analysis

For my research i was to analyse 3 'R & B' videos in relation to our music song choice of the black eyed peas " where is the love".my first song choice was akon " smack that".

Firstly in this video there are a number of close up shots of different artists in the video. this mainly emphasises the artist and try to make them stand out more from the back up singers, dancers, extras. There is also a very gloomy and dark effect used in each shot (low-key lighting) which matches the narrative regarding prisoners being released and them creating their type of 'bad guys' vibe towards the video which creates a sense of darkness and suspicion towards the video. When "Eminem" starts rapping at 2:14 I noticed a increase in tempo and similarly, in the editing and shots used. this is done to not only promote him but to ensure the video and song come across 'as one', and to maintain the interest of the audience. Throughout the video we see many fade in and out effects during scenes, this relates to the time passing on which the prisoner has little of. Also there are various amounts of slow motion shots e.g. "1:49".this importance is to allow the artists and some vital scenes in the narrative to gain the extra attention. at 1:50 to 1:52 there are two extreme close ups of the female model's eye and lips. This is mainly to enhance her beauty and trying to make an effort towards looking beautiful in front of  the males in the scenes.

We notice that there is a narrative at the start of the video before the actual song. This mainly is done to create a build up towards the song and secondly to gets more of the audience attention and make it more interesting before they judge the song.the scene before the song starts we see Akon the lead artist is prison.this allows to audience to gain an in-look towards possibly his background but must important to set the audience up towards the rest of the video so they have a brief outlook towards the rest of the narrative throughout the video. 

The costumes used in this video are very dull, consisting of mainly all black colour which reflects the mood and atmosphere of the video it being very hidden and disguised to empathise that they're not meant to be there and trying to keep their identity covert.  Firstly in the narrative we see Akon in a prison jail costume.this creates a more authentic atmosphere towards the narrative as it is leading it up to the rest of the video.with the use of lighting again its very dim and dull however there is wide range of modern lighting technology which suggests that the people in this narrative are very wealthy.for actors i notice especially with the male artists, they wear very valuable clothing which indicates they're high status towards the narrative. Not only that but it also relates towards the whole R&B industry and the stereotypical approach to male artist having a higher status than women with one indication which is the way they dress.there are many women that are heavily made up with the use of make-up.this is mainly to enhance her beauty and suggests the fact that they are trying to make an effort towards looking beautiful in front of  the males in the scenes. For props we notice the wide use of jewellery on the male artists.this mainly empathises they're wealth and relates to the convection of this video.lastly with setting it is clear that it is set at a covert party which relates to the narrative and the "bad guy" vibe that is used in the video.

akon -smack that

For my second video i have chosen Justin timberlake "i'm lovin' it. The reason for this was because it gives out a very different aspect and style towards the video rather than the other two I chose.the narrative in this song basically shows how Justin's efforts to try and find this woman which he goes around new york city trying to look for her. The first feature I noticed was that it has a very different pace towards it than compared with the other two videos. This was to relate with the quick paced narrative that relates to the song and basically empathises the chase which is taking place throughout the video. I noticed that justin timberlake using a style of direct addressing one example is at "3:15", the reason why i like this style that he uses is because he uses direct communication with the audience. This immediately draws them into the video, something that I wish to use in our music video so that the audience can connect more emotionally towards our narrative and the lyrics in our song. Another point I admire about this video is it driven away from the stereotypical aspect of rich artists wearing expensive clothing becuase it is focusing more on the realism of the society and creates the authenticity towards the narrative and doesn't focus on trying to promote the artist by making him stand out.around half way into the video the pace quickens which the lead artist justin is getting closer to the woman he is seeking, which in my opinion is very effective in continuously keeping the audience interested as people do tend to get bored around half way through a song if it is repetitive.

Similar to the akon video, the use of costumes is very dull and involves no bold colours to create the authenticity of the urban setting which the narrative is taking place.with the use of lighting, again there are the slight use of it but on the contrast, it is quite dull which represtents a very dull atmosphere towards the setting however not the narrative which portray a very quick action paced chase which in my opinion should have more various uses of bright lighting.with actors, Justin timberlake is quite young which for me is very effective because it reflects the young generation getting into mischief and that they live in an urban setting which many of the audience can relate to and it can create a strong connection between him and the audience. For the use of make -up, again we see a woman quite heavily done up which mainly enhances her beauty towards the video. Lastly for settings it is set in an urban city to create a more realistic approach towards the narrative of video.

