Analysis of Summertime Sadness

Song: Summertime Sadness by Lana Del Rey

The song 'Summertime Sadness' is one of the singles released from Lana Del Rey's second studio album 'Born To Die'. Here I will use Goodwin and Vernallis to analyse this song and its conventions.


Goodwin

• The visuals appear to be illustrating/amplifying the lyrics- during the lyrics 'Tonight I wore a red / Dancing in the moonlight pale / The beauty queen hair style / Remove heels, you feel like reborn', the visuals show the actress wearing a red dress, throwing herself down from a high bridge.
• The lyrics of the song of the song, which are quite dreary and dark, reflects a dim and sad mood and atmosphere. Whilst most the lyrics are not mirrored through the visuals, some are such as the shot of the singer with the shadow of a telephone wire during the lyric 'Telephone wires above'
• Cinematography- the camera used has significant impact. They appear to have used either a super 8 camera or a grain filter in order to produce a vintage effect which reflects Lana Del Rey's music as it tends to be described as 60s Americana pop which melancholy undertones. 
• When close ups  are used in this video, the artist tends to use direct mode of address which in turn creates a sense of intimacy for the viewer. 
• As Goodwin said, fast paced editing  is used in a fast cut montage as we see in the video.
• There are intertextual references in this video as the singer's gesture in quite a few frames resembles Jesus on the cross.
• Genre- Del Rey's genre, typically described as indie-pop, is demonstrated clearly here through the vintage effect. 
• Voyeurism/ the male gaze- can be conveyed through the close up of the singer touching the hem of her dress.
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Vernallis

1. Narrative

• The video is a visual response to the music- this is true as the song itself is said to be about an ex-boyfriend of Lana Del Rey who sadly passed away. the narrative partially reflects this as it follows the narrative of a young woman who commits suicide.
• There is not necessarily a balance between narrative and performance- This video seems to provides us with a more narrative lead video with moments of performance and montages.
• The narrative is not always complete- here, it is clear to see that the singer's partner committed suicide however it is unclear if the singer herself has too. 
• The structure of the video may appear disjointed- due to the editing style as it constantly changes from normal cuts to montage style editing.  
• There may be a narrative running through the video, but in a montage style- true as the characters relationship is conveyed through the montages.  

    2. Editing

• Editing may match musical beat- as the instrumental of the song leads to the lyrics at the start, the cut has been edited to the beat. 
• Editing has been 'foregrounded'- as the cuts between the narrative and the montage moments are clear to see. 
• Types of editing- 

1. include breaks of the 180 degree line- when the two characters are seen spinning and is filmed as a POV shot. 
2. Fancy edits- the smoke that come across the singer's face during the performance moment of the video.
3. Jumps in time- we see that relationship between the characters in the past through the montage style editing that cuts to the present where one
4. Extreme changes in pace- most shots are typically edited to be slow paced to fit the gloomy theme of the song. However, it has been edited to be fast-paced during the montage sequence

   3.Camera movement

• Extremes are very common- used in the video to establish the setting. 
•  Camera moves on lyrics
• Camera moves on time with the music- especially during the chorus
• Frequent use of close ups- of the singer

   4. Diegesis 

• The digesis may be revealed slowly- as the video progresses, we learn that the singer and the actress are connected and that the actress commits suicide to which the singer is deeply disturbed by and wants nothing more than to be with her again.
• There are gaps in the audience's understanding of the diegesis- this is because it is unclear how long the two characters have known each other and it is ambiguous as to what exactly their relationship is e.g. whether they are friends or partners. 
• There may be many repetitions- several frames are repeated such as the close ups of the artist, the shots are them falling off the buildings/cliffs etc.