Taylor Swift you belong with me

Taylor swift you belong with me


The video begins with a zoom which automatically lets us see into the life of lead singer Taylor Swift. This is followed by a fade into a mid shot of a young teenage boy in a window which then cuts to a shot off the singer in a facing opposite window also in a mid shot. The slow edits match with the song as it’s quite simple. An over shoulder shot shows the audience that she’s looking into his room, giving the audience the impression that she likes him. The camera then cuts between the two of them back and to whilst they hold up notes. Their performance amplifies the lyrics as they both seem fed up with their ‘typical Tuesday night’. As the camera closes up on a note she’s writing he shuts his window in which we see her facial reaction in a reflection and it becomes very apparent she is in love.
The video is in direct as she is just simply a girl in a story not performing; however to emphasis her sweet girl next door image she has created for herself, she dances around her bedroom singing along to her song, representing her as quite a nerdy but still nice girl. A very interesting match on action is used when she moves around her room her clothes change through the stereotypes of teenagers, such as a gothic girl to a hippy bohemian character. This also amplifies with the lyrics saying that she is different from the girly ‘short skirt’ wearing cheerleaders at her school. She is then back in her first costume, where she is seen as herself. Her costume is a large white t-shirt which has been drawn on, this shows her unique creative side, this is also accompanied by a prop, she is wearing big round glasses giving connotations of a geeky, intelligent school girl.
The next scene fades into a mid shot of her reading a large book, this also plays with the fact she’s more intellectual than others. He appears in shallow focus and as soon as she notices him he becomes in focus. A simple two shot shows the deep connection between the two characters which is then followed by a over the shoulder shot where we see her looking directly into his eyes which is really emphasising the fact she really likes him. Then a close up of her facial reaction shows her disappointment when he jumps into his girlfriends red car a colour she is constantly seen in giving her devil like connotations. The video becomes non linear when there is a flash forward to a football game which shows her as a band geek in comparison of the boys girlfriend as a cheerleader. Then it cuts back to a close up of her alone on the bench her performance also helps to amplify the lyrics.
All the editing in the video is well matched to the song, the tempo fits the cuts perfectly as well as a short dance routine performed by the cheerleaders. A shot reverse shot reveals the couple arguing over another boy the camera sticks to the 180 degree rule. The next scene is back where the two characters began swapping notes in their windows. A point of view shot from his window shows that he was looking at her first, showing the audience he cares for her. A mid shot now shows his disappointed face when she tells him she’s not going to the school dance, which is in comparison to when she was disappointed early on in the video. The camera then closes up on the note she was half way through writing at the start of the video to reveal it says ‘I love you’. The camera fades to black then to a shot of her walking into the school dance, her costume is a long white gown, she is seen as innocent and harmless whilst his ex girlfriend is wearing a deep red dress and is shown as devilish. As the beat kicks in the geek and the boys eyes meet and they walk over to each other, this is shown in a wide shot so the audience can catch the reactions of the other school children’s faces, they all become out of focus the new couple are the only two people in the room that now matter. A short close up of his ex girlfriends face shows her anger the camera is quick to go back to the couple, showing each other matching notes of ‘I love you’ in close ups. The camera zooms in on the two kissing at the video fades to black.
This video shows representations of the typical teenage high school stereotypes, by showing Taylor in all the ‘misfit’ stereotypes helps her to become more loveable as a role model to young girls who don’t want to follow the Barbie doll image most artists seem to be representing. The video has a lot of connotations of hope with all her white costumes to emphasise this, the video really forced the idea that in the end the good girl will win, that sometimes its really brains before beauty. The genre of this song is a country pop song which will be listened to by young girls aged 12-16.