Within this video Alexis both conforms and subverts from the typical gender representations of women in music video, and in doing this she in a sense could potentially convey two parts of the stars of persona representing herself as dominant and passive. Alexis Jordan at point within her video conforms to the normal stereotype of female representation, whilst still being capable of being conveying her message to the audience from two perspectives. An example of her conforming to the stereotype is denoted when she sitting on the speaker and is singing whilst the guy is standing next to her, whilst she is wearing an pink dress and he's wearing a black costume. From this we can connote that within this shot she is represented as being inferior, and this is further emphasised by her wearing a pink dress. However in comparison to the man who is wearing all black connoting both his masculinity but also his dominance over her. In addition the way in which she is positioned in a coy manner towards the male once again make it is seem as if she is giving herself away to the male further conforming to the woman's role within a video. In addition to her costume since its quite short we can in a way connote that she is objectifying her body exposing her legs and her chest making her at that point within the video a sexual object.
An example of when she subverts the stereotype of women within music video is denoted when she is sitting on the black motorcycle wearing a black catsuit. From this we can connote her new dominance within the music video in contrast to her previous shot of her being a lot more feminine. In addition whilst she is using her sexual prowess to attract the males attention she is giving her a sense of empowerment, and this is further conveyed by her lying on the motorcycle which is a very masculine machine. Despite the fact there is no male character within the video she isn't represented in a passive manner but is portraying herself in a more aggressive manner rather than conforming to the stereotypical depiction of women as being soft and feminine. The way in which she is positioned is in a suggestive manner, and she is wearying a costume to reveals her chest, which creates a voyeurism effect.
In this video the theory of the male gaze can be used as at certain points throughout the video as she conforms to the stereotype of a female within music video. For example this is denoted when is wearing a very low cut dress, shaking her finger to the screen. From this we can connote that at this point she is attracting males as she's wearing a revealing outfit and it shows her as being passive as she's giving up her body for the views pleasure. This then causes her to seem like a sexual object creating a sense of the "male gaze". However the action she is doing contradicts that notion because she is signifying that whist is dressed in such a provocative manner she is not giving anything and connotes the idea that she's in charge of the situation at hand. Therefore this allows her to use this sexual prowess that she possess and turn it into a sense of female empowerment but still retains the concept of love and relationships within her music video.
The genre of this artist is predominantly pop which usually consists of dance routines, dramatic shots and upbeat music, but also tends to convey notions of love, relationships and friendships.
Dancing within pop video is a very common conventions and this video conforms to that, and it represents the star in a objectified way, because during that moment the star and the dancers purpose is purely for display and for the pleasure of the audience. In addition they usually help to highlight the main star, and in this case its a women, which allows her to draw more attention in comparison to a male star dancing.
At this point it further contains the conventions of a pop video as this is a dramatic moment within the video, usually singing the chorus in order to fully express the ideals she is showing to her audience. In addition at this point she is represented in a slightly different way, whilst she is still passive it conveys a more "girly" side of the star that isn't consistently seen throughout the video. Furthermore it helps reinforce the ideas of love and relationships that are anchored by the lyric "You might mistake me for a heart breaker".
The star persona of the artist could possibly be the various personalities that she expresses throughout the video, which consists of a confident, dominant female that's a little more wild but also a calm, "girly" very feminine, passive individual. As shown above both of these personalities could potentially form the stars own persona, but i also think that she is the type of person who wouldn't be afraid to conform to the normal stereotype of a female within music videos but is also capable of expressing a side of her that subverts from the norm, and portrays her in a male's role, yet she still retains her sexual prowess that can be given to the audience.
This is an example of past students work who have done a cover to Beyonce's "Crazy in Love". Ths is an example of a performance based music video using illustation and amplfiy to convey the lyrics to the audience.
