Music video analysis of Video Games by Lana Del Rey.

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cE6wxDqdOV0

2. Summary
The music video is a compilation of various clips
including shots of the singer, news footage,
paparazzi, groups of friends and animation.
It appears to be quite patriotic, with visuals of
the American flag, the Hollywood sign, and the
entire video being set in America.

3. Genre
The genre of the song is indie/pop.
Conventions of this genre include lots of visuals of
the artist, particularly with bold costume and make-
up as they sing and dance in a studio. There are
also voyeuristic shots with the artist looking into
the camera.
Other common settings include cities, parks and
woods, as they are often quite low budget videos
and the focus is on the performance.
Filters and effects are also commonly used.

4. Music and Visuals
The music and visuals are cohesive as the
footage often cuts in time to the music,
particularly when the piano notes are played.
However, as it is quite a slow song this editing
not consistent throughout the video.

6. Lyrics and Visuals
‘Swinging in the backyard’ sung
while a boy is on a swing set
‘Lean in for a big kiss’ with
visuals of a couple kissing each
other
Images of American bars shown
while ‘Singing in the old bars’
is sung

7. Lyrics and Visuals
‘He holds me in his big arms
Drunk and I am seeing stars’ with
visuals of a drunk woman being
helped out of a car
‘Watching all our friends fall’
showing a skateboarder falling over
Lana Del Rey singing ‘They say that
the world was built for two’ while
she is shown holding two fingers up

8. Effects
All of the clips within the video
have added effects to them to
make them appear like old
footage. This is a common
convention of the indie/pop
genre as it is often associated
with vintage objects.

9. Record Label Influence
There are a significant amount of close-
ups of the singer, Lana Del Rey. America
is also a prominent setting within the
video, showing where she is from. This
relates to Goodwin’s theory of
promoting and selling the artist’s image.
In addition, there is a shot of a sign that
reads ‘Summertime’. This could
possibly be in relation to one of the
singer’s other songs, Summertime
Sadness.