I've just watched the new Lady Gaga and Beyonce video ('telephone') and it is typical Gaga style! The clothes are completely out there but they look fantastic. There's a range of bizarre outfits, including a padlock draped swimsuit fabricated with lit cigarettes as sunglasses, and a crime scene tape top (if you can call it that), which basically just covers her modesty. I love the use of the diet coke cans as rollers, it just adds to her creative madness.
The video was directed by Jonas Akerlund. He is known for his stylish music videos that often mock forms of movie trailers and short films. The telephone video reminds me of a similar style Quentin Tarantino uses in his films. It's very raw and edgy. This video seems to have a lot of pop culture allusions with the Captain America and Wonder Woman characters, reference to Andy Warhol and pop star icons Michael Jackson and Madonna. Akerlund is known for a wide range of music videos, but one that stand out to me was the 'Smack My Bitch Up' by Prodigy in 1997. The video was banned due to the explicit violence and sexual reference. I'm not a big fan of the song, but I think the way the video has been created works really well with the song. The video is edited as if we are looking through the eyes of the main actor and the overall effect is very gripping.