Conventions:
The conventions that are evident within the video are a combination of illustration and amplify as there are direct links between the actions within the video, whilst at certain points only ever making loose connections to the lyrics. An example of when illustation is used is denoted when they say "Crazy In Love" and during that scene there is a man thats been stabbed. In doing this you can connote that they've taken that lyrics literally and have demonstrated that by emphasising a the word "crazy" by displaying a graphic image to the audience. An example of where amplify is used is when they say "you got me sprung and i dont care who see's" you're able to denote one of the mian performers goign wild and begins dancing, whilst there is noone actually looking at her within the video; there is a loose connection between what she does in the video and the lyrics. This then allow both of them to anchor each other.
Another well displaced convnetion was music tempo, as the entire video was edited to the beat quite well but was also aided by the main stars performance at that moment in time. This is denoted when the tempo decreses and the speed at which the scenes cut to each other slow down to the point where it remain in one shot for about ten seconds, and as the tempo increses again then everything returns cutting quickly and their performance increses. We can connote that the video cwas clearly made to the beat of the music creating a rhythmic flow constantly found throughout the music video.
Furthermore they use conventions such as voyerism, empowerment throughout a larrge proportion of the video. An example of when they use empowerment is denoted when the three main stars are in jail cells after the scene has cut away from a dead male. You connote their sense of power and dominance within the video causing the males within the video to seem less powerful subverting from the usual depiction of women in music videos. An example of voyerism is actually placed within the music video, and this is denoted when a man is watching the female stars perform on the stage, allowing you to witness the "male gaze" first-hand. In doing this you can connote the usual depiction of female's sexuality as purely a sexual object or "eye candy".
Mise En Scene:
Location
The are very few locations within the video but all still help to convey the messgae in which the charatcers are dispalying to the audience. Their first location is on a performers stage which helps to connote their power within the entire music video but only through their sexual prowess. In addition they convey themselves in a way that conforms to a womans roll within a video, which is a sexual object as they're performing for a man's pleasure.
Costume
Within the entire video they have two particular outfits, one of which is a lot more sexual as more of their body is shown whilst the other outfits are a lot more convered. The main singer out of the singer tends to wear more revealing clothes, helping to connote that she is the main star within the video but also draws the audiences attention to her in comparison to every one else.
Lighting
When it comes to the lighting it is mostly focused on the main singer within the video once again connoting her importance within the video, in comparison to the other singers who are positioned to the side of the stage where there is less light. Furthermore by having the light focus on the main singer helps to excentuate her features further to the audience relating back to the idea of sexual empoerment.
There are a variety of different locations found within Ed Sheeran's narrative video, all of which anchor the lyrics through its mise en scene helping to personify the message he is trying to convey to the audience. The locations vary between a park, a main road, outside a store and inside a hotel room giving a sense of variety within each of the different scenes. The more open sequences such as the park and the main road allowed the audience to fully soak in the changing environment that the character has been placed in creating a sense of loneliness is also portayed to the audience becuase since she's placed within the centre of these locations creating a clear social divide between her and the rest of society but also connoting a lack in positive progress throughout the entire video. When it came to much smaller locations such as the bedroom, it created a sense of intimacy between her and the audience. In addition it allows the audeince to empathize with her on an emotional level, allowing the lyrics to have as greater impact. However i fell as if the variation in locations helps to project her feeling at that moment within that moment, for example the park connotes a sense of freedom, the main road connotes loneliness and the hotel room connotes a sense of lust, liking back to the lyrics.
Lighting
When it comes to the video it solely relied on natural lighting that is evident within that immediate area. Lighting is not a key element within this video as its not a conceptual or performance video, which tend to be more glamourous and possess a lot more artificial lighting.
Costume
As the main focus of this video is the female character, she has two predominant costumes within the entire music video, both of which help show her progression throughout the entire narrative. You denote her costume as being a baggy tracksuit and a coat, all of which connote her being homeless; this is then proven further through the location she wakes up in. By having her wear those cloths causes the audience to begin asking questions about how she ended up in that position but also allow Sheeran's message be put across, by conveying her as being vulnerable, lonley and innocense. Furthermore the image remains in the audeinces minds if her costume is drastic from the norm. When it comes to her second costume, which connotes her as being a prostitue shows a development within the video from being this innocent, vulnerable person to someone who's doing anything in order to get by. By having such a drastic change helps not only convey the severity of her situtation but also once again causes the audience to connect with her on an emotional level.
