Avril Lavigne - Girlfriend (Initial Ideas)

Avril Lavigne – Girlfriend:

 Avril Lavigne’s video Girlfriend takes on a rap-driven style as its genre characteristic. The song revolves around its main character, Avril, as having a crush on someone who is currently in a relationship, declaring to him that she should be his girlfriend. Throughout the music video, Avril adopts three alter egos’ all of which end up fighting over the same guy.

(Alter Ego 1 at 0:12)

(Alter Ego 2 at 0:20)

(Alter Ego 3 at 0:29)



I particularly liked this camera shot due to the fact that although the audience are able to view three people standing in the frame, the person whose attention is most visible is the dark haired girl, due to the fact that she has been made the focal point in this shot and her behaviour also allows her to be made the centre of attention. Notice how even though the dark haired girl is the main character in this shot, the camera still picks up the other female character and her male partner, providing the audience with a bit of room to see who the other characters in the video are and to get to know them a little better.

This is another interesting, yet simple shot to film as the directors have decided to use an extreme long shot here, allowing the audience to be made aware of everything that is taking place on stage, that is, the singer, her guitarist, her drummer and the set decorations. This allows the audience to feel as though they are part of the video as they are able to view certain scenarios from every angle and direction.

This frame happens to be my favourite as whilst the shot is a medium shot, the frame and lighting techniques capture the scene brilliantly. All eyes are on the main protagonist, Avril and her back up dancers. What appeals to me most, is that the darkened lighting surrounding the remainder of the screen might suggest that there is a bit of a mystery and a slight mischievous side to the character, perhaps also suggesting that she likes to be in the limelight.

This shot clearly sets the setting and explains more of the story to the audience. The shot not only highlights how the dark haired girl is trying to steal away the boyfriend of the ginger girl, but it provides the audience with the opportunity to view the characters expressions. Allowing the audience to gain a really in depth analysis of how some of the characters might be feeling regarding the scene that is currently taking place.