New Genre Of Music

Dream Pop

"Music of general appeal to teenagers; a bland watered-down version of rock'n'roll with more rhythm and harmony and an emphasis on romantic love"

Conventions of Dream Pop Music 

• Artists in Dream Pop music videos are normally dressed in fashionable, stylish and mainstream outfits. 

• Artist are portrayed as happy, enjoying and content with life. 

• The lyrics are usually based around freedom, choice and youth

• The Dream Pop music genre is normally conveyed through mis en scene, props and costume 

• Dream Pop music videos are often themed with bright and bold colors which are normally associated with positive vibe . 

• Dream Pop songs are usually between 3-5 minutes long with a set structure and a consistent beat.

• Another convention of Dream Pop music is that within the music industry it tends to follow current trends rather than being independent and making something new, unique and different to hear. 

• The form the song normally follows a verse-chorus-verse structure and uses hook lines which are catchy therefore stays in the audiences mind.

• Dream Pop music promotion is via radio stations and magazines. In the UK Dream Pop songs are guaranteed to be heard everyday on well known radio stations.

Permission to use Iiris- Tigerhead for Main Task

Before we actually finish editing and publish our music video on Youtube, we thought to email the people responsible for the song Tigerhead by Iiris. We started researching and found the website: www.iirismusic.com

Before we actually finish editing and publish our music video on Youtube, we thought to email the people responsible for the song Tigerhead by Iiris. We started researching and found the website: www.iirismusic.com

By contacting the general manager via email, we received a direct reply regarding the song.

This is the email we sent.

The general manager replied with questions about our project.

We then provided links to our blogs to provide a better understanding for the manager, Toomas on what we are hoping to do with the song.

This last email is of Toomas approving of our request and thus we gained his permission to use Tigerhead by Iiris.

New Group and Ideas

We now have two members in our group instead of four. Because of this we now have to choose a new  song to remake a video. Below I will be explaining our new idea of what we have planned to do.

New Music Video

This is the new song we have decided to remake. "Tigerhead, Iiris’s most recent release, is the kind of record that an artist can only make when she is given her own space, maybe after watching Japanese anime DVDs, or listening to vintage Britney Spears, the Cocteau Twins, and a little 'Hounds of Love'-era Kate Bush. It’s a primary-coloured, perkily-produced juggernaut of a pop tune, and unlike, for example, many of Cristina Aguilera’s recent tracks, it’s not ’too much’, but rather ’just enough’. The lyrics, sung breathily in English to begin with, but with increasing power, bring another dimension to a song that reveals something new on each repeat listen. Indeed, because it is not immediately obvious what the song refers to, it adds an air of mystique."

We researched into this song carefully and came up with a decent storyline that would match this song. After analyising the lyrics of this song, we chose a narrative of a young girl constantly searching for her true identity, to be herself and live the life she wants. One of the lines in the song inspired us for this, 'Keep real, You will not fade away'. And, as this lyric is in the chorus, we can say that it is repeated numerous times to remind our audience what our narrative is about.

New Idea and Changes

We now have two members in our group instead of four. Because of this we now have to choose a new  song to remake a video. Below I will be explaining our new idea of what we have planned to do.

New Music Video

This is the new song we have decided to remake. "Tigerhead, Iiris’s most recent release, is the kind of record that an artist can only make when she is given her own space, maybe after watching Japanese anime DVDs, or listening to vintage Britney Spears, the Cocteau Twins, and a little 'Hounds of Love'-era Kate Bush. It’s a primary-coloured, perkily-produced juggernaut of a pop tune, and unlike, for example, many of Cristina Aguilera’s recent tracks, it’s not ’too much’, but rather ’just enough’. The lyrics, sung breathily in English to begin with, but with increasing power, bring another dimension to a song that reveals something new on each repeat listen. Indeed, because it is not immediately obvious what the song refers to, it adds an air of mystique."

We researched into this song carefully and came up with a decent storyline that would match this song. After analyising the lyrics of this song, we chose a narrative of a young girl constantly searching for her true identity, to be herself and live the life she wants. One of the lines in the song inspired us for this, 'Keep real, You will not fade away'. And, as this lyric is in the chorus, we can say that it is repeated numerous times to remind our audience what our narrative is about.

