R 'n' B Music Videos

What Is R&B?

R&B stands for Rhythm and Blues, it’s a genre that originated from popular African American music in the 1940’s. The term was originally used by record companies to define recordings marketed mainly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a heavy, insistent beat" was becoming more popular. R%B backing tracks  are usually made up of piano, guitars, bass, drums and saxophone with the maybe the slight background vocalists. The lyrics of this type genre songs usually consist of themes to do with encapsulate the African American experience of pain and the quest for freedom and joy. Lyrics looking more into relationships, economics ,sex and freedom.

Conventions for R&B 

Women in R&B are represented to appear attracting in a sexual and revealing way, they wear little clothing showing off their chest and stomachs, the way they do this entices a male audience due to R&B using the concept of slowing skin off to achieve more of an audience. The hairstyles the females have are very dramatic, not very classy rather cheap and unpractical, for example, they can be eye-catching and very interesting but extremely hard to copy and try out yourself. This genre of music is known for the girls having dark eye makeup, a smoky eyeshadow and bold eyelashes to make the eyes more impressive. Due to the females wearing little clothing they use heels to extenuate the length oof the girl's legs, this creat an illusion, however, because there in a lot of dancing in the R&B music videos trainers are used in dance choreography. However the dance moves they incorporate into the dance are sexual and used to show off the female artists body, which appeals to the male audience. To create an intense and extremely R&B look huge hoop earrings are worn along with rings and necklace chains.

Men are presented very sexually in this genre of music videos, there usually seen shirtless which draws the attention from their female fan base. The most common piece of clothing which is worn in a music video is baggy jeans, preferably ones which hang low and reveal their boxers, this is prefered to in R&B as cool and there made to look like they have swag. The jeans are normally held up by a bulcky siginture design buckle on the belt, this represents the artists welth and is also away of advertising a brand. To show someone's masculinity within an R&B music video usually tattoos are seen on the chest, arms and neck of the artist, this is to imply they are strong and feerless people all reflecting back tothe idea of masciliity because they cn uphold the pain. Sometimes the tattoos can be shown on the scalp, but that a very rare place, within the tattoos there is normally a meaning behind them, sometimes death can be shown through skulls and flames.  The hairstyles in which an R&B artist has in very short, normal its too short to style and a cap is used to cover the hair completely, caps are used the majority of the time by the boys. Jewelry like watches and chains are worn, normally they are subtle and not too dramatic but it depends on hoe R&B the rapper is. If they were to wear loads of bulky rings and necklaces then the video would come across too hip hop. 

Attracting flies by AlunaGeorge

Attracting flies is an indie pop genre song and within the music video it uses a combination od performances and narrative. Within the indie pop music industry there are a few conventions which are stereotypical within that genre music video. For example slow motion it used the majority of the time within an indie pop video, and is used within the fairy tale themes scene in the attracting flies music clip. She is filmed in a close up camera angle and framed at eyelevel to the camera, the director has done this especially because she plays the main character within the narrative, and still obtains the main focal point throughout the video. Close ups are also used toward the beginning  of the music video to introduce the fairly tale characters that Aluna plays. With there being slow motion editing added along side the close ups make it easier for the audience to understand each fairly tale character individually. We are also given hints to which character is next for example the close up of 'beauty' on the necklace she wears and then she's shown accompanied by a beastly dog, connoting that she is the tale of Beauty and the Beast.

The whole concept of the video breaks away from the conventions of fairy-tale through its productive and sexual representation n women. Each princess has a far from modern style and is all the time seen wearing revealing tight fitted clothing rather then the typical classy gowns that typical princesses wear. This may be due to the video wanting to be appealing to the wider audience of both genders. By putting the artist in red lipstick it matches the conventions of an R&B track, the red symbolises power and gives a dramatic feel to the image as if she had a lot of power.

This long shot of the computer generated castle has been added to create a fantasy themed music video. The unnatural location implies that  this video is going to be unusual and mysterious, they have used a long shot to show the surrounding of the location and it also foreshadows what the first fairy-tale that is going to appear in the music video. The setting for this music video is therefore set al in this block of flats with each level being a different fairy-tale , Rapunzel is shown at the top of the building with her hair dangling off the balcony, this whole video shows mystery and elliptical style which helps keep the audience intrigued.

During this scene we are shown a young women growing was seems to be hair from a drug plant, this is seen as unnatural with a joke spin to Rapunzel having fake hair which is being sew onto her head after it being the grown from a cannabis plant. The filter overlay which has been placed in during the editing stage adds to the wavy , supernatural feel to the music video, also during this scene we are shown a mid shot of a muggy room when an elderly lady sits brushing Rapunzel's hair which sits floating out of what looks like a flat apartment, the camera zooms into show the delicate brush strokes the women does whilst the camera pans up the platted hair and out the window.  The intersexual reference to this section the Aluna plays Rapunzel who is locked in a tower in the middle of London in what looks like a drugs sweat shop, growing her hair like the narcotic Cannabis and attaching it to her hair to place out the window.