Props
Various props were used within the video but the key ones were drugs, "Big Issue" magazine, flowers and a blanket due to the fact that they all have a significant link to either the lyrics or the narrative development. The flowers convey the characters sense of innocense within the video, and that despite her current situation as well as decision that she makes she's still able to see the beauty within everything. This in a way makes her character more relatable to the audeince as it shows that she's not any better or worse than we all are. The blanket denoted within the video connotes a sense of vulnerablity to the audience as she doesn't have a stable environment but also helps to leave a more dramatic visual image in the audiences minds. The use of drugs within the video shows the negatives of her lifestyle but also helps explains the video as a whole as it isn't a chronologically ordered video, and also becuase its such a graphic image its causes you to only be capable of imaging her situtation giving the story even greater depth. The uses of the magazine "Big Issue" is an intertexual reference to that magazine but also represents the people that tend to sell them, as she dreses and acts in a similar way.
Editing:
Editing proved to play a key role within this video as some of the editing techniques help make the narrative more dramatic and emotional. One of the inital effects that are used throughout the entire narrative is the black and white effect, which connotes a how simple her situation is to understand put creates a shock and awe effect during grahic parts of the video exentuating focal parts of the video. One of which include her laying dead right in the beginning of the video, and the black and white effect cause the audience to focus on her piercing lifeless eyes. Another editing technique used was non- continuity editing as the beginning of the video started off with future events, which raised questions as to what has happened. Another editing effect used was time increase and this is denoted when the entire area around her is speed up and she remians atationary. Connoting the passing of time but also suggest that whilst everyone else's lives are moving on she remians in the same depressing situation she's been in from the beginnig of the video.
Cinematograhpy
Shot types
One of the shots used within the video a lot were close ups and they were preodominanatly close ups of the main characters face. This can be denoted in the initial sequence when it starts up with a close up of her face and slowly begins to zoom away. This connotes a sense of horror in an instant as its the first image the audience see, and becuase its a strong image its doesn't fade away over the course of the video, giving it a sense of repeatabilty. Furthermore i believe that in makng this one of the first things seen within the video it causes the audeicne to want to know whats happened and why allowing them to take any morals they get from the narrative but also creates an emotional connection between us and the charatcer.
Another shot used are long shots, which not only establishies location but also helps to see the changing environment shes been placed in moving the narrative along. This is denoted when she standing outside angel station, near the flowers with a large group of people behind her. This helps to connotes that she is deviated from the rest of society and has no place in the world but as aformentioned in "location" it represents her character as being innocent, vulnerable and not in charge of her future.
Types of video
Ed Sheeran's music video is an example of a narrative that use method of illustaration and amplify when it comes to linking the videos to the video. This is denoted through the build up of events that occur throughout the entire video and eventually reach an outcome. Furthermore there is clear character progression that moves in a negative direction as the events that occur gradually get worse.
This is a parody video of the pop genre as a whole and was created by Lonely Island records, which are known for creating videos that highlight the negative points of a genre.
Intertexuality:
The intertexual references in which this video is referring to is the Pop and RnB genre and their heavy emphasis on sexual experiences but also a man's need to gain sexual pleasure from a woman. They expose the ways in which both these genres exaggerate these sexual encounters to the optimum point. Furthermore in order for them exaggerate the situation the even further they placed them in the most absurd of locations such as a supermarket, nighclub, parking lot etc. In order to create a humoursly absurd effect that remains constant throughout the entire video. An example of when they make reference to the pop genre is denoted when the stars are placed in the most unrealistic of locations such as the parking lot, where the background isnt a controlled environment. From this when can connte how ridiculous those types of videos are and begin to pick up on them.