Previous Project Heart Attack

Chosen Genre Of Music (R&B)

R 'n' B is sometimes known as urban R 'n' B. It is not to be confused with earlier R&B (rhythm and blues), a style of black American music combining jazz and blues which emerged in the 1940s.

A good example of a R&B arstist is Rihanna. Rihanna is an R 'n' B artist. Most of her songs have a Reggae influence, which could be understood because of her Caribbean origin.


Urban R 'n' B combines elements of soul and hip-hop. It often uses: 
tight drum programming
disco-influenced string sounds
good production techniques
vocal arrangements often with close harmonies
hip-hop influence

We have decided to base our music video on the R'n'B genre as it is inspiring and we thought it'd be interesting to use the conventions that make a music video R'n'B.

R'n'B originated in the U.S. where African Americans made their music with some pop influence after the disco era of the 80's. Notable artists include Mariah Carey, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, R. Kelly, Janet Jackson, Aaliyah and TLC all of whom brought the contemporary R'n'B mainstream.

Now in the 2000's, R'n'B has changed to accompany the start of a new millennium. Artists like Usher, Beyonce, Chris Brown, Rihanna and others have combined R'n'B with contemporary pop, dance pop and electro pop.

Album covers that are used to market R'n'B music mainly are associated with gold chains, diamonds, a defined style of text, graffiti, studio lights, jewels, silhouttes, dark and bold colours, microphones, stereos and headphones, crowns, hats, an image of the artist his/herself, etc.

Chosen Music Video to Remake

The music video we decided to base our narrative on is Heart Attack by Trey Songz.

This is the song we chose out of the R&B genre, the reason why we chose this particular song was because it was based around love and relationships and in today's society there are many young couples who have relationship problems and this video shows this. The lyrics that are used in this song are relevant to the narrative we will use, e.g. 'Cause I'm slowly breaking down/ Even when I hold you close/ And if I lose you/ I'm afraid I would lose who/ Who I gave my love to'. These lyrics correlate  to our stereotypical narrative as it is all based on love. For instance the word, 'gave' in the lyrics mentioned above, is in the past tense, indicating that he longs for the past and how their relationship was before.

Storyboard for our Main Task
Below is a story board we have created for our chosen song "Trey Songz- Heart Attack". 

We created this storyboard on iMovie by first drawing all of our shots and taking picture on photo-booth and then transferring all these files to an iMovie project. On iMovie we were able to put the song on top and also have short transitions which made the video more fun to watch. 

Shot List for Heart Attack

Here I have made a whole shot list for all the frames we will be doing for our music video. In this piece of planning I have also included camera composition as well as the locations.

Names of the characters- Trey and Kelly

1. First shot ( long shot)- on the bed and the man is ill and the woman is kneeling across the bed.
2. Second shot ( close up shot)- the woman is kissing his hand.
3. Third shot( long shot)- them staring at each other.
4. Fourth shot- (long shot)- the woman is about to show the pictures to the guy.
5. Fifth shot (close up)- playing the video/picture on the phone.
6. Sixth shot (long-shot)- of both the characters at the bus stop
7. Seventh shot(close-up)- of the bus timetable
8. Eighth shot(mid-shot) - of the guy looking at his wrist even though he has no watch.
9. Ninth shot( mid-long shot)- of the girl looking at her phone. 
10. Tenth shot(mid-long shot)- the guy staring at the girl
11. Eleventh shot(mid-long and shot reverse shot)- both of them talking and him asking the time.
12. Twelfth shot(close up)-him asking for the number- (close up of the phone)
13. Thirteenth shot( long shot and pan movement)- of the bus coming.
14. Fourteenth shot(long shot)- back to the bed
15. Fifteenth shot(mid shot)- of them smiling at each other
16. sixteenth shot(close up)- of the phone
17. seventeenth shot(long shot)- them walking in town
18. eighteenth shot(long shot)- them walking into the shop
19. nineteenth shot (close up)- them looking in each others eyes
20. twentieth shot(close up)- bed
21. twenty first shot ((close up)- them looking in each others eyes again
22. twenty second shot( long shot)- them walking into McDonald's
23. twenty third shot(mid shot )- them ordering
24. twenty fourth shot (shot reverse shot)- them eating and having a convo
25. twenty fifth shot(mid shot)- the boy singing
26. twenty sixth shot(close up)- of him looking for her(as in hide and seek)
27. twenty seventh shot(mid-close pan shot)-blurred shot of the girl's face and she is running backwards
28. twenty eighth shot(quick close up) - of the boy frowning
29. twenty ninth shot(mid-close up)-taking selfies
30. thirtieth shot(mid shot)- the boy picking the girl up or her standing on something

