Analysis of Blank Space Music Video - Gender and Power roles.

The music video Blank Space, by Taylor swift has formed an inspiration for our thriller film. As we feel the prospect of a video, a love story which ends with a psychotic women killing a lover. As this links in so closely with what our idea is for our thriller. I have chosen to analyse it, picking out crucial shots that we may possibly use in our thriller.



The reason I have chosen to analyse this music video, is because it closely links in with the topic of our thriller, deception and unfaithfulness. The video uses a clever range of shots, to reveal the truth of the plot.

0.05 seconds
There is an establishing shot of the castle, from an arguably low perspective to make it appear bigger and more daunting. We see the car, which seems tiny in comparison, possibly representing the power of the two protagonists, the man in the car and the woman in the castle, immediately portraying woman as superior from the start, and in a fairly positive way thus far.
0.15 seconds

-There is following this, a long shot of the main woman character at the top of a grand staircase. As she is stood at the top of the staircase, and the cutaway following reveals the man is at the bottom knocking on the door. It shows she is in full control of the relationship from the very beginning, as the position of her on the stairs shows her high status and perhaps wealth, therefore more power within her decisions. As the man is behind the door, it shows he has to wait for her to open the door to be let in, this potentially foreshadows their relationship and that - she is in control, as she has to open up the door for him into their new relationship, whilst he is very much stood waiting for her command.
0.27 seconds

The shot of the man drinking the alcohol at the opposite end of the table, then the woman at the following end, in a new outfit. This is effective in showing the passage of time, as her outfit has clearly changed, and could show the change in their relationship - from strangers to love interests. As they are at opposite ends of the table in the shot this could mean that they have different interests, and their relationship is not intimate as they are clearly far apart from each other, dooming the relationship from the start.
0.42 seconds

The woman's direct look at the camera in this shot, suggests to the audience that she feels she can trust them, as the direct eye contact suggests intimacy. This could mean that she is letting the audience on perhaps very much accurate memories. Therefore foreshadowing the level of trust between the woman and the audience, so we potentially trust her recollection of events better.
0.49 seconds

The long shot used of the woman and man is an interesting one as it reveals a lot about their relationship. The man is holding two Rottweiler dogs, often associated with being strong and potentially dangerous dogs. As the man is holding the two dogs, this could represent the mans dangerous character, revealed later on in the video. In the following shot the woman stares into the mans eyes whilst he walks on, this could show his lack of interest in her, and the black outfits they both wear could arguably connotate mystery and evil of the two characters.
1.12 seconds

The slow motion capture used shows the girl running, which is effective as it could symbolize time moving slowly throughout the relationship. As she is running away from the man playfully it could show they have had a lot of fun times, as the slow motion makes it feel longer than it is. Alternatively, the shot of her running away could possibly represent the fact that she wanted to get out of the relationship but slowly as opposed to quickly - maybe she knew it wouldn't last from the get go?

2.11 seconds

The woman is closely grabbing the mans face in an angry demeanour and we can immediately infer, from the previous few seconds, that they are in an argument. This scene is captured with a shaky turn from the camera, from the camera being placed nearer the left side of them, moving further right. As the camera deliberately moves shakily, this could show the unstableness in their relationship at that moment in time.