5 Music Video Analysis'

The narrative structure to Beyonce’s music video “Irreplaceable” is a story of her ordering her boyfriend to leave after she found out he was cheating on her. The main theme of the narrative is female dominance as the character of Beyonce is kicking out her cheating boyfriend and showing no emotion except anger. This narrative truly portrays a sense of female dominance and strength, which would appeal to her female fans etc. The video does not really follow Propp’s theory, however, the make may be associated with a villain and Beyonce could perhaps be connected as the hero. Again, the video slightly follows the theory of Todrov, as perhaps only the attempt to restore equilibrium and the restoration of equilibrium is only shown.
Beyonce, the main character is wearing a series of outfits- such as jeans and a corset and t-shirts etc. This portrays realism, which would connect to the audience. Yet Beyonce also wears a pencil skirt and a bra with her hair in rollers, which again portrays realism and her character reinventing herself perhaps.
There is a big use of medium shots and long shots. These are used, again to create realism because of the situation and it also allows the audience to see key aspects of the narrative. There are also a lot of close ups of Beyonce’s face, which were perhaps used to show her emotion- which is essential for the character to connect with the audience and portray the right feelings. Not much camera movement is used, perhaps this is again because the director wanted to anchor a feel of realism.
The colour of the video is quite pastal and subtle. A lot of natural light is used to again portray realism, yet also to portray Beyonce as real, glowing and not artificial.
The editing of the video is quite fast paced, allowing the audience to view many scenes and connect them. The only editing used are straight cuts, which are generally used to create realism… to portray a real story.
The element of dominant female is quite common to the R&B genre. It also connects to the genre as R&B songs are dominantly about love/heartbreak and relationships, so the narrative connects to the soulful genre. The video also connotes emotion, like the genre usually does.
The target audience for this video would perhaps be the female gender as it connotes realism, the narrative would appeal to the gender efficiently. The music would also appeal more to the female gender as it is a female communicating it, as it is easier for female to connect with their own gender. I believe it would be also targeted at the ages of 15-40, as it is not only connects with older ages, but it is also an interesting narrative for younger ages, who wouldn’t have perhaps gone through the experience.
The mood of the video is quite serious because of the narrative and the camera shots/movement used. The video also expresses a lot about the artist, as although It is simply a narrative, it portrays her as being dominant and strong, which is key to a successful artist.





The narrative structure of Mariah Carey’s video “We Belong Together” is a story of Mariah singing and remising upon a previous lover and she is about to marry another man until he turns up at the wedding and they run away together. The narrative does not really follow Todrov’s theory or Propp’s theory as a hero/villain is not readily established. Yet the narrative does have a happy ending, which perhaps could be seen as the restoration of equilibrium as the two characters end up happy together.
Throughout the video Mariah is wearing quite flimsy clothes, big shirts and uses lots of sheets etc. This portrays femininity and also portrays Mariah as being attractive and pretty. Nearly all of Mariah’s clothes are silk which portrays expense and tenderness and it also strongly portrays femininity. Mariah’s hair is long and wavy and her make-up is subtle and natural looking, which adds to her portrayal of expense, beauty and femininity.
This also links up with the setting, which is a massive grande mansion, which is shown in a pan at the very beginning of the video (extreme long shot). This grand expensive setting links up to Mariah’s outfits as rhey both look expensive and gives the audience an idea of her class and wealth etc.
There are many medium shots of Mariah on furniture or lying on furniture, which portrays her as being quite sexual, as she is singing to the camera. This personalises the video and creates interest for the audience.
There are a series of medium and long shots, mainly used to create realism and showing the viewer the actions. The scenes are shown in a slightly slower motion than usual. This makes the video sexier and feel more emotional. It links to the R&B genre as R&B is commonly portrayed as being these elements.
Flashbacks are shown in the video of events happening previously. The flashbacks are shown in black and white. This helps define the flashbacks, so the audience doesn’t get confused.
The colour of the whole video is quite pastel colours, as the colours are quite subtle. Natural light is mainly used, perhaps to create a sense of realism and also to make the video more attractive to the viewer. A slower, subtle coloured video also matched with the narrative of the video effectively.
A fade is used at the beginning of the video. This was perhaps used to set the mood of the video and slow pace. Generally straight cuts are used, again to portray realism, as the video is very busy and a lot is going on.
Such camera movements as pan etc. are used perhaps to add detail and interest to the video, to show the action and to also add a “movie” professional element that would appeal to the audience also.
Mariah appears to be quite a weak and lovesick female in the video, which is another dominant element of female R&B artists.
The target audience for this video would perhaps be people of 15-40. I believe this as it is an interesting narrative for a younger audience and it is also a detailed love story for older audiences. I believe that the targeted genre would be mainly females, as they could relate to realism of the story and also males as Mariah is attractive in the video which would also perhaps draw them also to the music.





