Music video analysis (r&b)

Music video analysis (R&B)Trey Songz outa my head

Mise en scene

The costume of the artist and he featuring actors can be considered stylish and contemporary R&B is a genre that evolves with time as the dress since is forever changing as time moves forward the general theme of the music videos does not as R&B is commonly love stories and the various scenarios that come from a love life. This song is no exception to this the main artist “luppe fiasco” is seen to be dressing in trendy fashionable clothing through out he video the female actress is seen in casual clothing some time represented in a voyeuristic way other times in a fetish tic way.

The general mood of R&B can differ from upbeat and bouncy such as this song to sombre and serene.

Voyeuristicfetish tic

Stylish contemporary clothing

Lighting

The use of natural lighting is prominent in this video, natural lighting is a soft and clear lighting which is used to feminise shots, giving them a smooth clear appearance. This connotes a since of realism as natural lighting is something the audience can relate to; another connotation behind natural lighting is vanity as it shows the artist to have smooth an floorless skin in particular females.

The lighting also sets the mood of the music video as a soft natural lighting represents a happy environment, this connotes that living the life of a celebrity is rewarding as the money makes everything better in terms of this music video the sunlight is used to exaggerate the romance as the song is about love and the main artist is unable to get visions of her out of his head but every time he thinks and sees her it is a sunny day. Which signifies that he is in love with her and she makes everything better no matter how his day has been.

Camera angles

A variety of camera angles are used in this video the one that occurs the most frequently is extreme close ups of the artist or any featuring actors. The connotation behind these extreme close ups is vanity. The effect of this is to exaggerate attractive features of the artist in particular females and their bodies.

It creates the impression that celebrities of the R&B genre are what the rest of the world should look like or look similar too particular in term of women as they are shown to be very voyeuristic in terms of there dress since and close ups of there body parts such as legs are use only to express this view of vanity.

Other camera angles such a long shot in this case from a worms eye view are used to display the stylish clothing of the artist or featuring actors this also connotes vanity and the consciousness of image within the R&B genre.

In the R&B genre close ups of jewellery are also used to signify wealth, riches and fame in terms of this music video the exaggeration is mainly expressed in the clothes the artist or featuring actors wear.

Editing

The editing in this music video is very subtle, and done very well the scenes cleverly interchange on beat with the song which is a feature I plan to implement in my music video. The pace of the editing changes as the song reaches its climax.

What I find particularly effective is the connotations behind the editing on several occasions the song will cut to a time where both the aristo and the female actress are together whist he holds her this creates the illusion we are in the artist head and we are see the world and his lover through his eyes. This is an effect that will fit perfectly in my music video as our narrative follows a similar scheme to this music video and the romantic connotations behind it.

Conclusion

In conclusion this music video has made me aware of specific camera angles my audience would expect to se in my genre, that the use of soft lighting is a mandatory feature to have a successful R&B video and that the editing must be clever considered in order to portray the correct message I want to portray to my target audience. So the lighting camera angles and editing are all features I must carefully consider when creating my music video.

Analysing this video has given me a deeper understanding of the connotation within the R&B music genre and I will use and manipulate these element to create a professional and effective music video.