justin timberlake - im lovin' it

My final video i chose is 50 cent "candy shop". the theme and style in this video is very similar to akons " smack that", this is how many of the RnB videos are portrayed and shot mainly because the industry is trying to make it appeal to those target audience who enjoy cars, jewellery, women, ect. I firstly saw a dreary and gloomy effect used to create the first scene setting the atmoshpere for the entrance of the lead artist and to make him stand out from the surroundings. There is also a panning shot used on the mansion. This is mainly to set the narrative for the rest of the song and basically empathises where the lead artist 50 cent is heading to. What i also noticed was an foregrounded sound effect used on 50 cent's foot stomp at "0:17", this to me suggests that he is letting the audience and the upcoming women know that he has arrival and also to enhance his power and leadership which portrays him as having a very high status. As 50 cent enter the mansion I saw various amounts of jump cutting during the scene which increased the pace of the scene and created a  very exciting atmosphere which to me indicates a very sexual theme towards the narrative. There is also alot of slow motion editing shots used on the women in the video. This allows the audience to admire the beauty of the women and adds to the sexual theme of the narrative. Another method of doing this is by close ups of the female model's . This too enhance her beauty and trying to make an effort towards looking beautiful in front of  the lead male artist in the scenes similar to Akon's song video.lastly what i noticed is another use of direct addressing one example is at "1:17" to "1:22",again similar to my previous video Justin timberlake " im lovin' it" he uses it because he is directly communicating with the audience which immediately draws them into the video.there is a group shot at "1:40"  which in my opinion portrays the one lead male artist being outnumbered by several women which enhances that exciting atmosphere.

With regards to mis en scene, the use of costumes in this video includes very boldly coloured, valuable clothing which not only portrays 50 cents wealth, but it creates the authenticity towards the relation it has to the meaning of the title which portrays the reflection of candy being very colourful.for the use of lighting, I noticed that it is very bright which indicates again a relation it has with to the title of the song. For actors 50 cent is very well dressed which fits accordantly to his high class and status.yet again for the use of make -up,  we see a group woman quite heavily done up which enhances their beauty towards the video and all trying to impress lead singer 50 cent. To create an authenticity towards the narrative and the atmosphere, there is the use of a whip used on 50 cent which creates an exciting and sexual tension between them and the video as a whole. Lastly the setting is at a mansion which suggests a rich feel towards the narrative and video.

50 cent - candy shop

conventions

There were a number of convention i found when watching these three videos which were all very similar.

Here are a round up of the conventions i listed:

• Jewellery/ "bling"/ earrings/watches/necklaces ect. We are not considering on using any jewellery for our performance shot because firstly we are not trying to promote him/her, secondly we do feel it would create an authentic feel towards our location of the narrative with it being in a run down urban setting.

• Girls. We try not to enhance any women that will be in our music video's beauty again because it will take away the run down effect our location shots are trying to achieve.

• Black males. We hope to use some black males for some of the performance in relation to the actual artist however we still yet to ask some people.

• Sexual themes. We will not use any sexual theme because it does not match with our ideas and narrative of the song.

• Cars. We are not determined to use cars in our video because we feel it would create a more action fast paced feel towards our video which could eliminate our message to the audience. 

• Urban settings. This is a major aspect we are using towards our video because it matches perfectly with our narrative and the theme of the song.

• Lively atmosphere. We are not bothered on creating any lively atmosphere however it does relate to the urban surroundings so maybe as we progress into the filming of our video we might take it into account.

• Leading artists either gangsters,run downs, or very rich. We will be using some run down themes but nothing too dramatic and overly exaggerated.

After watching all three videos I noticed for the characters the leads singers were mostly black males. this for me emphasises the fact that lead black males are very common in the R&B industry which can create a very stereotypical approach towards R&B. with regards to mise-en scene the use of costume from analysing the three videos is very effective towards the atmosphere of the videos. I noticed that with customs the lead artist would always stand out with very rich and valuable clothing which enhanced their leadership. With the exception of 50 cent, the lighting was very dim and gloomy which for me created and authentic feel towards the videos, whether it would be because of the setting or the narrative of the video. With the actors it is clear that they are all male singers. This indicates a very male dominating approach towards the R&B industry and how that relates to them being able to wear such clothing. With the use of make-up I noticed that all women were heavily done up. This to me emphasises a stereotypical approach that the females try to enhance their beauty to impress the male figures which adds to them looking more powerful and dominant. The main prop that get drawing my attention was the use of jewellery. Again this is a indication of their wealth and power they try to claim in order to be more dominating towards the females and the R&B industry. Lastly for setting, the urban surroundings were very common which in my opinion suggests that the artists focus on the target audience who live in urban areas and try to appeal their music to them.