The collaboration between Katy Perry and Snoop Dogg creates a dominant pop genre in which the music video clearly portrays. The music video shows the theme of a board game being played throughout which sets a clear narrative by use of different props and the way they are presented, it also consists of performance. The record label/institute this song is produced by is Capitol records. The video is based on turning everything into different kinds of sweets and is set in 'Candyland'.
The video begins with a close up of the board game packaging which is called 'Candyfornia'; a play on words of the title of the song. It also says 'face the Sugar Daddies dice to free the Queens of Candyfornia' which immediately tells the audience that the artists are playing these characters in the video. The video is based on turning everything into different kinds of sweets, hence the name 'Candyfornia'.
Katy Perry wears a number of different outfits in this video, her first one being a multicoloured mini dress which has a number of different sweets such as ice cream and smaller cakes on it, she is also wearing a violet wig which could represent the well known sweets 'Palmo violets'. Her necklace is again made of delicately wrapped sweets and her high heels, headband, bracelet and ring all show that she is very feminine and girly and that she really fits in with the 'candy' gameboard theme with her character being one of the 'Queens of Candyfornia'. The location she is in consists of white trees and candy canes, candy floss and red wrapped sweets in the trees representing leaves and bushes and ice cream and swirled lollies representing grass which all relate to the candy theme. The camera shots consist of close ups of the ice creams, medium shots and medium long shots of Katy Perry exploring the wonderland, which emphasises themes of happiness and fantasy. The gummie bears also show quite a controversial element as she waves at the bear in a shot reverse shot it then shows it swearing back at her which is blurred, this also reinforces the idea of the game context as it is a competition from the happy fantasy world. Due to the candy canes turning into snakes, this connotes an intertextual link to the board game 'Snakes and Ladders'. Also when close ups and medium long shots show Katy Perry is laid in the clouds performing the song with no clothes on, she is just wrapped in candy floss clouds which again sticks with the fun atmosphere of the video but also portrays her to be a sex symbol and still show her promiscous side to fit all types of target audience.
Snoop Dogg is represented to play 'The Sugar Daddy', he wears a suit which pictures jelly beans, and yellow boots, he also wears his sunglasses to show that he is relating to the location and theme whilst also showing that he is cool and the stick he is holding is a stereotypical link to what sugar daddies or pimps call the 'pimp stick' or the 'pimp cane' which relates to his characters name very well. As Snoop Dogg is origionally a rap artist, the fact that the dice has diamonds instead of spots supports his music video convention of wealth and also girls as they all dance in provocative but fun outfits. The actual board game made from ice cream cones, candyfloss, pancakes and other cakes is shown from birds eye view shots and high angle shots to show the pathways and locations and the way that you would look at it if you were playing the game yourself.
The editing used is continuity editing to make the video more fluent to watch, also it consists of slow motion as the dice rolls to create a bit more tension in the game, and also a technique used is making Katy Perry smaller in comparison with the set which makes her look like a doll amongst tall icing volcanoes and lollipops and connotes that she is playing a vunerable character in the game. The game essence is shown by Katy having to save other 'Queens of Candyfornia' on her quest; one from a bubble of bubblegum, another one from a cube of jelly and the other one wrapped in candy wrapping which reinforces the theme of the competition against the 'Sugar Daddy'.
The target audience of this music video has a wide range as pop is such a big genre. It is aimed at tweenagers and teenage girls as she acts as a role model who is attractive, outgoing and having fun, however her clothes suggest that she can be portrayed as a sex symbol creating a seperate target audience to teenage boys and 20 year olds. This video predominantly relies on fantasy, fun and fictional aspects.
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