Song: Beautiful Liar
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vgAN83PJWI
Visual effects have been used into making both artists to look alike which has an impact on the viewer as they have to look twice at first to check who is who, also symmetry has been used which looks good and keeps it even making the artists look even and play the same role into the music video. The idea of playing look alike came from Beyonce, who once watched a performance of someone dancing and thought they were dancing looking into a mirror until she had a closer look up and relised it was another person that looked alike mirroring his images, overall I think this effect works well throughout. The first half of the video features Beyonce and Shakira in separate cuts. It begins with the women's faces masked by smoke. As the video progresses they are featured against several different backgrounds, including: dawn (Beyonce) and dusk (Shakira); sheets blown in the wind; bamboo covered in yellow orchids; a room with blue neon lighting and avestan writing on the walls; and finally a background of stormy weather. Slow dance moves and belly dancing, during a breakdown after the bridge, are featured heavily throughout the video. The women wear matching hairstyles and black outfits for the entirety of video, the dark clothing reflect their emotion they are feeling about the male they are singing about, they are saying that the man isn’t worth their time as he’s just a beautiful liar that has cheated them both, yet the song reflects friendship between the two women that have been brought together from a cheating loved one, also the storyline of the same man cheating them both - could be the reason for them looking a like as he treated them both in a special way not choosing one over another also suggested from the even amount of cuts they have of each other. The video opens up with a Smokey atmosphere and has each of the artists face faded behind them one after another slowly introducing them in, then as soon as it begins to get upbeat it jumps straight into a long performing shot of each of them dancing. The way they refer to him as ‘Beautiful’ makes us think this man they are singing about is the typical ‘pretty boy type’ who is aware of his attractiveness and is using this to power his ability to treat women like this yet they aren’t giving him the satisfaction or attention he is expecting. This song has been highly successful in many countries and won many rewards and has even been made into different versions of remixes as well as in different languages, it even won the best selling british song in 2008, one of the reasons I think it appeared to be so successful is because it featured two very different singers who were already well known in the charts and worldwide, the mixture of the American r & b singing by Beyonce and the Colombian Latin pop singer Shakira really works well together creating a unique soundtrack. The target group of this song I would say was definitely females due to the narrative of the song being about a man being found out about his cheating ways, Even though beyonces music type normally attracts r & b music fans Shakira’s Latin approach means a more cultural group may be interested, this means a wider audience is attracted, again making it such a success.
Artist: The saturdays
Song: I just can't get enough
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vte4HUoRDSI
The video shows each girl singing in a mock-50s pin-up calendar, the story behind it is love. Their isnt a particular story natative behind this music video yet there theme is love, meaning they just cant get enough. The structure of the video is a commercial fun performance, nothing is being taken too seriously and it has a bright overall appearance. Fast edits are used throughout especially on the individual shots of the band members, these shots are also around about the same timing for each member therefore this shows that they all have the same role in the band and don’t have on dominant singer or performer. Also the shots when they are together as a band they are close together in an orderly fashion, this is a typical convention of a girl band to have dance routines that they all do and this video is like no other and the girls have a routine when they all sing the chorus together. The video doesn’t overdue on effects and backgrounds, it’s a simple layout of them on a plain background with props to indicate them when they are singing. This song is a version cover of the Depeche Mode classic, yet been given a modern funky uplift bring it up to date. This could also go towards it being such a success because people had heard the song but were interested to see changes which has been made and interpreted into it. Also with it being the comic relief single, red nose is a good course therefore viewers were interested in this even as well as the new single. I think the Saturdays main target audience is females below the age of 20, one reason I think they are popular amongst this generation is because they are young and attractive and many youngsters may inspire to be like them. The video is bright and colorful which is way that this young audience is drawn in and the girls look as if they are having fun in the video which this age group can relate to and enjoy watching. The bright appearance of the video links in with the pop music genre and also indicates a younger teenage audience that is being targeted. The ‘Pop’ based group may also attract other pop song lovers who like the beat and tune of the song as well as a male audience, due to there small amounts of clothing and attractive appearances.
Artist: Rihanna
Song: Disturbia
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1G_4CU8Ds0
The effects match the fast, upbeat pop/dance-rhythmic song that it is. Disturbia music video captures the meaning of the song by picturing a dark and disturbing world of people’s mental delusional anguish confusing behavior. The mise-en-scene in this video follows the whole disturbed effect which has been intended, things like rusty bed frames without a mattress, spiders, crimpled crumbling walls and disturbed looking actors. Even though all the clothing is dull and mainly black she adds the element of beauty when she wears her red lipstick. This music video steps away from her typical glamorous up music videos she is known for making therefore with this being something new and different I feel has made it a success, her music fans may not of expected something like this and with it being different to her others it stands out and is memorable.