When we first become  introduced to Aluna she wears a tight figure hugging booby dress, this outfit is used to symbolise little red riding hood with a modern day twist with the red hoodie instead of a cape. The colour red is used to symbolise death, evil and danger which all link to the song lyrics she is singing during her wearing this colour.The intersexual reference for this scene is that she plays as a fairy-tale character carrying a basket of food through a housing estate with a backdrop of a woods, whilst George and a dog are spying on her whilst waiting in a car, the dog plays the wolf which howls after she walks past which foreshadows the little red riding hood storyline.This male protagonist who is represented as prince charming in the narrative has been transformed into a modern day twist in the fictional fairy-tale story of Rapunzel. His body language and positioning implies he's confident but also cool, the replacement of the bike instead of a horse subverts the stereotype of how prince charming travels and dresses. By the location set in a backyard ally it adds a feeling of trouble and danger, with flood lighting and no natural lighting is doesn’t gives the scene a lot of shadow and overall produces an unsettling atmosphere which subverts the fairy-tale idea of prince charming being a hero and saviour.

Within this scene the camera angle tilts and slowly zooms into a mid shot camera angle, the use of a tilted camera movement  gives the impression that something isn't right and its out of the ordinary which foreshadows the fairy-tale scenes  having a modern day twist and being turned into dark scenes.

We Belong Together –Mariah Carey

Within the beginning of the music video we are introduced with a pan camera movement followed by a log shot, to show a house perched on the top of a hill. This type of idea of a big expensive house is stereotypical of an R&B music video because they usually are portrayed as having big houses , the most expensive cars and as a character come across wealthy, and therefore successful.By using a close up camera angle we are introduced to the artist of the song, she lies spread out on a white sheeted bed. This could've been done to represent innocence and purity despite the fact she in naked. By her being so close to the camera and looking straight into the lens it makes a connection between her and the audience which is something as an artist its advisable to-do. The fast cuts and quick editing done to combine her tugging at the covers and proactively looking into the camera gives the impression she's teasing someone by giving off indigenous .The camera then cuts to Mariah sitting at a dressing table, during this scene she sings into the mirror why the camera is positioned at a mid shot and captures her reflection in the mirror. This is a stereotypical for R&B artist to-do; sing into the mirror whilst touching up and admiring her appearance. The mirror prop could've been used to represent herself reflecting on the song lyrics and thinking about every word she saying. Her body language is very sinser with her constantly softly hugging her arm as if she was looking for forgiveness and company.  Within this video her makeup remains very subtle and natural looking, in one shot there is a close up is used to focus mainly on her ,there’s wind being blown in her face which represents her as delicate and overall links to the stereotype of a female artist being feminine.

A full shot camera angle was used to show the artist positioned centre frame and perched on a stall,  the producer has done this to show her long elegant legs and pink silky long split dress, the way she is perched on the stall bending down reveals her cleavage and would've been done to receive male attention. This shot shows her femininity and by slit in her dress it is very proactive and gives off an inviting innuendos  in some viewers opinion which is a common stereotype in R&B style music videos.

A tracking shot is used towards the end of the video, this is done to show the bride and groom within the narrative walking away happily married, the camera follows them from behind, due to them holing hands and running off together it gives the impression that they could be running away from their past or from someone th4y are trying to avoid.

The transitions throughout this music video are quiet show ,there aren't a lot of cuts due to the frame shots being longer then a stereotypical R&B music video, due to there being a soft mellow beat to the songs audio it meant that the cuts couldn’t be made through the songs beats.

There is a variety of different camera angles, from positioning and types of movement to create this music video. the produced has added continuity editing, this has been used to establish a smooth transition between the slow panning of the extreme close up camera angle, they have kept this a tight framing then used a handheld camera to tilt in an unstable way by following his neck line to the side of his hip. This kind of movement has been used to identify the artist and show is body language by the way he is standing, also it shows off his tattoos an facial expression painting him as a very tough and gangsta like appearance, due to the facial tattoos which are stereotypically associated with someone who's dangerous and not approachable. However by using this technique it could've been used to foreshadow the song title ‘mirror’ by suggesting he's reflecting on who he is and all the bad decision he's made within his life. another eye-catching and interesting edit they have made within this music video is a shallow depth of field which occurs then the frame cuts away to a mid-shot with the composition being the rule of thirds, this has been done to allow the  audience to see lil wanes mirrored image of himself.

Another editing technique which has been used is a slow motion effect, this is stereotypical within an R&B music video, they have captured the red paint dripping onto the floor. The color red represents death, danger but also love and by lil wayne referring the the song in the first person we are implied to that the narrative is todo with what he has gone through within his life and the struggles he has dealt with.

The birds eye view which has been used to capture the black and red paint which as been splattered is used to represent the artists struggles  and for a further meaning which links to the song theme it could be todo with how society saw him.

Mise en Scene 

 The location for this music video is a studio, there are florescent lighting and studio lights onto of the the dark backdrop, the use of these lights could've been used ti symbolize hope and the meaning of ‘ theres light at the end of the tunnel’ which would link to the theme of towards the song lyrics.  The little clothing he wears shows of his very well kept body image and would've been used to attract a mass audience, it also suggests he's very confident within his body. However there is a contrast within the way he stands due to his body language coming across to be very weak and lacking comfort , however it some car close ups we can see he clenches his fists which is perhaps an indication to staying strong which is the main concept of the videos purpose. The artist within this music video subverts the stereotypical male representation inR&B music videos, due to men being presented as fearless people which isn't the case for the mid shot which is used within the video. However due to the bold colours, high key florescent lighting it overall connotes an intense and courageous artist.