This is the video to Beyonce’s song “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on it). It is quite an unusual video and perhaps slightly challenges the normal stereotypical video for an R&B single. The video consists of Beyonce dancing for the whole video, with two dancers one on either side of her.
Beyonce is dressed in a black one shoulders black body and the two dancer are dressed in similar costumes. Beyonce’s costume is slightly different, to distinguish her as the leader. Her hair and makeup are quite flamboyant and harsh, using dark colours around her eyes to create a fierce energetic, yet perhaps dark persona. Beyonce is also wearing a metal arm bracelet which goes all up her forearm and on her hand, which links to the lyrics and also portrays dominance.The costume extremely accentuates her figure and reveals a lot of bare skin. This portrays femininity and gives her character a sexy side. The dancing is quite sexy and alternative, which makes the video different and interesting for the audience. It is also unusual to see Beyonce dance like this. It also engages the audience as all three females dance exactly the same, in time with each other, which perhaps makes it enchanting and enticing for the audience. The dancing and costume perhaps reveals a
fun, more sexual and more aggressive side of her. This would also draw the audience in as it appears to be a different side to Beyonce’s persona.
The camera shots and movement are extremely complex in the video. The camera is constantly zooming in and out and cutting to different angles of the dancers. This constant movement makes the video unique and perhaps individual. It is almost as though the girls are robots, as the camera movement portrays them as being energetic and enticing. Long shots move into close ups, which adds interest to the video and also allows the audience to see Beyonce’s facial expressions whilst she is dancing which is always fierce, which portrays a sense of energy on her behalf.
The editing is extremely fast paced, which matched with the pace of the song and dancing. The quick straight cuts add enigma and excitement to the video and set the mood and tone.
The lighting also contributes in helping the editing and the movement and shots of the camera. The video is in black and white, but the background flashes from black to bright white, which creates a hypnotic feeling for the audience as it is unpredictable and fast paced. The whole studio is one colour, therefore it is like the girls are dancing on nothing, as though there is no floor, which adds to the fantasy element further.
The dancing in the video really relates to the faster R&B, as R&B is usually associated with such dancing as this, in moderation. The dominance of the female is also linked with the genre.
The target audience would perhaps be all ages and both genres as the video caters to everyones interest, as it is hard not to be drawn in by the video. People of all ages would probably want to watch it as it is so unique and one of a kind. Both male and female would be also drawn to it as it caters to both gender wants and needs.


Alicia Keys- Fallin'...