Artist: Ne-yo
Song: Closer
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUTh3OJjWjM
In the song the narrative running along side the lyrics and video is that the artist ‘Ne-yo’ is having an urging attraction to a woman he sees, having the desire to "come closer" to her, as the song goes on his attraction to this woman becomes stronger, and almost hypnotic-like, as he sings "And I just can't pull myself away, under a spell I can't break/I just can't stop." When he sings this lyric his actions in the video mirror what he is saying bringing the woman closer to his body. Visually this video follows the lyrics. The structure of this video is studio based with a narrative running along side it, on the individual shots of Ne-yo it shows him in a centre of a spot light either alone or with four female back up dancers or on a motorcycle with an attractive female. Props such as a motorcycle connote masculinity as it’s seen as a masculine hobby to undertake to ride a motorcycle, it also shows wealth and money. The video is set out in a black and white theme throughout I think this shows gives a dated effect yet to a modern song. One main focus of this video is that he’s dancing, the video shows regular close ups of his face and footwork, the emotions on his face indicate that he’s serious about what hes singing about and shows he has passion towards the woman. When him and the woman are getting close, the setting appears smoky and foggy this connotes a strong sexual desire they have for one another, this also is a close up shot. This shot magnifies and shows the importance of their connection and takes us in the mind of the actors/artist. In reality we only let close ones that close to us which is why this close up is able to reveal the intimacy they have. Also the smoky setting suggests a hot environment that they may share when they are alone. We he is performing with the dancers it goes into long shot so we are able to see them as well as him performing but this still edits into close ups of him indicating to the viewer who the main person in the video is. His microphone is also a prop which links in with his dress code and overall appearance of the video as its an ‘oldschool’ type micro phone you would find in shows in the early 20’. This urban classic is a catchy song by a popular artist, because the lyrics run along and appear on the screen the audience consuming the video are more likely to catch onto the lyrics and be able to sing along which is feel is good way of making people like the song as well as getting people to know your lyrics means they can sing along every time they hear it. This song was released as ne-yo’s first single from his third album and it reached number 1 in the uk therefore this success was very achieving for the artist. Also in early 2008 it was used in a commercial which was used to promote them album. This song has also made appearances in TV dramas such as gossip girl. The song is classed as American pop/ r & b; this is very up to date music in the charts which I think definitely aims to target a younger youthful group. In my opinion I would say Ne-yo is inspired from an earlier generation of music from artists such as Michael Jackson but gives this influences a modern twist. His old fashioned style with a suit, hat and stick really works well with his upbeat track as it steps away from him trying to pursue a ‘cool’ look by dressing casual. His dress sense adds more sophistication which could possibly target an old generation as well as younger.
Artist: Irene Cara – Flash dance
Song: What a feeling
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIG-R96GSpk
The narrative storyline of this music video is actually based on the mover ‘flashdance’; It is based on the life of an 18 year old girl called Alexander, Her aspiration is to become accepted by a prestigious dance school, the (fictional) Pittsburgh Conservatory of Dance and Repertory. As a soft melody opens up the song the music video pans up into an image of a sunset, these images match the pace of the music. As what is scene by the viewer is reflected through what they are hearing; something calming and relaxing which is also what a sunset suggests. The lighting is very dark but with a warm colouring over the top. The opening scene is set in New York city with someone cycling threw the city on their bike their pace matched the slow pace of the bike. When the song kicks in to an upbeat the mise-en-scene goes into a scene where she’s performing to an audience, this is taken from the movie flash dance which this song was created for. This scene is really energetic matching the pace of the music. The smoke effect that is around her on the stage suggest night time which is suitable for the show, as when you go and watch a show it tends to be in the evening as it’s a dance show which adults would tend to go and see. It then goes onto a close up of a woman smiling, this close up really emphasises this happy emotion just before it jumps into the energetic upbeat part of the song. After this is then cuts into a shot which was the most famous shot in the movie and is still well known today, this shot is emphasised by the spot light shining onto her while she sits back on a chair and releases the water onto her, This scene is shown right in the middle of the music video which shows its importance that it has. This music video is particularly based on the movie so it doesn’t really have a narrative running along side it, it is performance based on dancing. ‘What a feeling suggests’ that nothing is able to describe what she’s feeling therefore she is expression her self threw body language and dancing. When she is in the dance studio the effect looks as if its just a silhouette and you cant see much detail about the character therefore we know that our attention should automatically be focused on her moves rather than costume or facial expressions. Also the lack of detail in the mise-en-scene also emphasises this dancing silhouette focusing our attention onto her. The clip ends with the couple facing one another centred in the clip giving each other a rose this reflects the romantic feeling between them, it also ends the video on a positive note. These two characters in the actual movie became lovers as and he helps her achieve her dream. The success of this song was very high, the soundtrack album of Flashdance sold 700,000 copies during its first two weeks on sale and has gone on to sell over 6,000,000 copies in the US alone. In 1984 the album won the Grammy Award for Best Album of Original score written for a motion picture or a television special. One reason for its success is because of the movie. The target group of this music video appeals to a very wide range, it was published 1983 therefore it will appeal to an older genration as they were around when the movie came out however it is still popular today and people of a younger generation still listen to it. The movie is a great influence on people who persue a career in dancing and performing arts and has became a classic to do shows to.
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