Gwen Stefani–What You waiting For? - Research

Within researching the forms and conventions of the pop music video genre, we have looked at a broad range of videos with the genre and also a range of subgenres by a wide range of artists, looking at the camera shots, representations, genre, mise-en-scene, lighting, sound and audience.
One of these videos which we have looked further into is Gwen Stefani – What you waiting for?, the song was written by Gwen Stefani and Linda Perry for the 2004 debut solo album, Love. Angel. Music. Baby. The video was Directed by Francis Lawrence and produced by Caleb Dewart of DNA Incorporated.

The music video opens with Gwen Stefani arriving in Los Angeles after No Doubts ‘Rock Steady’ tour. Receiving several calls from her manager, who is progressively attempting to push her on within her solo career, she responds that she is tired, and has no inspiration. This video has an unusually long non-musical introduction in the extended version, which gives the audience more of an insight as to the narrative of the music video.

A failed studio attempt leads Stefani to take a break where she sees an advertisement for a writers’ block, once she gets there she fills out several unusual questionnaires and is then informed that she will be sent the bill upon finishing the project. Before she could ask any other questions she is already back in the studio by herself. An oversized pocket watch is sitting on top of the piano, next to a small pink rabbit figurine, which suddenly jumps across the room, knocking her as she falls backwards on the chair she is unexpectedly transported into a strange fantasy world based upon the theme of ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’ and ‘Alice Through the Looking Glass’.

This video is frequently cutting back to the scene in the studio where Stefani is singing and performing to her Harajuku girls in semi-synchronisation from the fantasy world. Whilst being in this imaginary world, Stefani adopts the roles of the following characters: Alice, The White Queen and The Queen of Hearts. As she is in the characters of the fantasy world, back in the studio the song itself is being recorded, as she is rediscovering her lost confidence, ending with her full awareness back in the recording studio, where she finds herself dancing and singing in front of her four Harajuku girls; Love, Angel, Music and Baby who smile and laugh with admiration. Finally the consultant from the writer’s block hands her the bill after she has been fully inspired.

This song is from a new wave genre, although containing influences and elements of Electro-Pop, with this single reaching the top 20 in many countries, topping charts in Argentina and Australia. Also containing references to Gwen’s time with No Doubt. As she repeats this phrase ‘Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock’ throughout the song this is symbolises the pressure she is under to produce something new and fresh.

We see cutting clips of Gwen when she’s in the ‘Wonderland’ as all the different characters, several close up shots are used here to display the individual’s expressions, with bright lighting used. Many references are made to the Alice and Wonderland film, one of these being when she is trapped in the house as she has increasingly grown too large to escape from it, and the Mad Hatters tea party, where she is jumping on the table singing, this is where is cuts back to the studio scene. Once she’s fallen down the rabbit hole she lands in the maze, where one of the Harajuku Girls who is signifying the White Rabbit, Gwen is chasing this rabbit through the maze as this happens many flashing clips are shown which are cut well to the beat of the song. This tells us she is confused, trying to work something out, and trying to escape and get back to reality.

This is an example of an unorthodox music video as it does not follow the usual forms and conventions held within a pop genre video. It is almost an adaptation of the film, taking the visual scenes of Alice in Wonderland and incorporating them into a music video, with a modern quirky edge, It has often been referred to as a short film. Appealing to a large target audience because it not only attracts Gwen Stefani fans but also can interest the people who admire ‘Alice in Wonderland’,’ Alice through the Looking Glass’, or ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’.



‘’This video is an audio – visual experience, an extravaganza’’