This is the video to the hugely popular song by Alicia Keys, “Fallin’”. The video starts off with a fade in of a retro type stereo, zooming in and the music playing is another one of Alicia’s songs and then a hand reaches in a turn it off. It then switches to a zoom of Alicia In a grand room playing the piano… and then the song starts. This creates a powerful beginning to the video and establishes her talents.
The narrative of the video is quite straight forward as it is of Alicia singing about a past lover who she doesn’t know is right for her or not, yet she is still falling for him even though he keeps on hurting her. The narrative doesn’t really follow either Propp or Todrov’s theory as there are not enough characters to establish in the video to apply a theory. The idea that Alicia is a black soul singer living in New York, really expresses the R&B elements.
Alicia is wearing quite casual clothes and makeup although the style is quite dated now; it was popular when the video came out. This would portray her as an attractive and average woman, who is singing about love (which is another common genre within a genre in R&B). The setting around her is well off and urban, which would also portray her as a average woman, which portrays realism which would inevitably allow her to connect to the audience but mainly females.
The colour of the video generally is quite bright, which would attract the audiences attention and make it look high quality. The editing of the video is quite slow paced as the clips are generally slowed down, and fade ins and straight cuts are used. This is perhaps done to match to the beat of the music and the genre, yet it also gives it a R&B element as it makes the video smooth and soulful.
Many extreme close ups and close ups are used of Alicia’s face whilst she is singing the hard notes-this was perhaps used to stress the emotion to the audience. Various tracking shots and medium shots are used showing her walking down the street. This is used to establish the setting and perhaps connect to the R&B genre.
The mood of the video is quite slow and sad, because it is portraying heartbreak and the beat of the music mirrors this.
At the end of the video, Alicia appears to be visiting her boyfriend in a prison, which would connect with the music and lyrics.
I believe that the target audience for this video would be from teenagers to around 50. This is because the music video portrays quite an adult love story, which perhaps would be only understood by adults or teenagers. The music is quite catchy, which would attract a demographic of a variety of ages, yet I still think because of the adult story line, the song was targeted at teenagers and above. I also believe that the video would be targeted and enjoyed by all genders, however, because of the content and the narrative, I strongly believe it would connect preferably with the female gender.

Justin Timberlake- "Like I Love You"...



The narrative to Justin Timberlake’s “Like I Love You” is quite straight forward. It consists of crowd of young people gathering at a car park and at a party venue. There is no apparent narrative other than Justin is trying to get a females attention. The video also consists of a lot of dancing… which is a common trait to the R&B genre and videos. There is no apparent application of Todrov’s theory, as there is not a set story, it is just simply a party and dancing. Neither is their apparent application of Propp’s theory as the video mainly focuses on Justin, partially the girl he wants and dancing.
The video is set in a parking lot and at a party venue at night time, which would portray wild, adventurous young people, which would attract young viewers and would enhance the common stereotypical ideology of young people. Justin is wearing casual yet “cool” clothes, which fit into his R&B, street image. This portrays him as being quite attractive and trendy to the audience. Justin is usually positioned central in the frame and also central in the dance routines. This allows him to stand out from the crowd and really portrays him as being the leader of the group, which suggests his popularity. Lots of medium shots, close-ups and long shots are used in the video, which enables the director to show the viewer; Justin’s facial expression, which allows the audience to become engaged with the video and be drawn in and the whole dance routines, the situation and establishment of the setting. The editing is faced paced and the transitions are simply straight cut, which mirrors the tempo and the structure of the music, as the quick beats connect to the quick straight cuts. This also portrays realism to the audience, so it could be portrayed as a real life situation, not just made up. Justin is portrayed as a good dancer, which is perhaps a good element to have as an R&B artist as dancing is closely related to the genre, for example, Beyonce and Usher etc are big R&B artists who dance in their videos. By enabling Justin to show off his dancing, it portrays him as being confident, sexy and determined which would perhaps relate and attract the audience.
The mood and tone of the video is quite direct and upbeat, created by all the micro element, such as the camera movement, editing etc. All these elements allow the video to be catchy, attractive and fast paced, which creates excitement and enigma for the audience, which is a good trait.
The love story portrayed would attract women mainly as they can relate to the situation and imagine them in that position. Perhaps the narrative and music would mainly attract the male audiences. I also believe that this video would appeal to 10-30 years as it the content is perhaps specific to a certain generation, as this type of dancing, music and storyline would perhaps only appeal to a certain generation.

5 CD/DVD Analysis'

As a group we have decided to do Soul/RnB as a genre for our coursework. We decided this as we are familiar with the genre, which means we can conduct a piece to the best of our ability. To ensure we researched all the aspects of creating a Soul/RnB product i have analysed and researched into CD covers of particular artists of the genre...

Beyonce- I Am Sasha Fierce...

