Taylor Swift Has Ghostly Location For New Video, ‘Safe And Sound’
When one thinks of Taylor Swift, words like sweet, bubbly, and upbeat come to mind. Certainly not funereal, right? So it may come as a surprise that her new video for the single "Safe And Sound" was shot in a cemetery.
The moody, ethereal clip--which pays homage to the movie the song was written for, The Hunger Games--certainly is a departure for the usually sunny superstar. However, Swift, as she does with pretty much anything she tries, manages to nail her part perfectly.
As she explained to MTV, the shoot's location appealed to her (well-known) romantic side. "It's one of my favorite moments in the video; there's this wide shot, where I'm just kind of crumpled up sitting on a gravestone, and it's actually the gravesite of a couple who lived and died in 1853," she noted."I'm sitting here thinking, 'What were their lives like?' It's really eerie, considering what the movie is about and how it deals with life and death. It just absolutely blew my mind."
Swift cuts a spectral figure herself, her face ghostly pale and apparently free of makeup, wandering barefoot outdoors in a long white gown. The cloudy sky, overall gray lighting, and ramshackle deserted house she explores additionally add to the spooky vibe of the video.
Behind the scenes, though, Swift was still very much alive, and trying to keep warm! "It was freezing," she told MTV of the video shoot, which took place in 40-degree weather. "I was shaking the whole time and trying not to be shaking when the cameras were rolling."
Accompanying Swift on the track and in the video are the currently buzzy country duo the Civil Wars, who won two awards at the 2012 Grammys on Sunday and also introduced Swift's performance at the show.
The Hunger Games hits theaters on March 23. Meanwhile, Swift's latest film project, the 3D-CGI feature The Lorax, will arrive on March 2. Swift voices the role of Audrey in the movie, which is an adaptation of the Dr. Seuss classic.
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