Katy Perry's newest music video is vibrant, but is that enough to wow Tanner? Find out post-jump.
Katy Perry is most definitely an artist not afraid to subtly push the envelope in the music video world. Not sexually, but most certainly stylistically. I feel as if this video in particular is trying to both show off our modern culture and pay homage to decades past. I'll explain in detail as we go along.
The video starts off at what is assumed to be an art gallery, and art homages carry on (however sparsely) throughout, my favorite of which being the Piet Mondrian section. There are many quick cutting one time sections and I won't be discussing them all, but there overarching feel is one of an eighties-fifties-now hybrid.
I will make some rapid fire notes. One: the guys in suits are extremely Pewee Herman-esque. It's a great touch and I hope to goodness that was intentional. Two: I can't help but get the feeling that this video was shot to look fantastic in its snapshots. The staging and graphics all feel more like a print ad than a music video, a concept on which my opinion is undecided. Three: man, Katy Perry has a lot of wigs. Four: the typography is great. I wish there were a little more of these word sections because they are the stand out to me. Very modern, hip, and fun.
My big discrepancy with this video is that it is sometimes hard to differentiate whether we are watching a music video or an ad for Old Navy. The print ad look is almost taken a bit too far. That, combined with the blatant product placement of some Windows phone makes this video a little too commercialized for its own good.
The animated food on the other hand I love. That twerking ice cream cone is genius. But I actually really enjoy the suspended in space people with random objects, which feels both modern and retro at the same time. The director is absolutely paying attention to modern design trends and I am very appreciative of that as a graphic designer.
The bringing back of bringing the beat back was awesome. It continues that homage feeling of the eighties.
Overall, this video truly delivers on being a fun summer romp video. It doesn't take itself too seriously, has some very cool animation and typography, and is a color overload. Also, props for the lyric "Mariah Careyoke." That was fantastic. Sure, this video isn't having me clamoring to show anyone, but it puts the song first and does an adequate job at adding some fun visuals to this fun song. I'm giving this video an 8.1. It's not quite great, but it delivers.
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