2. Background
The song was released on September 12th 2008 by Big machine records. The song was written by Taylor Swift
and produced by Nathan Chapman.
The songs music video was directed by Trey Fanjoy who directed most of Taylor Swifts videos.
Trey Fanjoy
Trey is a country music and pop music video director. She has directed over 150 major label music videos .
Her associated acts consist of people such as George Straight, Dolly Parton, Reba McEntire, Keith Urban,
Miranda Lambert and Taylor Swift.
She has been nominated numerous times at the Country Music Association Awards, Academy of Country music,
Billboard Music Awards, CMT Music Awards and also MTV Awards with several wins.
He has directed music videos for people outside of the United States He directed the girl group Atomic Kitten for
their single ‘Whole Again’ which went number one in over thirty countries.
The most recent video he has directed is ‘Somethin bad by Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood which was
released on the 19th May 2014.
3. The artist
Taylor Swift was born on the 13th December 1989. She is an American singer and song writer.
She has signed with the independent label Big machine records and became the youngest song writer ever hired by Sony
/ATV Music publishing House.
Taylor Swift is known for narrative songs about her personal experiences, this makes her music videos significant and
inspirational, hence her massive world wide audience.
Albums
Her third single ‘Our Song’ made her the youngest person to single-handedly write and perform a number one song on the
Hot Country Songs chart.
Her second album ‘Fearless’ was released in 2008 with the many highly successful singles ‘Love Story’ and ‘You Belong
With Me’ where it became the best selling album of 2009 in the US. Taylor’s third album, ‘Speak Now’ released in 2010 sold
over one million copies in its first week of US release. In 2012, she released her fourth album, Red. Its opening US sales of
1.2 million were the highest recorded in a decade, and she became the only female artist to have two million-plus opening
weeks. The singles "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" and "I Knew You Were Trouble" were worldwide hits.
Achievements
According to Taylor Swift achievements she has achieved seven Grammy Awards, twelve Billboard Music Awards, eleven
Country Music Association Awards and seven Academy of Country Music Awards. She has sold over 26 million albums and
75 million digital single downloads. In addition to her music career, Taylor has appeared as an actress in the ensemble
comedy Valentine's Day (2010) and the animated film The Lorax (2012).
4. The song
Music videos have to essential elements, they could either be a narrative or performance. ‘Love Story’ is a
narrative. Taylor creates an allusion where she compares her love for a boy and of Romeo and Juliet. In the
famous Shakespeare play they are banned from seeing each other by their parents and are willing to die just
to be together. However, in the music video the conclusion is changed to a happy ending instead of being a
tragic ending like in Romeo and Juliet. She did this because she perceived it to be the ideal ending that
females hoped for, including herself.
In relation to Taylor Swift herself it was written about a particular love interest of Taylor’s who was not popular
among her family and friends. So therefore her music video relates to her own personal life and experiences
which makes the video poignant.
The video is a period piece that has inspiration from the Medieval period , Renaissance, and British Regency
(1813) eras. It follows Taylor and model Justin Gaston as they meet in a university campus and imagine
themselves in a prior era.
"Love Story" was recorded with Pro Tools and tracking vocals, which Swift sang live with the band. The band
consisted of acoustic guitars, bass guitars, and drums.
5. Mise en scene
The video was set in various locations. The first scene that is shown is set in a High School where the audience are
introduced to the two characters who seem to be two students who attend the school. Other locations in the video
include a castle, ballroom, park and the woods. These locations resemble the play ‘Romeo and Juliet’ as some of the
scenes which appear in the film are similar. The Castle is one of the main locations where most of the music video is set.
The castle accentuates a fairy tale feel of romance and love which the music video focuses on and it also reiterates the
Romeo and Juliet storyline.
In relation to time period there is a distinctive time difference shown where it begins with the 21st century (high school)
then the 1800’s, when Shakespeare was written. The costumes are designed according to the time era. The characters
are wearing traditional 1800 clothing, ball gowns, coats with tails and waistcoats. The dress which she is wearing is very
feminine and is also white so this links to similarities to a wedding and romance between the two characters. Taylor also
has her hair up and is wearing light, natural make up portraying her innocence and purity.
There is a variety of props featured in the video, such as chandeliers, candle sticks, flowers, cherries, these are all
representatives of the time period.
6. Lighting
I believe that the lighting is an important aspect in this music video. The lighting changes according
to the different moods and atmosphere in the video.
There is a use of non ambient lighting throughout the where the sunlight is used to focus on the two
characters. This is shown with Taylor Swift in the scenes at the castle showing the suns power
which it gives among the castle.
The night time scenes in the video portray a magical and fantasy feel with the use of props such as
when she is carrying a tea light jar as it implies a sense of mystery and danger which could give a
sign of suspense for the audience. But she is really using this light as a symbol of hope to search
for the man.
The use of the sunlight behind her shows
that the main focus is on her and it’s also
implying that she is powerful this is because
she is standing in a castle. A castle
connotes a sense of wealth and power.
