Analysing a music video

Analysing a music video

Beyonce- Green Light

By Sophie Legge

“Green Light” was produced by Beyonce herself and The Neptunes. The song was written by Beyonce, Pharrell Williams, and Sean Garrett. It was directed by Melina.

“Green Light” doesn’t follow a story line with the video, however the song is about getting a man to realise he can go because he’s not treated her right, so she wants to find someone else, hence the name “green light” for go. So the video feels as if she is showing him what he will be missing and telling him where to go, so although it doesn’t have a story as such to be followed it still has purpose with the song and its lyrics.

In this particular music video Beyonce is dressed in PVC dresses and provocative outfits. The video jumps between each of the outfits as each outfit is doing something different. The hair is quite plain compared to the outfits and make-up, the make-up is bold with bright eye shadows and lip stick colour being used. It fits with the outfits and it helps to make her stand out and is showy like outfits. In this video Beyonce is seen singing the whole song, either just by herself, with backing dancers or with an all woman band. I would say Beyonce’s over all look is about showing her curves and body in most of her videos without over stepping the mark and revealing too much.

The genre of this music video is R&B, I would say the music video fits into this genre too because the dancing is in the same style and goes with the music really well. I would say the video is based on fantasy but with some reality because it doesn’t have weird and wonderful characters it is still her singing and with props however, not many women would be able to dress in these outfits and be as gutsy as Beyonce so it’s as if we are looking at something many women wish they could do and as it is just filmed with a white background this makes it feel as if it’s not real but it touches with real life somehow because of the song. R&B is such a wide genre that all of the video touches on at least one part of the genre but it doesn’t generalise it.

In this video there are many different cuts to show her change in outfit as each is pretending to be a different woman in a way. In these varied shots the lighting goes from light to dark with the deep beat, I felt this emphasised on the beat. Throughout the whole video there are lots of quick cuts to different shots, which goes with the music tempo, this then changes in the bridge when the music slows down and so does the camera work it becomes smoother and instead of zooming in and out of the shot to creating a close up or long shot, it slowly moves out or in as one shot. In this video they have edited in such a way that the shots are cut so well to the beat of the music and this adds to the video.

Beyonce’s video has lots of different sets, all of which are set in front of a white background, this is because it doesn’t draw any attention away from the outfits and the performance being given, it also looks glamorous and expensive which add to the effect of the video it’s self. There were props used by the band playing with Beyonce, this is not necessarily associated with Beyonce’s look which is why I think they have chosen t use them because she is dressed as an alter ego. There was also a frame the Beyonce and backing dancers hold on to with the immensely uncomfortable looking heels and also a white grand piano which she lays on, this again is not necessarily her but is part of an alter ego in this video. The lighting used in this video is artificial and is used to add effect to the song. Beyonce’s performance in this video adds a lot, she can pull off the outfits and doesn’t make it all look tarty, she also makes it look like she means and believes in the words and manages to lip sync really well. The makeup is bold in comparison to the hair but it all fits with the image of the video.

In this video there is colourisation used, there is one shot where we see colours (of traffic lights) that are in blocks over the screen in different ways which then changes the colour of the motion happening behind it. These are all cut to the beat also. There as shots which have been sped up, or reversed to create effect but apart from that no other special effects have been used.

I would say that in this video illustrates exhibitionism; she shows this through her outfits and the general persona of the video. The lyrics and visuals are illustrated together, they show a powerful looking women getting rid of a man that doesn’t treat them with the respect they deserve.

The narrative structure of the video is that Beyonce’s character is a woman who is aiming what she is saying in the video to a man. By Beyonce dressing up in many different personas this suggests they are all different women who want different things from the man in question. Her aim is to show that she is a powerful a dominant women and this is portrayed in the video.

In conclusion, the meaning of the song is about a women telling a man where he can go because he isn’t treating her right, so she wants him to stop holding her back from future relationships. I would say it is aimed at teenage girls and young women. The video would help to sell the song because it has been so well put together and looks glamorous and this will attract many people. My favourite three things about the video would be, the different outfits that Beyonce wears, the lighting techniques used to create emphasis on the beat and the dancing that has been choreographed to fit with the music.

This shows the lights flickering to the beat of the song.