Possible Locations

The places we were thinking of shooting our music video was:

- at a bus stop (near school)
- a bedroom (at a hotel or at home)
- at a park (South Park)
- town center (City centre)

The reason we were thinking of filming in a bedroom is because of the physical intimacy that is associated with a bedroom when there is a couple present. This is the case in our music video, because of a narrative story that is based upon these two characters.

As the title of the song that will be playing against our video is called 'Heart Attack', we decided it'd be best to use a bedroom, with the male character in bed and the female character at his side. This would be sensible because typically, when a person is ill or physically unable to move, he or she would be lying down on a bed.

Location 1

The use of a park is handy in our narrative within the music video because we thought it was an ordinary environment in which two of our characters could interact. We also thought of having the male character singing, or rather, lip singing so that the audience could emphasise and know how passionate he is about his girlfriend.

Location 2

The bus stop would serve as a place where the two characters meet for the first time. We thought to keep this part of the music video simple, so that the viewer can thoroughly understand what is happening clearly.

As the video and song progress, we would come to a shopping center, where the couple just hang out and have some fun. Places within the city center that we would include are typical clothes shops and cafe's/ restaurants. This could be the part where we begin to see some tension between these characters, later leading up to a 'heart attack'.

Costumes

The sorts of costume we would need are casual ones. As we would be filming our video in the winter months, we would need clothes that matched the environment for each our characters, otherwise we would be stepping out of the reality that we plan to show in the music video.

The drawings below were done on Paint.

This drawing is of the boy's costume. A black coat or hoody will show that he is a teenager. This will be useful in our video, as we want to highlight this character as being young because of the main theme in our video being love. 

A hat may add to this, emphasising the point that this is a young man. A beanie or a snapback would be an example of the type of hat we may use. Blue baggy jeans and black or dark shoes like trainers would complete this look.

The girl's costume below shows her wearing casual clothes, consisting of a black leather jacket, a considerably bright long top/ t-shirt, grey or dark coloured skinny jeans, a pair of trainers and a side bag.

These costumes would be used in the shots we would film in and around town. This would convey a relaxed and laid back atmosphere due to the casual costumes we have chosen to be worn by the actor and actress.

Due to us having different locations, we understand that we have to use different costumes to match. Therefore, these kinds of costumes will be used when the couple are in the city center, doing some shopping.

Leather jackets also carry layers of symbolic meaning acquired through their various appearances in popular culture. Furthermore, their undeniable animalistic, tactile nature makes them very intimate and emotionally charged to wear. Leather are basically used in music videos to make the characters seem cool, stylish and fashionable. They also have connotations of rebellion. For example in the film Grease, a certain group called the T-birds in grease wear the leather jackets to show rebelliousness and a sense of power as if they rule the town.

The hat is also used to show style and fashion. Our characters in our music video are going to be wearing hats because it will be cold and also it shows style and we really want to show that in our music video.

The sorts of costume we would need are casual ones. As we would be filming our video in the winter months, we would need clothes that matched the environment for each our characters.

Filming Times

In order to film our music video, we have set out an itinerary of what shots we are going to film, where we are going to film them, what props and costumes and what equipment we will need.

The shot we will film first is the one of Trey and Kelly in the park. This will take place next week between 11.20 and 1.20.

We have chosen to do it first because it is a short distance from school and it is accessible to every member of our group.

