Genre research

Jordin Sparks- Battlefield

• This song visually differentiates between verse and chorus through the editing style. When the verse is sung it is more slow pace with Jordin acting out soft movements, contrasting with the chorus where it is fast and relates to the beat of the song.
• When there is a slow paced beat during the song the visual style of the editing is slow pace reflecting the rhythm this contrasts with the fast pace editing when there is a faster beat in the background. During the bridge the editing style slows down as it relates to the beat and rhythm, this allows the chorus to become the main part of the song as this is where it speeds up and has the most impact on the audience,
• In this song they showcase the artist as the main star as there is no other characters involved, they do this by using many close ups of Jordin. But these close ups are used in many different angles to portray her emotions while singing this song and reflect them. It also cuts between the artist in different scenes in a fast pace style to keep it visually effective especially as the focus is only on the artist, keeping it more exciting than if it was in one particular location.
• Throughout the video the lyrics do not relate to the visuals, this is because the focus is only on Jordin Sparks and no other person so it is not showing a narrative based video but more of a performance base,
• The overall concept of this video is the artist generally being emotional over the fact that her relationship is based on arguments, portraying this through different scenes to highlight the complications of her love, hence the lyrics "why does love always feel like a battlefield"

Rihanna- take a bow

• There is not much difference between the verse and chorus as it is pretty much the same throughout the song, however this allows the audience to become familiar with the scenes and it also makes it consistent as a music video.
• During this video the beat and rhythm is all slow pace, this is reflected through the editing style as there is no particular fast speed but all the same pace which is slow and calm movement.
• They showcase the star (Rihanna) by using many close ups so that the audience become familiar with her, also they have the use of dark backgrounds when she is singing to draw attention to just the artist and nothing else. There is another male character involved but there is not many close ups or generally much camera work on him so the focus does not move away from the main star.
• The visuals relate to the lyrics during some scenes of the music video. She is singing about her now ex who cheated on her and had got caught but is trying to win her back, this is shown through the visuals by cutting to the male character while Rihanna is singing about him. An example of how the visuals relate to the lyrics is when she sings "you look so dumb right now, standing outside my house", right after this it cuts to the male actually standing outside her house trying to reach her, this is done quite a few times throughout the video to allow the audience to see a visual of the narrative involved.
• The overall concept of this video is showing how in a relationship if one cheats then the best thing to do is stand back and laugh as they are the one's who are experiencing the loss

JoJo- too little too late

• When the verse is sung it is more slow pace contrasting with the chorus which speeds up faster. Also during the chorus the focus is more on them as a couple and during the verse the attention is more on JoJo.
• They use the beat and rhythm in the visual style by having a fast pace editing style when the beat is faster with a lot of cuts to different scenes and then slow pace when the verse is playing. When the fast pace editing is portrayed the volume also increases to make the audience aware that it is the chorus (the main part) and become more focused on this.
• They showcase the star by using close ups of her in different scenes which is typical in a r n b music video. There is also a lot of focus on the artist in her bedroom as the target audience (teenage girls) can relate to this and so become familiar with the idea of the video. She is also shown dressed casual to portray that she is young. She is also showcased with the male character as that is who she is singing about and so the audience can see this portrayal and become familiar with the other person.
• The lyrics relate to the visuals quite a lot in this video, as she is singing about a boy that she used to be in love with and so the visuals relate to this by portraying them when they were a couple. An example of this relation is when she sings "I'm trying to move on" and after it shows her throwing out a teddy bear that he had given to her,
• The overall concept is clearly about a relationship that has gone wrong but she is trying to move on and see the negative sides to her ex boyfriend

Lyric mood board

Goodwin's theory and evidence

initial research on Lana Del Rey music video

Lana del rey music vid from dornashirazi

Research on music videos

In class we had learnt about the three main types of music videos, which are performance, narrative and conceptual.

 Perfomance based: this shows only the band/artist performing the song. It is the cheapest and easiest type of video to make, providing you can find a suitable location. A large variety of shots is needed in order for the video to look more visually effective and interesting as it may look boring with only performance. An example of this is 'best of you' by the Foo Fighters. This video has many different varieties of camera angles and movements, and it is also intertwined with random video footage in order to maintain the audience’s attention.



Narrative based: this type of music video focuses on a story throughout which matches the lyrics. It usually uses actors to portray the story rather than having the artist/band themselves, however sometimes the artist/band is shown between the story that is told. Narrative based music videos can be used if the song is used in a film and therefore there is a sense of the movie cut into the video. An example of this is Bon Jovi 'always'


Concept based: this type involves the audience focusing on the artist/band themselves rather than following a story throughout the video. There is a variety of shots of the  band/artist playing along with different shots of random images which are often used in this type of music video to break up the performance of the band/artist. These shots can be related to the video or not. Furthermore, this type of music video is usually unusual with a particular editing or filming technique. An example of this would be Genesis 'land of confusion' 

Auteur theory

What is the Auteur theory?

The auteur theory originates from France which translates as Author, this means that a director's film reflects their creative vision. The Auteur theory was introduced in the 1950's by french film directors like Francois Truffaut who promoted a focus on the contribution directors made on the style and form of film. An Auteur is a film maker whose style is distinctive in their work and it in turn creates a signature auteur status for them. Before an Auteur would be considered as just a film maker, for example, Hichcock whose most famous films include Psycho, The Birds and Rear Window and is known for his smattering of mystery and murder. Now an Auteur can be seen as director's of music videos such as Chris Cunningham, who is known for his work being mysterious and out of the ordinary, for example his work directing 'Aphex twins, come to daddy' and 'Madonna, frozen'

Who is Hype Williams and what is his signature style?

Hype williams is a well known music director, he was born in 1970 and has been active in work since 1991 till present. He has worked with many different artists such as 2pac, Beyonce, Will Smith, LL Cool J, Jay Z and Kanye West. He made himself known by tagging local billboards with his graffiti tag.

He is considered an innovator as he puts across his own ideas through his music videos with his own signature style. A signature style used by Hype throughout most of his videos is the Fisheye lens which distorts the camera view around the central focus, for example in Will Smith's 'getting jiggy with it' 

Another signature style of Hype's involves placing the shots of the music video in a banner of a widescreen ratio, while another shot is split and placed in the upper and lower bars. An example of this is 'check on it' by Beyonce.









Hype also has the tendency to use bold, primary colours in most of his work. This makes the video more visually effective but also reflects the bold statement he makes in his videos. For example, in Kanye West 'Gold Digger', the use of the bold red and orange in the background catches the audience's eye and does not make it dull.







The sexualisation of women is portrayed in Hype William's videos through the use of costume, for example, lingerie and bikinis where we can see flesh. This is something modern feminists would feel strongly against has it supports patriarchy, however he continues with this signature style. For example, Nicki Minaj's 'stupid hoe'