This album cover is for Beyoncé Knowles’s third studio album which was released on November 18, 2008 by Columbia Records. “I Am… Sasha Fierce”. As Beyoncé is a highly popular worldwide R&B artist, the cover for her CD had to draw in the target demographic and appeal to audiences by promoting the artist…

As Beyoncé is an established R&B artist, this front cover promotes her presence rather than promoting her as an artist. She appears not to be wearing any clothes, which connotes a sense of vulnerability yet also an element of natural beauty. As It is well known that Beyoncé is a beautiful woman, this idea of being stripped and vunerable portrays a sense of soul and intensity, which could link up to her style of music, Rhythmn and Blues.
Her hair appears to be either wet (as the background is a beach and sea) and scrapped back off her face down her back. This connotes fresh and clean- which reinforces the common conception of her being soulful and clean because of the neatness of the image. Also by having the hair out of the way of her body, allows it to not invade or get in the way of her body.
Beyoncé’s arms are wrapped around her, portraying the idea of security and also a sense of sexuality as bare arms and shoulders are commonly percieved as a sexy, feminine trait, which therefore appeals to a wider audience. The only thing she has on her is a braclet, which clearly shows a cross hanging from her wrist, which reinforces the idea of her spirituality, which links with the rest of the image. It also portrays femininty, which is essential to establish a female artist.
Beyoncé’s facial expression is quite natural and blank, as she is looking straight towards the camera, onto the audience, directly. Again, this reinforces the idea of simplicity and freshness. It allows the audience to engage directly with Beyoncé perhaps and it also portays her to be quite serious, which then reflects onto her music- it shows her passion and determination with her music.
Beyoncé is placed right in the middle of the image and it is a medium/close up shot, which shows the top half of Beyoncé, so she dominates the cover, making her the main attraction, which would appeal to her fans and other audiences because she is instantly recognisable. The image is black and white, which perhaps reinforces Beyoncé’s maturity, as it is her third album yet it would also portray, again, her soulful presence.
The title of the album and the name of the artist are along the bottom of the album. The word “Beyoncé” is quite large, making it noticable on the left bottom corner of the album and also the “I am…” is on the right bottom corner of the album, but is smaller than the name of the artist. The font is bold and quite striking. It is siver, which perhaps allows it to merge slightly with the background, but it also shows a sense of maturity and elegance, as it doesn’t over power the cover.
The target audience is clear for this artist. Because the cover is quite mature and monotone, rather than sticking out and overpowering, It portrays a sense of development with the target demographic from 8-50 years of age of both gendres. I believe this because the image is very pure and dignified, attracting an older demographic, but also innocent and beautiful, which attracts a younger demographic. The pure beauty of Beyoncé would immediately attract both male and females.

The purity and the monotone appeals to the Rhythmn and Blues genre of the artist. The simplicity really portrays a sense of soul as it is asthough she looks like she is determined to concentrate on her music.


Rihanna- Rated R...

This is the album cover for Rihanna’s debut album “Rated R”. Rated R is the fourth studio album by the Barbadian R&B singer, released November 20, 2009, on Def Jam Recordings.