The costumes we need for Kelly are a bodycon red dress. This will connotate that she is the main focus of attention in the shot, as this colour is bold and red is the colour of love. This costume will be used when we would film in the park. An alternative is another item of clothing having the colour red.

The costumes we need for Trey in this shot are black trousers and a typical white shirt. This will show that he is smart and cares about how he looks so that he can visually appeal to his girlfriend.

The equipment we would need are a video camera and a tripod. These are essential, as we want our video to look as much like a proper music video as we can.

Codes and Conventions of R&B Music Videos

25 Word Pitch for our Music Video

Our music video pitch will sketch a rough idea of what our music video will be about.

"A couple in modern day Britain reminisce on the past and how they met through looking at pictures that were taken on a phone."

We thought of this as our pitch, as it clearly illustrates our music video narrative. We thought of an ordinary storyline where a young couple remember the past through flashbacks. They meet at a bus stop and from then on start to date.

One problem with this pitch though, was that it doesn't have a conflict, and thus seemed dull.We thought to include a conflict where the girl breaks up with the boy. We thought of different conflicts, where the boy falls ill and so the girl takes care of him. Originally this was our first shot and then the flashbacks would come on.

Final pitch:

"Two ordinary teenagers meet. They start dating. Fall in love. But every love story has its own twist." 

This pitch provides an interesting and short synopsis of our narrative.

Changes to our narrative:

Re-thinking our narrative, we thought of the girl getting with another boy, giving the previous boy a 'heart attack'. This can be shown by the boy throwing a tantrum, or pushing a chair. Because of this, the start of the video would show the teenage boy on the bed by himself looking through images on his phone of him and his girlfriend.

We decided to include match on match action at the end of the music video. This would happen when the boy sees his girlfriend with another boy.

Lyric Analysis

Filming Diary

Tuesday 26th November 15:00-17:00 Male Protagonists House (Cowley)

Today we filmed our first part of our music video of our male protagonist. Our location we used was his house because this was where he was going to receive the bad news that his girlfriend was cheating on him. We had planned before hand to have the colour of the room red and white as these colours denote love and romance. Tuesday was the the right day for all of us as we did not have anything planned for after school and also our location was very near which was highly beneficial as we didn't have to waste a lot of our filming time. 

What we achieved in the shoot?
We had all of our props and costumes planned before hand, for e.g. the red bedsheets and the male protagonists costume so we were able to quickly head for the filming part. We had planned put every single shot we needed of the male protagonist as it would have been hard to get hold of him again. We also took a range of shots of the same just in case the camera position wasnt straight or camera work was shaky. We decided to use many mid shots as these shots show some part of the subject in more detail, whilst still showing enough for the audience to feel as if they were looking at the whole subject. These shots worked really well because as well as being a comfortable, emotionally neutral shot, the mid shot allows room for hand gestures and a bit of movement. And as our male protagonist was going to be using his phone as he receives the bad news it fitted in really well in showing the audience what is happening in the mis en scene.

Overall this shoot was really successful as we got a various amount of frames done within two hours. As we had a range of shots editing was fairly easy because we could adjust wrong camera movements. A difficulty during this shoot was that the lighting wasn't excellent due to the poor weather. For next time we have organised to bring an extra light so our frames wont look poor in lighting quality. However a strength of todays filming was the male protagonists acting and the various shots and angles we were able to film.

What we need to achieve next time?

• We need to film our female protagonists single shots like we did today
• We need to improve the lighting of the room by brining in a extra light
• We need to plan a time when both our female protagonist and male protagonist are able to film together 
• We need to have a more balanced low angle, possible balancing the camera on the floor instead of holding it in our hands.
• Re-film some shots

Here is a short film of all the filiming we managed to do on this day

Date: Friday 24th January 2014
Time: 3 to 4/5pm
Location: Gym in school

What do you intend to achieve by the end of the shoot?
We wanted to achieve a thorough dance routine for our music video, so we tried filming some dance moves that would go well with the speed of the song we're using for our music video.

We also wanted to show the rivalry between the two sisters we were filming by the means of dance. This is because the song is fast paced and would need something more than just a narrative.

