag yet again putting emphasis on the song title.  The American flag is very Patriotic to a lot of Americans and having  them witness it brings of pride and satisfaction enabling them to enjoy it more.  Being in the army makes you automatically a hero so having the guy at war in the narrative allows the audience to praise and have a positive image of the guy.

The whole video is based fully on low key lighting with the carnival scene being lit by artificial lights. This contrast acts as a split between the future and past making it clearer to the audience which part is being shown. This makes it easier fore them to follow and enjoy the video.

During the low key shots lens flares have been used. These lighten the image and give focus on the scene making them more effective. 

The fast editing used in this music video is used to convey lots of information in a short space of time. Fast past editing has been used throughout this music video cutting from various locations, shots and time enabling the audience to gather a perspective of the narrative. Although its been edited fast throughout when the boy is shown dying it's cut faster creating a chaotic atmosphere for the audience. It then slows down again at the end where everything is back to normal (Resolution/New Equilibrium).

Although the narrative and performance is separate it still fits together as Demi is performing at the carnival where the couple meets. Having a different actor to act the narrative puts Demi in the position of an observer just like the audience. This will allow her fans to relate to her and feel on the same level making them equal.