Analysis of Existing Music Videos

Analysis of R'n'B Music Videos

One In A Million - Ne-yo (2010)
At the start of the video, there are white credits across a black background. This breaks through many barriers of movies and music videos. It lets the audience know that it is a film to be enjoyed and not just a music video for promotional reasons. This music video is one from Ne-Yo's very inventive album Libra Scale. The idea for all the music videos that are released through this album is for them to be clips of a film on the whole, the beginning of this video definitely highlights that by showing a continuation from a previous video as the narrative seems incomplete.

Ne-Yo is the main protagonist in his narrative and the video starts with him talking to his friends about a young lady he is in pursuit of. I noticed that his importance is highlighted as his friends are sitting down and looking at their girlfriends while Ne-Yo is still talking to them. The audience aren't focused on his friends but are focused on him because he is the only one standing and talking at the time. His costume is black and white; a white shirt, with a black tie, black braces, black trousers and a black hat. The white in Ne-Yo's outfit connotes his innocence and purity but this is highly contrasted by the black which denotes darkness and possibly perverse intentions, the mixture of the two may show a good guy with a bad side. The audience will see Ne-Yo as a gentleman and well dressed. His importance is also shown by the fact that his friends (the dancers) are dressed in a similar yet very different way to him. One is wearing a white t-shirt and black braces and trousers whilst the other one is wearing an open dress shirt that's also white with a black waistcoat. Their costume seems to be a lot more casual than Ne-Yo's and seem to have one element from Ne-Yo's costume each.

The female protagonists in most music videos in this genre are usually overly glamorised, with make up and hair and bodies that set unrealistic standards for people watching. This video is different from others as the girl Ne-Yo is in pursuit of is not overly glamorised with minimal make up and casual wear. She is wearing an off-white top and cardigan with silver hoops. Though she looks very 'normal' she is still aspirational as through vicarious reinforcement women would want to be like her and men would want to be with someone like her. This is the 'male gaze'. The off-white connotes her innocence but also makes her glow in a way no other girl in the video does. This is an example of the visuals linking in with the lyrics when Ne-Yo sings 'makes your soul stand out from all the rest...'.

She is also the one playing 'hard to get'. She seems to be not very interested in Ne-Yo as she tries her hardest to get away from him. This ties a narrative in, she is a female protagonist with 'male gaze' and Ne-Yo is a male protagonist with 'female gaze' but she seems like the only girl that doesn't want him. This makes the target audience - young women - feel more drawn to him.

The mise en scene is the busy street of a city, could be LA or New York but it seems like a place where women love to shop and hang out with friends. The yellow taxis let us know that it is set in a city in the USA. This busy and upbeat street ties in with the music video as it is an upbeat song and so is an example of how the visuals tie in with the lyrics.

The female dancers that arrive at the end have a different and more urban look. One is wearing denim shorts and a light pink patterned corset, another is wearing baggy trousers and a sleeveless tube top and the other is wearing a black tank top and leopard print leggings. These girls are sexy but less focus is on them as the protagonist the audience aspire to still seems more glamorous than them whereas they seem quite wild.


At the end of the video, the song ends at it goes back to being a film with over-the-shoulder shots denoting that. It also goes back to dialogue as she shows her jealous rage when Ne-Yo dances with those female dancers.

The video is then interrupted by a dip to black and then in white the phrase 'To be continued...' is across the screen. This is also breaking a barrier between film and music videos adding to the movie feel of Ne-Yo's current music videos, the story carries on in his next video.






What's My Name? - Rihanna ft. Drake (2010)

The video starts with an establishing shot of a city skyline. The sky is blue showing us a beautiful day and the time of day the video is set in.






The urban blocks and derelict buildings show the audience a glimpse into the urban life.

Drake plays the main protagonist who looks quite normal. He has stubble and is not 'blinged-out' like normal rappers are. He is wearing an off-white cardigan with coloured stripes. The off-white may connote a tainted purity or a bad boy gone good.
His casual look also associates him with normal men. The setting at the start is in a corner store (off-licence) which also relates to the target audience as carefree teenagers and young people.The blurred background shows the focus on Drake and lets the audience know he's important in the video.





When Rihanna, who plays the female protagonist, walks into the store, she is the centre of attention. Her red hair is a bold statement, which Rihanna is very famous for making and automatically sets a new trend for her young fans. Her glamour is highlighted in her jewellery and make up, this makes her seem very desirable in the sense that it draws more attention to her and through vicarious reinforcement women would want that attention to. The black and white blazer is a smart way to make her less revealing but also gives her a sassy and elegant edge. The white and black stripes could connote her personality of being an innocent/pure girl but having a bold, confident and post-modern attitude.
The light behind her in this shot shown above is bright and white as she walks into the store, it makes her look romantic and desirable.
Her outfit also is a black top and black and white shorts with multicoloured trim. This also shows her youthfulness and expressiveness as it seems as if the whole outfit compliments her personality. Drake spots her at this point in the video and the audience can see this connection. This over-the-shoulder mid shot shows us what he is seeing and makes the target audience put themselves in his shoes.