What did you actually achieve by the end of the shoot?
We got some shots of the two girls dancing and also of them dancing separately in time with the music.
We chose to film them separately to experiment the effect of adding both clips into one frame using iMovie.

We also filmed some behind the scenes while the girls were practicing the dance moves.

What does this mean for your next shoot?
We were planning to add a narrative to match the song so that it could fill in some gaps in the video and also to make it less boring.
We would do this by using previous shots we had of the boy in our draft of 'Heart Attack'. To integrate this into our main task, we would use 3 or 4 seconds of some clips of the boy on the bed to show that the girl is thinking about him. We thought that this would be good as the lyrics reflect the narrative using themes of love and relationship.
As next week, Friday is inset day in our school we wouldn't be able to use the school's gym and so our next filming time is on Wednesday 5th February 2014, from 2 to 3pm.

Research Interviews R&B

This video is of an interview of a variety of people researching their interests, views and opinions on music videos. This was made to help us decide what to consider before filming our music video, like if we would include the artist in the video, or in this case a character, use a narrative or objectifying any women we would include in the music video.The questions we asked in these interviews helped us in choosing what kind of music genre we would use. We were thinking of our target audience being those who were into contemporary music--songs that had R'n'B, Hiphop, Pop, etc...This is because we wanted the music video to appeal to a large group of people from across the different genres and also because we were interested in these kinds of genres too.

Deconstructing music videos

In this blogpost I will be deconstructing 10 music videos and for each one I will take 5 shots and give a detailed explanation of why certain props, costumes and colours have been used. 

Artist: Drake
Song: Take Care
Album: Take Care
Genre: Hip Hop/ Rap
Director: N/A
Year: 2011
Audience: 18+
Country of Origin: Canada

Shot 1

This image is of a bull's horns. This portrays power and authority. The slight low angle shows more of the horns, as opposed to if it was a high angle camera shot. This shot comes across as a random object to viewers because we don't see the full image. The use of brown and black has connotations of loneliness, vulnerability, danger and also authority.

The use of a bull alone shows that this music video is about love and fighting as bulls have many connotations and symbols of being strong, confident, aggressive and determined.

The use of a close up shot is to convey to the viewers the shape, texture and detail of the bull's horn. This captures the audiences' eyes, as it takes up the whole frame.

Shot 2

This image of a mountain surrounded by clouds suggests dominance and again, power because of its size. This is supported by the long shot that is used, portraying a setting, a mise en scene for this music video.

Because mountains connotate religion, this implies a belief in hierarchy, in good and evil, higher and lower, superior and inferior, and it is an obvious step to represent such spiritual differences by differences in altitude. In this case, it can be a difference between man and woman, the protagonists Drake and Rihanna. 

Mountains also possess many routes, each starting from a different place and each having a different character and set of problems. The important thing is to reach the top, and choose a way.

White is associated with light, goodness, innocence, purity, and virginity. It is considered to be the colour of perfection.

Shot 3

This low angle shot of Rihanna connotates that she has some authority and power. This goes against the stereotypical view of women as they are normally shown in high angle shots. 

However, the audience is able to see that part of her is exposed. This conveys to the viewers that she is a sex object as she is looking at the camera in a sensual way. In this way,she is also interacting with the audience with her eyes. 

The plain background helps to focus our attention on her, as she is on one of the hotspots on the rule of three. 

Shot 4

This close up shot of a bird taking off is very abstract, as it doesn't relate to this particular music video. Birds denote personality characteristics, usually high characteristics of beauty, joy and love that transcendent quality that lifts man from his lower self to his higher self, from the material world to the spiritual world. To see a bird fly can symbolise the desire to fly free or to reach heaven.  

Shot 5

In this image, Drake is facing away from the camera. This could suggest that he doesn't care, full of himself, oblivious to what is happening. 

The spotlight above him illuminates his head, making him seem almost angelic, though this isn't a quality associated with men. His shirt is black, which can mean that he's dangerous and dominating. 

The camera shot is mid shot, which helps the audience to see part of his body and his body language, but the fact that he isn't facing the audience makes it seem he is not an open person. 

Artist: Neyo 
Song: One in a million
Album: Libra Scale
Genre:R&B
Director: N/A
Year: 2010
Audience: 18+
Country of Origin: UK

Shot 1

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.

