Analysing Ride by Lana Del Rey

Style	Tick Box
Romantic
Socially Conscious
Nihilist
Classical
Post-Modern
Parody
Film Tie-in
Performance
In-Concert

Explain your choice of Styles/s I choose the romantic style for the song because it explains the desperate need to find security and love in someone. She rides along the roadside in search of finding that person who can give her the feeling of belonging, in the lyrics Lana signs about: “I'm tired of feeling like I'm fucking crazy,  I'm tired of driving 'till I see stars in my eyes”,  What she is saying is that she needs to settle down and that’s what’s she’s looking for, that’s why she rides. She also makes a reference to her dad, saying: "I've been out on that open road. You can be my full time, daddy white and gold”. She is free but lost, that’s why she needs relationships with men much older than her who can give her the security she desperately needs. I also choose the classical style because it’s a 10 minute video of how America used to be, living wild and free in open roads, camping, drinking, and having sex, living the bohemian lifestyle. The story is told from a character who seeks freedom. It looks like a short film, with a clear narrative beginning, middle and end) What is the purpose? The purpose of the music video is to promote Lana Del Rey and her latest updated deluxe album' Born To Die'. The video also shows an emotional story of a girl who is struggling for freedom. The character is a boho girl who has big dreams where the open road doesn't stop her from achieving this. It also tells the story of about loneliness, her parental and alcohol problems, interpreted in a melancholic and fragile voice. The video visualizes the lyrics.  Identify and explain the conventions used Interpret the lyrics: In the opening sequence, Lana is seen swinging from a suspended car tire, she narrates: “I was in the winter of my life- and the men I met along the road were my only summer”. Further on she talks about how she found sanctuary through travelling because she had not had a proper place to settle or stay for a long time: “Don't break me down, I've been travelin' too long, I've been trying too hard, with one pretty song”. She also talks about how she hears the birds in the summer breeze, driving fast, trying hard not to get into trouble but she’s at war with her mind. Because she hasn't had a strong and stable upbringing (implied throughout the song) she turns into alcohol, cigarettes and relationships with older men. Music video visualizes the lyrics almost word for word. I've also noticed that Lana plays the role of a prostitute by riding freely at the back of motorbikes and having sex with strangers. Implied meaning: Riding Free Links to other artists: None, although she does have some similarities with the Killers  Generic Conventions: This music video does reflect the Indie pop song that is set in a desert plain with black heavy metal dressed men who have motorbikes; Lana Del Rey is dressed as a boho girl. The music video does have a similar scene likes Lady Gaga's 'Judas' with the motorbikes?      Identify and explain the techniques used Camera Shots/Movements:  The Mid length shot is used mainly in the scenes that Lana is singing, this is to show the emotions of the lyrics and to also hide the things that she is doing with some of the men she is with. Lighting: Lighting is a strong feature in the video; it is quite symbolic when you look at the light and darkness of the video. In the day, when it is bright, you can see that Lana feels free as she is amongst people who understand her for who she is. However in the night, where the light is dark, showing shades of a greenish tinge, Lana is alone, that's why she seeks company from strange men. In the epilogue, Lana says, "Every night I used to pray that I’d find my people, and finally I did on the open road, we had nothing to lose, nothing to gain, nothing we desired anymore, except to make our lives into a work of art". At the end of the video before the epilogue, she is seen with her people. Editing:  Black screen when you start playing the video, then a white text with the word ride comes on, fading slowly by each letter. The scene then opens up with Lana from a suspended car tire, then riding with men on motorbikes. Lana talks all the way for 3 minutes and 25 seconds, before the music starts. Her singing stops at 8 minutes and 13 seconds, then a black screen (the same like in the beginning) comes up with the credits, (director and writer). This again fades and then Lana’s voice narrates the ending of the story before the ending scenes are shown. This all comes to an end and then the black screen appears again with the full list of the cast and credits. All this presents the fact that the music video has been created to look like a short feature film or documentary.   There are a lot of quick cuts involved during the video, it happens after the dialogue at the beginning is finished and the singing starts. While Lana is preparing to sing in front of the audience, it quickly changes to people's hands clapping, then back to her face, then back to the clapping, it is showing her vulnerability and sadness. As she starts singing, there is a shift in the scene as she highlights her security by being with three different men. The quick cuts bring a lot of non-verbal attention to the viewer, giving them an emotional perspective to the video. The pacing has a slight slowness to it from the beginning scene when Lana is swinging from the tyre, this highlights her peace of being in the middle of nowhere without her everyday troubles. I've also noticed that the pace is faster most of the time when she is seen with her friends, riding motorbikes and dancing in front of the fire. These scenes again show her happiness and freedom by being with the people who understand her. Effects: A lot of blurs in the video (mainly in the end). Smoke and sparks, (again in the end). I think that the sparks and smoke have been created to highlight the wild gathering party around the fire of Lana and her friends; it shows her having fun and being free. I also think that the blurs, (fading scenes if the characters) have been made to show the person watching the video, of the emotion and strength that the music is conveying, adding blurs especially to the parts where she is with her friends near the end, it feels as if the video is trying to create a protection to the audience, that no one else should see her happiness.  Miming/Lip-sync: Yes, because of the way that the video is presented, it feels like a documentary. For the first three and a half minutes of the video, Lana talks (behind background music) about her career setbacks and trying to find out who she is. She is seen swinging from a tyre in the middle of a desert, you can she is at peace and free from all her troubles. In another scene, she stand in front of a microphone and sings to the audience, for the first few seconds, you would think that she is singing live but then the image shifts and it shows her sitting on the lap of a man, then standing with a man on a balcony and getting out of the car and kissing another man (who are all much older than her). Because of this, the video is seen focusing more on the meaning of the dialogue and the images that are shown rather than the melancholic sound of Lana's voice.