This album cover is particularly striking as it seems to promote a raunchy side of Rihanna. Rihanna is a widely popular artist. She appears to be wearing a black leather top (which is not revealing) and leather bands around her wrists and wrapped around her fingers. This perhaps connotes the idea of Rihanna maturing and breaking away from her once “young girl” persona. This also adds to the raunchiness of the album, catching the audiences eyes and attention, as it is quite a dominant image and clothes she is portraying. I think that the black colours of her clothes portray dominance and also seriousness.
Her hair is short and spiking off her face. This perhaps connotes dominance, a new image and also a feminine yet masculine look, which might catch the audience’s eye. Yet the slight piece of hair falling over her hand also reinforces her femininity- allowing her not to be portrayed to be too masculine.
Rihanna’s hand is placed over one eye and one side of her face, which connotes a sense of expression and again dominance. The hand on her face allows the audience to view the rest of the costume, which is essential to the perception of the image.
The image is a close up and she is placed slightly slanted on the image. This differentiates the image and makes it eye-catchy. As the image is a close-up, this allows Rihanna to dominate the space and really be the main focus of the album, attracting audiences.
Rihanna has been styled as having lots of dark make-up on, around her eyes and her mouth. This perhaps excentuates her femininity yet also allows the image to be harsh and makes her stand out and look different. It makes the image quite shocking and startling. This also connects to the black and white colour of the image (as it is in black and white and very shadowy) It also perhaps tells the audience the type of music available on the album. The style of her current music.
The font is quite small on the bottom right of the image. It is bold and the letters are spaced quite widely apart… This makes the image look sheek and also portrays dominance to the audience. The font is white to stand out against the black background. This allows the audience to read it. Rihanna’s name is not on the album cover, however the letter “R” is displayed in the top right corner in the only space not dominated by Rihanna herself. This adds to the dark image of the album and also portrays the idea that she is so well known, Rihanna doesn’t even have to put her name on her album.
I believe the target audience of this artist is 15-30. I believe this album would also be more targeted at girls, although, it Is somewhat sexualised to attract male attention also. The dark, dominant female image is bound to attract female attention also. And it would appeal to the ages of 15-30 more because Rihanna is an established artist and also it is quite a strong cover, portraying perhaps a change in the genre within R&B instead of being soulful, her music is harsh and dominant. This would appeal to 15-30 year olds more, as it would be efficiently understood by this age group and attract them more.

Justin Timberlake-FutureSex/LoveSounds...

This is the album cover for the hugely popular male R&B artist Justin Timberlake. “FutureSex/LoveSounds” is the second studio album by the American pop and R&B singer, released September 12, 2006 on Jive Records.

The style of clothes that Justin is wearing is quite formal yet stylish- with a black/silver suite and tie etc. This portrays a sense of elegance yet style to the artist, which perhaps gives him a good reputation and portrays him as being smart, sheek and attractive, which would draw in audiences. It could also appeal to a wider demographic as he appears as an adult and high class.
He is smashing a disco ball with his foot. He has quite an angry expression on his face and he is using his whole body. This could perhaps indicate a sense of anger, yet it may also be an affective way of drawing in attention and drawing in the audiences. The disco ball may represent the type of music available on the CD, which would promote it.
There is shadowing behind Justin and he is in a white room, which again portrays a sense of style as white portrays fresh, new and innovative. This would be an essential trait to sell an album. Also, the white, allows the audience to concentrate on the more important things and also doesn’t make the image too busy.
Justin is positioned on the right of the image, which again, leaves enough empty space to display the name of the album etc. and makes the image less boring, rather than him being central in the image. The long shot allows the audience to see all of his body. His body language is quite aggressive, yet also quite dominant, which would perhaps appeal to the audience as it shows his strength in his music.
Justin’s costume and confidence could also be reflective on the R&B genre as it allows the audience to connect him with soulful, confident and strong, which would be commonly connected to the genre.
The colours of the image are generally silver/gray/black and a hint of red. These colours really tone down the colourfulness of the image, yet it also adds to the sheek/innovative/classy elements of the image, as it really appeals to an older audience or perhaps a wider demographic.
The font is bold and grey and red. The red really stands out in the image and catches the eye of the audience making the word “Timberlake” really stand out. Red also connotes, strength, sheek and sexy. The font is big and bold which makes a statement and also makes it stand out. The boldness adds to the dominance of the image.
The intense image created enigma to the audience, as the image is quite unusual, it connotes different types of messages, such as determination, anger and energy etc.
The audience can tell that Justin Timberlake is an R&B artist because of the clothes he is wearing and the way he presents himself as being cool, direct and soulful. The sheekness of the image also portrays a sense of the R&B genre because it is common for these types of artists to be fashionable and follow trends etc.
The target demographic of this artist would be 10-40, of all genders, as Justin Timberlake is known by most people and known to cater to all ages and genders because of his type of voice and type of music. This is also shown in his CD image. If you compare this image to his previous image on his previous album “Justified”, you would see a considerable difference in the way Justin composes himself in the image. He looks like an adult and a serious artist etc.

Amy Winehouse- Back to Black...