Shot 2

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.

Shot 3

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.

Shot 4

The female protagonists in most music videos in this genre are usually overly glamorized 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...".

Shot 4

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.

Shot 4

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.

Shot 4

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.

Artist: Christina Aguilera and Lil'Kim
Song: Cant Hold us down
Album: Stripped
Genre: R&B and Hip Hop
Director: N/A
Year: 2002
Audience: 18+
Country of Origin: UK

This music video is 'Can't Hold Us Down' by Christina Aguilera ft. Lil Kim. Christina Aguilera is known for conveying a message through her songs and music videos to the viewers. An example is her song, 'Beautiful' which uses words like, 'You are beautiful no matter what they say' repetitively throughout the song.
This song is about women being seen as insignificant, while men are seen as controlling. Her lyrics emphasise this, 'The guy gets all the glory the more he can score/While the girl can do the same and yet you call her a whore'.

Shot 1

This shot is at eye level and shows a car driving past, with young African or Latin American children in the background. We can tell this is a part of a neighbourhood where living is tough or not as fulfilling because of the graffiti in the background. We can say that the car, a significant prop in this shot, doesn't look that expensive. The driver inside is also wearing a hat and a short sleeved top. This makes us as the viewer conclude that this place and the surrounding area are not very well off because of what we can see in this screenshot.

Shot 2

This second shot is a low angle shot of a mural, with the words, 'Crack is Wack'. From The Online Slang Dictionary, the term 'wack' as an adjective is defined as crazy, bad, bizarre and awesome. Here, in this shot, the word 'wack' is used to describe crack (which is a drug) because both these words rhyme and so they can easily stick in the characters' mind and in ours'. The use of this slang word supports our assumption that the area is ghetto or otherwise neglected and where there is constant trouble because drugs like crack are promoted by graffiti and murals such as this one.

Shot 3

This shot is a long shot at eye level showing two groups; the women against the men. This mise en scene is used to put the lyrics visually in a way people could simply understand. The men at the right while the women are at the left conveys a sense of opposition and conflict between these two sexes. 

We can see the women wearing clothes with tightly cling to their bodies, while the majority of the men are not showing flesh except for one we can clearly see wearing short shorts. The women outnumber the men, though, in exposing more flesh. We can also notice that the women are brightly clad in their clothes, while the men are wearing more neutral to dark toned colours, thus illustrating their differences.

Shot 4

Towards the end of the video there is an extreme long and high angle shot. It shows us the neighbourhood as a whole, with a yellow taxi visible in the center and the artist, Christina Aguilera walking towards the camera. The building at the back looks like the American equivalent of council housing, because of the flats clustered together in that building. There is small graffiti to the right of the lamp post. 

This shot may be unexpected to be seen at the end of the video, as we would anticipate it at the beginning, where the setting is introduced to us via this type of shot. However, we could consider this to be a significant point in the video, where the setting is finally revealed.

Artist: Mary J. Blige
Song:Be Without You
Album: Be Without You
Genre: Hip Hop/ R&B and Soul
Director: N/A
Year: 2005
Audience: 18+
Country of Origin: UK

This song is typically about a girl and boy falling out and then getting back together, as can be seen in the video.

In this video, Be Without You by Mary J. Blige, there is a typical scene of New York City at night, serving as the opening. It is a high angle, moving smoothly as a pan, from left to right. This sets the scene and helps to get the viewer into the video.

The video overall has parts where the colour is filtered to black and white and then to coloured. This can depict the past and the present. So, we can say that this is a music video narrating a story, guiding the viewer through a series of events taking place in the character's life, played by Mary J. Blige.

Shot 1

This close up of Mary J. Blige's face clearly shows how she feels. You can see, although this shot is in black and white, there is a solitary tear running down her left cheek. The use of a close up is helpful in portraying emotion. A camera angle isn't used, because there needs to be a clear image of her face in order for the audience to emphasise with her.

Because only Mary is in the shot, it makes the whole shot have an intense atmosphere and we are focused only on her.

