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Analyzing a Music VideoLawson - Juliet

Background of the Song It was released on the

11th October 2013 Lawson are in the

Pop/Rock genre for most of their songs however Juliet also comes under Reggae

Lawson are signed to Polydor Global Talent

Juliet was written by Andy Brown (the lead singer of Lawson), Carl Falk, Eric Turner, Michael Zitron

It was produced by Carl Falk Directed by Carly Cussen

The music video for Juliet follows a storyline as well as the band performing the song on stage - Lawson dress up in 1920’s gangster style clothes with Kelly Brook in a red dress playing the role of Juliet

The song is about a woman (Juliet) who can be defined as a gold digger, she goes around men trying to get money – we can tell this by the lyrics “Set her sights on billionaires, All she wants is gold”

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The men in the video all wear typical 1920’s gangster style clothing – with the typical fedoras, suits, bracers, jackets and waistcoats. They’re dressed very smart which sticks to whole theme of the video.

All the men in the video are dressed in a way which suggests they are from the upper class as they have lots of women around them and have expensive clothing on.

It doesn’t give the look that the band usually wear

The Women

Some of the women sat around the bar again are wearing 1920’s style dresses, with the pearl beads and accessories in their hair.

Kelly brook however isn’t dressed in typical 1920’s style clothing, her dress is more modernised than the others although towards the end she does have a scarf which drapes around her shoulders

None of the other women seem to have much make up on where as Juliet has lots of make up and bright red lipstick to emphasise her with some of the lyrics, she stands out from the other girls which is what the song is about

Red is the colour associated with danger – Juliet has a red dress and bright red lipstick. The lyrics from the song state that Juliet is dangerous and these stereotypes emphasise this.

The Outfits

The video follows on from the lyrics of the song telling the story of Juliet, Juliet is seen walking around the bar in her seductive red dress talking to some of the richer men, flirting. As she lures the men into her trap to gain money and possessions from them – the video depicts how Juliet works her magic on the men to gain the money. In one of the scenes she is seen drugging one of the men’s champagne so that she can steal his silver therefore contributing the lyrics ‘The way she does it is criminal, Physical and it's killing me’.

“One more sucker pays the price

Thinking you're the one,

Many men have tried and failed,

Captured by her hold, Stay away from Juliet, You will lose control”

The story cuts from Juliet to Lawson performing on stage. The mise en scene of the video is to match that of a 1920’s era i.e. in a 1920’s style bar, they’re all dressed in 1920’s clothes with some instruments from the Jazz era like the cello. The lighting is artificial behind the band and flashes around the bar and the stage. However the band on the stage doesn’t contribute to the same 1920’s style band as it would have been a Jazz band – they wouldn’t have been playing rock/pop music nor does the video contribute a reggae theme that the song also falls under. However they follow the typical outfits of a jazz band with the suits and also Ryan has a cello which was a typical instrument and therefore Lawson follow the conventions of a 1920’s Jazz band . The video is more based on the story of Juliet in more of a historical context – how some women in the past were seen as devious.

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The first thing we see in the music video is Juliet’s dressing room in which all the 1920’s showgirl stereo-types are followed with the big mirror, lots of dresses, expensive clothes, grammar-phones to play music on. It looks glamorous and luxurious which adds to the effect of the video – being set in the 20’s. Juliet is then seen to remove her wig as a close up shot which gives the impression that she is fake, and applies her red lipstick and hooped earrings with the red dress. The lighting in this part of the video is made to look natural to match the Mise en scene of the room.Sets – Juliet’s Dressing

Room

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The second set we see in the video is the bar where Lawson are playing and where we follow Juliet on her hunt for a man. The bar is an old fashioned style place which resembles what bars would have looked like. It has the booths in which couples can sit in which you can see from over Andy’s shoulder when Juliet finds a man. There are also normal tables for use which we see Adam sitting at drinking near the start of the video. This set coincides with the stereotype of the 20’s which therefore adds to the realism of the video. I think this is very effective as it adds to the glamorous feel of the video and it all rolls into one coherent idea. It all fits with the image of the video.

Sets –Bar

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The last part of the video is in an old car, presumably fro that of the 20’s in which Juliet knocks out and steals from the man she was talking to in the bar. From this we also see how Andy is involved with Juliet making it seem very secretive, they are in cahoots however we can tell this from the lyrics when he says that he can’t stay away from her. I think this adds more the whole feel of the 20’s as no little detail is spared, the lighting is very dark to make it seem evil or mysterious which Juliet is perceived to be.

Sets - Car

Shots

In this video there are many different cuts between Lawson and Juliet, many of them being close up shots to emphasise Juliet’s looks or Lawson performing the song. In these shots the lighting goes from light in her dressing to dark in the bar and the car at the end I think this emphasised the mysterious feel surrounding Juliet which is seen via the newspaper in which the news title reads ‘Mysterious woman strikes again’ in a close up shot. Throughout the video there are lots of cuts to different shots, many of which follow the beat whilst it has quick cuts usually to a close up shot, this doesn’t change as the music doesn’t slow down it is a continuously fast beat, and so the cuts are very snappy throughout the whole video. The video is editing in a way which the shots fit the beat of the song, from a close up of Andy singing the lyrics – which is effective as it makes it a fast paced video.

In conclusion, the meaning of the song is about a man warning other men or women of a dangerous woman who plays with their hearts when really she only wants money.

I would say it is aimed at teenage girls who like Lawson as they’re dressed very smart however it can apply to the teenage boys as there is a lot of emphasis on Kelly Brook – the thumbnail of the video is her cleavage and so would probably draw in the attention of teen boys.

The video would help to sell the song because it has been so well put together and looks old fashion but still slick and this will attract quite a few people.

My favorite thing about the video is the outfits, they’re very smart and glamorous, I think they add to the video really well.