this is a textual analysis on the music video Everytime by Britney Spears. I've done this for my A2 media advanced portfolio,

1. Textual Analysis: Music
Video
Everytime by Britney Spears

2. Shot Types
Many shot types are used in the video. It open with
an establishing shot to set the scene, the shot is an High Angle Shot
aerial shot as its taken/giving the impression it is
taken from a helicopter, we know this as you can
hear the sound of the helicopter. Medium/long shots
are used throughout, often to show body language. Over the Shoulder shot
Close ups are used to show emotion on the face,
especially the singers. High angle shots are used
when walking through the paparazzi, this gives the
impression she is overpowered by them and they
Close Up
make her feel intimidated and small.
Long Shot
Medium Shot
Establishing/aerial shot

3. Mise-En-Scene
The video is set in Las Vegas, in the celebrities hotel. Many props are used throughout,
such as boxes being kicked, vases getting smashed etc. Their costumes express the
characters personality, she is wearing all white which connotes to cleanliness and
innocent, therefore her costume represent to the audience that she is pure and innocent.
Whereas, he is wearing black and red, these colours often connote danger representing
his character to be aggressive and dangerous. These representations are continued
throughout. Another thing which represents the character is the lighting when in the hotel
room he is shown in a dim room, representing his dark personality whereas she is in the
bathroom which is white and bright, continuing to represent her innocence and
goodness. Although before she goes into the bathroom she is in the dark, this may
represent her dark thoughts and depression, which is suggested to us after when she
smashes the mirror.

4. Effects
Many of the video appears to be in
slow motion. This may suggest the
characters thoughts and feelings.
The character is possibly under a
lot of pressure and has feelings of
anxiety and depression, perhaps
this is making her feel slow and
lightheaded due to the amount of
things, represented through slow
motion. This effect could also
represent confusion, or that she
simply just wants things to be
calmer and simpler. When the male
character throw the vase at the
mirror it appears to be in slow
motion, this may be to show the
aggression and make the shot look
more effective.

5. Ideologies
Throughout the video there is a continuous use of the colour
white. The colour white has many connotations, purity,
heaven, angellic, cleanliness etc. The main character is
shown wearing white, possibly to represent her as pure and
good to the audience, therefore making them feel for her
throughout the video. She also appears is a white corridor,
you can see anything but white walls. She is there on her
own wearing the same white clothes, looking sad. The
audience may think of this place as heaven, especially after
she drowns.

6. Ideologies
The scene when she drowns in the bath shows us her realising her
head is cut, then going underwater. It in unclear whether she’s
purposely gone under to try and commit suicide or if she's just passed
out and gone under. Either way, the scene allows the audience to feel
her pain and how bad things have got. The lyric ‘my weakness caused
you pain’ suggest it was done purposely due to her becoming ‘weak’
and fed up

7. Ideologies
After the drowning scene, she is shown running through the white
corridors away from what appears to be a bright light. A bright light is
often linked to when you die and people can see a bright light, this
idea relates to the video, she has just drowned, the scene of her
running from the light may represent she doesn’t want to go, she has
made a mistake and is getting away from it. On the other hand it may
represent her as running away from all her problems. As she gets
closer to the camera we see the look of worry on her face,
suggesting shes scared, either of her past (running away from past)
or to die (running away from the light)

8. Ideologies
The white corridor she is in becomes more clear, nurses and
police are there, changing the mysterious, bright white corridor
to a hospital, this may suggest the white used throughout
represents cleanliness in the hospital, giving enigma codes of
something happening resulting in hospital, as well as her being
good. This also suggest the white light she was running away
and we think she is now okay, until we see
from was death
the image of her stood watching what
appear to be herself be resuscitated,
showing that she is a spirit, again represing
the white has been an enigma code of this.

9. Ideolgoies
The male who earlier in the video
was shown to be bad and
dangerous and who audience
may have put the blame on for
her suicide is shown picking her
body up from the bath,
desperately grabbing and shaking
her, praying she will be okay. This
scene may change the audiences
opinions of this character as he is
trying to save her and is worried.
If she doesn’t die, he may be to
thanks as her got her out just in
time. The lyric ‘I guess I need you
baby’ may suggest she needed
him to come at that time for her to
be okay, maybe he saved her.

10. Ideologies
Towards the end of the video she is
seen running again, although this time
back into the light, this could suggest
she is running to ‘heaven’ and has
realised she needs to go and get away
from the badness, or the light may not
represent heaven but represent
goodness, she may be running back to
make things good, to try and be happy.
After this, a scene of a
woman givi g birth and
holding her new born baby
is shown, this may
represent new life and
happiness, reasons why
life is good and beautiful.

11. At the end we see her rise from the
bath, completely fine and smiling. This
changes all our thoughts on certain
things. The part of her drowning and
being is hospital may not have even
happened, all of it might have just been
the dark thoughts in her head, thinking
of being silly but then realising, it isn’t
worth it and there are much more things
to life (birth image). The scene where
she is running away from the light may
be that she is running from them dark
thoughts, and when she is running back
to the light, she is running to good
thoughts. The whole thing was a single
thought and made her realise not
everything is bad and she needs to stay
positive. Her smile at the end suggests
she has realised this and is thinking
about good things rather than bad and
Ideologies

12. Overall…
The music video has a very meaningful storyline with lots of
different representations and ideologies. It uses enigma
codes to give clues, and doesn’t tell the audience the full
story, they are left to use their own thoughts and perceptions.
This is something I would like to do in my music video as it
creates interest and mystery.