Drake, while walking down the aisle to talk to Rihanna is lip-syncing his verse of the song. This make sit seem like he is talking to and about her trying to 'woo' her and get her interested in him, like he is in her. The camera follows him straight on putting the audience right into the action, it looks like he is looking straight at the audience. The white light is also behind him but it creates a 'female gaze' where women want to be in the position of Rihanna and men want to be in his position.

In the video Drake seems to get Rihanna straight away. She is by the fridge getting milk when drake arrives. This mid shot shows how inclined their bodies are and they then become quite intimate.
During the video, there are flashes of the present and what could be with Rihanna as his girlfriend. In the future or 'flash forwards', Rihanna and Drake are couple. He is wearing a grey hoodie, showing the relaxed atmosphere and home they are in, they can be relaxed around each other. Rihanna is wearing blue, shorts and a bra, with a gown over it. She is also in a relaxed environment with Drake. The soft focus on her and the haziness that comes through the window, romanticises the scene, and this is common in many R'n'B videos. The lighting is in complete contrast to the present and the scene is also in slow motion. This also romanticises the scene, and creates a 'male gaze' for Rihanna.

There are three different parts of Rihanna's performance, this is where she lip-syncs and dances directly in front of the camera.

The first is this one to the right. She is sitting on a white chair in front of curtains and wearing a light blue and white patterned dress. The colour connotes purity as well as happiness and contempt. The audience could also feel like she is not as glamorized with minimal make up and hardly any jewellery; she looks more 'normal' and easier to aspire to here.

The second performance part of the video is when she lip-syncs the chorus in the street and dances in the street after she walks out of the store.  It makes the audience think that she's happy about meeting Drake, but the visuals don't tie in with the lyrics here. The lyrics of the chorus have sexual connotations but the performance of it doesn't.






The camera follows her as she walks down the street, blurring the background. This makes her the centre of attention even as she is on a busy street. Also, when the camera follows her from the back she still is the centre of attention.
There are a lot of close ups in the future scenes and this denotes their intimacy and the soft gaze and slow motion of the scenes make it look romantic.







Let Me Hold You - Bow Wow ft Omarion (2005)



This video starts off with the female protagonist. There is no performance in the start as it is dialogue between her and Bow Wow on the phone. The mise en scene at this point looks like a well looked after home and there seems to be a lot of the colours brown, tan and orange. This may connote warmth within the home, or even warmth of her own personality as she is wearing an orange patterned bikini top.

When Bow Wow arrives at her house the performance of the song still hasn't begun and it looks to the audience that a narrative is involved and Bow Wow maybe the protagonist's boyfriend.
Bow Wow is wearing a white jumper and head band with a big, diamond chain necklace. It is a contrast to the stereotypical personality of rappers but it may show that he is happy in love with this girl.



Before the song starts, credits roll across the screen and this is a convention of film. This also gives the audience the idea that it is a narrative and blurs the boundaries between film and music videos.

I tried to show in this still the use of cross fade and slow motion as Bow Wow and his date arrive at the party and the song begins. It romanticises the night for them and make everything seem a lot like memories of a happy time.

 The performance part of the music video starts with Bow Wow and Omarion at a staircase. They are both wearing similar clothes. They both are wearing sunglasses and jewellery but Bow Wow is standing and is closer to the camera, highlighting his importance. The black is a complete contrast to the white he is wearing at other times in the video and this may show his celebrity side whereas the white may show his 'normal' side.

The mise en scene is a house party and this definitely appeals to the target audience of young people (teenagers and young adults). Omarion is also wearing in some scenes white, like Bow Wow, this might be his regular side and the black with sunglasses might be his celebrity side. This shot also puts the audience into the party as even though Omarion is visible, we see the guests in the house as they dance around him and walk past the camera completely casually.

The narrative continues as while Bow Wow is with his girl, another girl comes to sit with them and Bow Wow diverts his attention from his date to the other girl. The story is now about making her understand that he only wants her and no-one else.

This long shot is of Bow Wow and Omarion performing outside of the party. They both are wearing a different outfit and Bow Wow is again very much the centre of attention with the big paw print hoodie. There is a huge contrast as the house behind them is a very old fashioned house whereas the young people surrounding it don't compliment it.





The panning in this part of the video strongly showed the audience the difference between how the female protagonist is feeling and how Bow Wow is. On one side of the wall Bow Wow has a lot of girls surrounding him and trying to seduce him whereas on the other side his date is alone and doesn't seem to be having any fun at the party. This makes the panning very effective.

The extreme close ups highlight their intimacy and their expressions are perfectly captured as they show contempt and everything is a lot more romanticised when there are extreme close ups. Everyone in the background is blurred, this makes the audience focus on them and may also make the audience feel like they forget about the world when they are together.

The downward tilt in this shot helps to capture the action in the party but whilst its a shot of everyone in the party, Bow Wow and Omarion are the centre of attention in white.