Carly Rae JepsenCall me Maybe

The genre

In the music video the audience are informed straight away that it is a pop song due to the video showing the relationship between a boy and girl. Most pop songs have a theme of romance and relationships because this is what the audience are attracted to. The song is based around the phrase ‘love at first sight’ and it brings a girl who hopes to get a call back from a crush. I believe that this follows the genre pop very well and this is also supported by the use of camera shots, editing and mise en scene throughout the video.

I believe that the style of this music video is half performance based and half narrative based. There are various mid shots and close up shots of the band preforming and Carly singing with her microphone and dancing. The instruments accentuate the performance side of the video. The narrative is portrayed through various types of camera shots and editing. By her acting in the video this further enhances the narrative style aspect.

Camera shots

There are various close up shots of Carly at the beginning of the video showing her expressions as she sings. Her facial expressions highlight that she is being dreamy about this boy and is stunned by how amazing he looks, this is further enhanced through the use lyrics.

This wide shot shows Carly washing the car but she looks small and quite hard to notice this is because the audience are positioned to look at her from the males point of view but he is not paying any attention. In this scene she appears to be helpless because she is trying to get his attention by doing crazy things around the car but nothing is working.

Editing

This shot is used by the camera tilting upwards revealing the man as he is cutting the grass. The audience get a clearer image of who the artist is singing about and it creates suspense for the audience as the camera slowly reveals his face.

The use of zooming and slow motion is also used here to show that the main focus is on him and emphasizing the singers attraction to him and the fact that she is mesmerized by him.

The camera cuts to when the singer is acting in the video to where she is singing with a microphone with a band behind her. This editing technique shows the two music video styles the video illustrates which is performance and narrative.

Lyrics and visuals In the music video there is a strong relation to the lyrics and visuals. For example, at the beginning of the song she sings the lyrics ‘ripped jeans, skin was showing’ which is then followed by a mid shot and the camera panning to the boy showing his body and revealing his skin, who is also wearing jeans. At the end of the video lyrics and visuals is also used when she is writing down her number and the boy is giving his number to the other male saying ‘call me’, this links to the lyrics ‘call me maybe’.

Andrew Goodwins theory of lyrics and visuals works well in this scene. The camera uses an over the shoulder shot to show how she is watching him in the garden. The theme throughout the video that she wants him to call her is illustrated well through the lyrics and visuals and amplifies the meaning for the audience to easily understand the message of the video.

Intertextual references

I believe that there are only some intertextual references in this music video. It does follow the conventions of a typical pop music video by using the props such as the microphone, keyboard and drums. The relationship between a boy and girl is similar to other pop music videos. The narrative is generally based around the idea of the male or female wanting to impress the other person and the idea that they are in love with them. In ‘call me maybe’ the girl is trying to impress the male so that he would notice her and go out with her.

Laura Mulveys theory

I believe that Laura Mulveys theory is accentuated in this scene of the music video. The shot shows her trying to proactively wash her car in order to impress the boy and grab his attention. The way she is washing the car would attract male attention and could also not be suitable for a young teenage audience because it is seen as quite sexual. However, the scene is supposed to be humorous as she comes across as looking quite ridiculous and she is failing when trying to draw his attention.