Shot 2

This shot in the video lasts for 1 second. It is then followed by a black screen. This happens for several of times in this R'n'B video. This editing technique gives the impression of time passing quickly because of the frequency of cuts and the speed in which they are played at.

Colour is used, to make it look like this part of the video is animated and comic-like, so we understand that there is action and that it is lively.

The man is in the background and Mary is up in the foreground. This seems different and unusual, as the woman is blurred out so that our focus is on the main character's partner. His ringed finger on his left hand may suggest that he is married to the woman. We can assume that this is a typical argument that happens between a married couple.

Shot 3

This coloured shot of Mary J. Blige and her partner hosting a party is very interesting. We can see by the type of shot that is used that a lot is going on.

The use of someone's head in silhouette can restrict our view of what is happening. But it seems that it is used to somehow make us a part of the action. The way in which it does is by the mise en scene, the position of the people in this shot.

We can see the relationship between the two main characters are not strained, and instead from the eye contact between them, we assume they are happy, content, and once again, in love.

Shot 4

This third shot is still in black and white. The use of this as a filter, brings out the simplicity of the shot. This can be said of the shot described above.

This shot shows Mary J. Blige typing words into the laptop. We later understand that these words are the lyrics of the song. The fact that she is typing her own lyrics shows just how strongly she feels about her situation. The camera angle is slightly high. This could mean that the value of the words or the worth of them are pointless or that the artist is vulnerable as part of her hands are visible, because of what we associate with this angle, ie. the object/ person seeming weak or worthless.

Artist: Aleesha Dixon
Song: Breathe Slow
Album: Breathe Slow
Genre: R&B
Director: N/A
Year: 2009
Audience: 18+
Country of Origin: UK

Breathe Slow' by Alesha Dixon is a contemporary R'n'B song. Alongside this video, the song gives a message to the viewer of a woman breaking up with her partner, coping with her emotions and trying to 'compose' herself.

Shot 1

This establishing shot is a long shot at eye level. We can see that there is a black and white filter applied to the video, which could mean that this narrative is set in the past. From this point in the music video we understand that a story is being told because of the filter that is used.

At the centre of this image is a dumpster with the number 25 on it. The number 25 could relate to the age of Alesha and how 'rubbish' she feels about it.

At one of the hotspots of the rule of thirds, we can see Alesha coming out of a back door of some place. This makes us focus on her, as an audience, because she is the main character of this narrative.

Shot 2

This next shot is a close up of one of Alesha's hands gripping the dance bar. We can say that she may feel stressed and emotional as the bar could connotate life. Thus she could be struggling to hold onto her life because of how she's feeling.

The filter is still used here, so we are reassured that this is still in the past. The appearance of the bar as blurry could mean that her life is insignificant and it could be futile for her to hold on when it is disappearing.

Shot 3

This shot is a crucial one in the music video. Alesha is taking her wedding ring off her finger. This is emotional as it is a close up shot and also because the ring connotates love, relationship, attachment etc.

The high angle of the shot also signifies insignificance and futility, in relation to the ring because of the angle of the camera. This is later reaffirmed by the ring being placed on the bar counter and left when Alesha leaves.

Shot 4

This shot is of the bar where Alesha goes for a drink. She drinks from the white mug and then leaves the ring on the counter. Alesha then unbuttons her coat and reveals a show girl costume.

This shot is a slight high angle at a mid-long shot. Alesha is situated at one of the hotspots of the rule of thirds. This, alongside the sparkly costume fixes our attention on her.

Shot 5

This shot is one of the final shots in the music video. It is interesting because a lot of things are going on, compared to the previous shots.

We see to the left of the image two show girls with an Elvis Presley lookalike in between. The inclusion of this famous singer could signify how much of a Rock and Roll legend he was, how he was charming and 'to die for' in the mid 50-60s. He was a well known sex symbol, as can be seen here, where two girls are focusing their attention on him.

When Alesha walks passed the trio, they exchange glances and smile, so there is a sign of acknowledgement between them. We then see Alesha face the guard on the right. This could mean that she is an acquaintance of the two show girls, Elvis and the guard at the stool. This could convey to us that this is a familiar environment to the main character.