Target Audience
The target audience would consist of a variation in ethnicities and this is due to the fact that pop is part of the mainstream indutry meaninig that they're mainstream would have such a variartion between them, making it hard to pick a particularly audience for the entire genre. However for this particular song these stars would appeal to white teenage girls aged 15-20, and this is due to that fact that the charatcers themselves were white and could possibly be within that age range.
Mise en scene: Location
When it comes to the mise en scene within Beyonces' video it had quite a basic background. It consists purely of a white and is slightly elevated at each end. The effect that this background has is that it allows the audience to focus predominantly on the main stars performance, which is the main selling point of the entire video. The elevation at the end of each side of the room is taken advantage of during her performance, and helps to create a unique visual style, connoting her sense of dominance within the video as the main attraction.
Costume
In addition when it comes to their leotards they're very revealing which connotes the stars very sexual nature but also helps to anchor the "single ladies" lyrics and also helps to accentuate some of her physical attributes to the audience. Furthermore the fact that their outfits are almost exact helps create a sense of uniformity throughout the entire performance, yet still allowing her to be the main focus, due to her outfit being more revealing in comparison to other dancers.
Lighting
When it comes to the lighting within the video it is quite dark around the edges of the room but there's a single light that focuses purely on the star and her dancers. This once again signifies her dominance and importance within the video but i think it helps to project the message she is sending to the audience. This message being a sense of singularity and i think helps to reinforce her star persona to her audience, as she is more noticeable that her dancers despite their uniformity. However despite the room being quite dim at points the intensity of the light varies significantly from being luminescent to pitch black, which all happened to the rhythm of the music In having a variation in lighting allows her outfit to become more definable when there was more light but when it was a lot darker it focused on her as the indivual star.
Props
The only prop used within the entire video is her metallic ring, which is extend over her entire index finger. This is purely used in order to reinforce the message of the title "Single Ladies: Put a ring on it", and helps to further promote the song to her audience.
Editing:
Effects
When it comes to the effects used within there was only one used, which was black and white. This allowed their outfits and the back ground to be accentuated even further, which allowed the audiences attention to once again be focued on Beyonce but also her dancers
Cinematography:
Shots:
Due to the fact that it was a performance video contained both the star and the dancers, during a proportion of the performance the camera did reamin at a long shot, along with some mid shots. This allowed the charatcers performance to be the mian highlight of the entire sequence but also allows it to be the main selling point to the audience, as well as potentially being that videos USP. However at certain points during the video the camera would zoom in on Beyonce, emphasisng the positions she would be in at those moments. This connotes her sense of dominance within the video but also uses her sexuality to draw in the audience further, which is induced by the zooming. Another shot type they use is panning, denoted when the camera circles around Beyonce and the dancers, during their performance; this allows the performance to be seen from a different perspective, but also helps retain the interest of the audeince and keeps a variation in shots allowing it to have a sense if repeatability. Furthermore there are also a few close ups of Beyonce's face and her mechanical ring/glove, and this then makes reference to the title of the song once again, and draws the audeince to the main star.
This video is an example of amplify as neither a narrative nor a conceptual video was created in order to put the lyrics of her song across to her audience. However in combinding a performance video with the use of amplify allowed the video and the lyrics to have a loose connection between the both of them. This allows the message she is sending to her audience to be a lot more visual and entertaining as she is expressing it through dance rather than there being a story, which then helps retain the audiences intrests continuosly.
An example of her conforming to the stereotype is denoted when she sitting on the speaker and is singing whilst the guy is standing next to her, whilst she is wearing an pink dress and he's wearing a black costume. From this we can connote that within this shot she is represented as being inferior, and this is further emphasised by her wearing a pink dress. However in comparison to the man who is wearing all black connoting both his masculinity but also his dominance over her. In addition the way in which she is positioned in a coy manner towards the male once again make it is seem as if she is giving herself away to the male further conforming to the woman's role within a video. In addition to her costume since its quite short we can in a way connote that she is objectifying her body exposing her legs and her chest making her at that point within the video a sexual object.