This is the album cover of the very popular and notorious R&B and soul singer Amy Winehouse. “Back to Black” was Amy’s second studio album released on the 4th of October 2006 on Island Records.

The image is of Amy sitting on a wooden stool central of the image infront of what appears to be a black background which fades from the left to the right into a blackboard. The idea of Amy sitting on a basic wooden school (like ones found in schools perhaps) in front of a chalk board portrays school and perhaps childhood.
Amy is sitting with her legs in front of her, with her hands clasped together, resting between her legs, with slightly shrugged shoulders. This gesture and pose portrays perhaps innocence yet also a sense of attitude, which would link to the idea of school, furthermore linking to the title of the album with the word “back” which perhaps means its past, and “black” which again would perhaps connote bad happenings, dark, distress and a bad place.
Amy is wearing quite quirky clothing, such as a pastel yellow mini dress with a red belt and large curly hair, which quite dominants her image. This portrays Amy as quite an individual character with her dress sense, yet as she shows bare skin, it also portrays her adult, feminine, sexy side, which would attract all genders and perhaps gives her a confident image.
The black background not only helps Amy to stand out but it also connects to the perhaps dark messages of the album cover. It also connects to the genre, as soul and R&B could be described as being moody and dark.
Amy’s facial features are quite blank and she has a sense of attitude in her stance. This portrays her to be perhaps quite mischievous- which would connect to the idea of the setting and feeling of school.
By Amy being centred in the image, allows her to dominate it and be the central focus of the album cover.
The font of on the album is bold and in a retro style and is also the colour white. Amy’s name is slanted slightly near the bottom of the image. The font is quite large and goes across Amy’s legs. The album name is of a smaller size, but the same font. This retro, large font portrays Amy’s individual style and genre of music. It also stands out and is eye catching, making the album noticeable to audiences and customers.
The target audience of this album would perhaps be people between the ages of 16-40 of both genres but mainly of the female as the style and attitude of Amy’s music and lyrics and also the messages portrayed on her album cover would attract the female gender more as she perhaps connotes realism and attracts women as they can connect with it more. Amy’s album would be attracted to more of the ages between 16-40 as it would be efficiently understood by this age group and attract them more.

Mariah Carey- The Emancipation of Mimi...

This is the album cover of the very popular and experianced R&B artist Mariah Carey's tenth studio album "The Emancipation of Mimi", It was released by Island Records on April 4, 2005.

Mariah is standing central of the image, standing with her legs apart, her head slightly tilted up and her right arm up over her shoulder/back. This stand is extremely appealing and attracts attention to the image. It also portrays confidence, femininity and sexiness- which portrays Mariah’s dominant female character. It also links with the genre as R&B is normally associated with smooth, soulful, sexy music- which is essentially what Mariah is portraying on her album cover.
Mariah is wearing a gold chiffon dress, which wraps around her body and exposes one of her legs, yet it wraps around the other. This portrays her as being sexy and feminine as it exposes her body. The colour gold is dominant in the image. The colour gold connotes being special, rare, exotic and beautiful. Mariah’s body also has a shimmer of gold portraying her as being classy, expensive and beautiful.
Mariah’s golden blonde hair appears to be blown by wind. This creates beauty and attractiveness to the image. Also, hair is a main element of portraying femininity.
Mariah’s facial expression is quite confident as her head is tilted up slightly, so it is as though she is looking down- it appears she is luring in the target demographic. Her confidence also perhaps mirrors her genre of music, as R&B reflects confidence etc.
The black background allows Mariah to stand out from the background- again, making her noticeable to customers. It also adds a sense of mystery as the colour black is ambiguous and is questionable to the viewer.
The font of the image mirrors the whole theme of the image. It is quite pretty and a bold font, also in a while/gold colour. The letters are quite spaced out and the words “Mariah” and “Carey” are on either side of Mariah’s body on the image. This font portrays a sense of elegance and dominance and perhaps it portrays a sense of importance. The title of the album is not on the cover of the album.
The target audience for such an album would be 15-35 years of age, and of both genders. This would be because the image is quite mature, therefore appealing to a matured audience, yet it is also pretty, which would perhaps appeal to a younger audience.