Textual Analysis

One Direction - That's What Makes You Beautiful

Why?!

I thought it was important to contrast my previous textual analysis (which were music videos created by bands very similar to The Picardie). With a different genre of music. This will highlight the different genre conventions used in the videos.

One Direction

One Direction are boy-band, a manufactured products created by The X-Factor. They have a incredibly huge fan base, all over the world, with somewhat psychotic teenage fans. Their target market is extremely clear and the band have been manufactured to appeal to this market.

Target Market

The bands target market are teenage girls between ages 12-17. We know this because the band often appear in magazines such as 'teenstyle'. They are also seen on childrens televisions. There songs are played on radio stations such as Radio1 and their videos are played on stations like MTV, rather than a station such as Kerrang, which would play rock music videos. They are advocates against drugs and anti-social behaviour. They are never photographed out partying, or really drunk and don't swear, or talk about sex in interviews. This is because their target market are young impressionable girls. They don't want to be represented as bad influences upon them.

Premise for the video

The theme of the video 'thats what makes you beautiful' is about giving self esteem to all those teenage girls going through puberty who are feeling self conscious. They see these teen idols telling them that they are beautiful no matter what, and they suddenly feel a lot better.

The video opens with a seascape as the sun is rising. It has been shot like a mini film - and following a convention of many modern pop videos states the name of the director at the beginning. Often music videos gain prestige when they've been directed by a certain cinematographer. John Urbano is famous for shooting videos for the likes of Justin Timberlake, Lissie and Converse Shoes.

A cross fade between a shot of an orange campervan and a sprawling beach shows time passing over the journey to get to their beach destination. This extreme long shot is a good establishing shot for the video. As it is marketed at a younger audience it is good to have a clear narrative from the very beginning so they understand instantly, this is where it's set, and this is what they're doing. We see straight away it is a clear sunny day, and that the boys are off for a day of fun, as they laugh and joke, smiling looking out out the VW.

We see these travelling shots weaved among cinematic wide angled shots of the boys stopping off to throw stones over the cliff. This shows they are out for a day of fun. We can tell instantly this is a light hearted video with happy themes, and an upbeat tune. The intro plays throughout this section, and somewhat like the beginning of the film, we can tell it is building up to the first closeup of a band member for the opening lines. The fact that they choose to use a retro VW campervan shows they are appealing to the 'wanna-beindie' market, they are intertwining an iconic vehicle into their modern music to try and give it more of an edge... I fear it is not working...

First close up of the video comes with the first line of the video "You're insecure, don't know what for" making an instant connection with the audience and the way they are feeling. The band member has a mop of messy hair and wears a white unbuttoned t-shirt. The use of a white t-shirt, and beige trousers although making him look extremely plain, creates feelings of innocence purity, calmness and makes him appear unintimidating. The way the band members, dress, style their hair and even the way they pose in front of the camera has all been constructed to entice a certain audience.

We see a group shot of the band walking across an abandoned beach. Many of us have fantasies of walking hand in hand with our love across a remote beach island somewhere, perhaps this is the romantic feel they were trying to achieve. They walk along the beach joking and laughing with each other, showing they are good friends and that they respect each other and want to be around each other. Showing that a band has a good dynamic is very appealing for the audience. It is awkward to watch a video knowing that band members haven't been getting on because you've read so in the papers. This long shot puts the band into context for the first time. We now can take note of their outfits, so that later in closeups we will know who is who.

​

We are now introduced to the two 'bad boys' in the band. They are shown first in a medium shot, and then in close up. These boys wear darker colours, navy blues, and dark greys. But never black because that colour has too many dark connotations. There outfits always have white, or light grey underneath so that their ideals of purity and virginity can seep through. Harry the main focus in most videos has longer hair and more of a tan, he is seen as the most rebellious in the group. He is often shown being filmed with the use of a canted angle, this suggests he is a bit more 'crazy' than other members in the group.

Gesture is very important in the representation of the band in music video. In this first shot here, we see the member in the foreground with his arms open and looking straight into the camera. His relaxed position and open arms suggest he is an open person, he could be opening his arms to you, suggesting an open heart. He looks vulnerable, whereas people with their arms folded can look closed off and protective, he is open and not worried about his surroundings he feels safe, and wants the audience to feel safe too. In this second shot we see another band member with his eyes closed and his hand on his chest. The fact that he has his eyes closed is meant to show that he is very passionate about what he's singing about. Similar to how we close our eyes when we are remembering a good moment, or when we kiss someone, he is closing his eyes as if to say "I am really feeling this right now". His hand is on his chest again reinforcing ideas of being passionate and tender, and really believing in the lyrics. His hands are on his heart and in the next shot he then brings his palm out to point at the camera, in theory giving his heart over to the audience. He also wears white, suggest ideas of purity and virginity, he is calm, cool and collected.

We are now introduced to the female princess/heroin/damsel in distress (Todorov's character types) of the video. She is shown in a cross dissolve against some shots of rushing waves. She dances around laughing and smiling in a bold colourful bikini with flowers, she has long hair and a tan. She is the epitome of everything feminine. Her character has been constructed to be the ideal 'normal' woman. She doesn't have piercings and tattoos, she is brunette which stereotypically suggests more intelligence, and less sex than a blonde, she wears a colourful top, with a bikini underneath, she doesn't show much flesh. Her face is only shown for a moment, before it is covered by her hair. This lets the audience imagine themselves in her position. One Direction fans are known for being notoriously jealous and wouldn't like to see a famous actress or singer playing this role, instead they'd rather have a nobody who is easier to identify with.

They are again shown in a vintage/retero car, speeding along side open beach. They have the top down, again insinuating their free and happy state of mind, they raise their hands up giggling and laughing. The car is red suggesting feelings of lust, love, romance and passion. The girls all wear white, or bright colours. They are girly, and fun.

The boys are shown being 'silly' on top of a beach house, the beach house is white, and the strategically placed bright red jeans contrast well with this. They are shown climbing about on the stairs and balcony of the beach house, this suggests that they are wanting to be portrayed are fun guys, who are cheeky and crazy.

Shots of the band singing in a group, but not looking into the camera again suggest they are a tight knit unit. That they all really believe in what they are singing about. They are often shown singing with their eyes closed of gesticulating outwardly to the camera or each other. They want to come across as passionate and sincere, they use eyecontact with the camera onlines that involve the words "you, you've, we've" etc, to show that they are connected with the audience, and for the audience to feel as though this song is really about them.

Lastly the boys are shown having a kick around on the beach, the girls from before are nowhere to be seen, and the boys are joking and laughing amung themselves. They want to show that having a girlfriend isn't everything, and that their friendships come before everything, we see an acoustic guitar in the van, even though we know none of them can actually play.

Conclusion

This is an extremely well constructed and manufactured video, the entire video screams pop culture. From the light coloured clothes they were, to the perfectly constructed bunch of curls upon each of their heads. Their passionate singing, and romantic walk on the beach. They make you feel "beautiful". This video is uplifting, and it's aim is to build self esteem among young woman who will then go out and buy more of their music with the hope of getting that same feeling again.