There is the use of
ambient lighting
here with the tea
light jar being used
which is the only
light being shown.
This gives a sense
of danger and
suspense towards
the audience as it
set in the dark
woods.
7. Camera shots
This birds eye view shot shows the two
characters dancing together and takes place in a
grand hall. This accentuates romance and the
beginning of their love story.
This close up shot shows their
intimate relationship. The man is
whispering something into her ear
which the audience are unaware of
what is being told. The audience
are positioned to think what is
being said to her which creates
suspense and mystery also
symbolising the secrecy of their
relationship adapting to the
Shakespeare play of Romeo and
Juliet.
This low angle shot shows
the girls power which she has
as she is in the castle. But
linking to the lyrics she says
‘Romeo take me’ she uses
this command to accentuate
her power and needs which
links to the camera shot of
her looking superior.
This two shot is portrayed in a
mid shot showing the two
characters in a intimate way by
her hands being on his face
accentuating that she loves him.
8. Editing
Throughout the video there are various types of editing techniques used.
There are a lot of close up shots to show the intimate moments between the two characters showing their romance.
The camera moves at a steady pace throughout the video portraying a tranquil and emotional atmosphere. This is
done to focus on the love story which the music video is based on. The director wanted the audience to feel like they
were watching a short movie of two characters falling in love and this is achieved by the editing and the lyrics of the
song as well as the story telling in the video.
Continuity editing is used mostly in the video which shows that it has a narrative structure and it makes it easier to
watch and understand what is being shown. There are a lot of fast cuts in between each scene which goes back and
fourth to her in the castle to them dancing in the ballroom and also the variety of close up shots of the two
characters this shows the love between them and showing the audience that they’re serious about their love and are
happy.
In this part of the video the camera fades out
which links to the lyrics of the song ‘my faith in
you was fading’. This accentuates an emotional
part of the video as the audience are positioned
to think that their love has come to an end and
the use of a fade away adds to this idea. An eye line match is used here to show what the she is looking at.
The eye line match creates suspense and mystery. The audience
are positioned to feel happy once the boy is revealed because it
shows that they have found each other and their is hope for them.
9. Lyrics and visuals
Lyrics and visuals relate to Andrew Goodwin's 6
points which he wrote in dancing in the distraction
factory where he identifies the main features in a
music video. I believe that the lyrics in this video
illustrate the visuals as she is mainly talking about
her love interest and how they cant see each other
and when they secretly see each other which are the
scenes which take place at night in the woods.
‘So I sneak out to the garden to see
you’
She is in the garden trying to search
for her love interest in a secretive way.
‘I was begging you
please don’t go’
Her hand gesture,
tightly gripping her
hand, showing that she
truly has feelings for
this person and she is
desperate for their love
to work.
10. Video and Visuals
I feel that the video does adapt to a distinctive relationship
with the visuals because of the pace of the video. Once the
video gets to the bridge of the song the music begins to get
faster which creates excitement as Taylor has found her love
interest and they start running towards each other. Her voice
begins to get louder ‘marry me Juliet’ which implies her
happiness and power. The audience are positioned to feel
happy for them and relieved.
11. Intertextuality
In Love Story intertextuality is used in the lyrics of the song in relation to
Romeo and Juliet. The video’s aim is to look like a modernised version of the
story and this is achieved through the lyrics of the song.
The audience would automatically know what the video is making reference to
which is the link to Romeo and Juliet. Romeo and Juliet is one of the most
popular and loved love stories ever made so by Taylor Swift adapting this in her
music video it would draw the audiences attention and make it interesting.
12. Big machine records
Big machine records are looking to sell this record in a variety of ways. One of the
most important and most successful ways is for Taylor Swift herself to perform the
song at gigs and festivals all around the world. This gives the audience/fan base to
have an insight on what her song is about and also they can judge whether they like
it or not. The main aim for the record label is to make the song heard in as many
places as possible because this is the only way for people to be aware of the song
and also to make Taylor Swift more successful as a singer.
One example is Taylor Swift performing Love Story on 2009’s UK charity campaign
Children In Need to make her more known in other countries apart from the USA. As
well as performing she also donated £13,000 to the charity. Also in June 2009, Taylor
Swift performed "Thug Story," a parody of "Love Story," with T-Pain for the CMT
Music Awards and in October 2009, Swift performed "Love Story" on The Oprah
Winfrey Show. The promotion has done for this song therefore made her song a
global success.
13. Star image
Taylor Swifts star image is portrayed in this music video. She is young and her image is quite
basic and not extravagant like other pop stars such as Lady Gaga and Katy Perry. She has a
very natural look, long blonde hair, blue eyes, not too heavy make up. In ‘Love Story’ her star
image is illustrated very well as she is not wearing heavy make up, implying that she is still
young and needs to keep her innocence. I believe that in the video she is portrayed as a role
model for her audience and fan base. This is because the song relates to young girls as they
may be or have gone through the same situation as Taylor so they would relate and feel a
connection in some way.
