Rihanna is a successful, modern artist that

has released a variety of number ones,

that are different genres including; dance,

R&B, hip hop. However I have decided to

analyse her ‘California King Bed’ release.

California King Bed’ is a song based on a love struggle, it

shows two people that used to be in love but they are now

broken hearted and are trying to find the feelings they

once had for each other.

NATURENature is shown during the video in

lots of sections, through leaves, trees

and the main location surrounded in

sky, this creates a natural impression

and suggests that this is a dream

due to the clouds. At the start a

backing track is used of the sea this

establishes the mis-en-scene.

LIGHTINGSoft lighting is used with a natural

theme, however in parts the visuals

get over exposed by the lighting, this

gives the impression of a dream like

feeling. The video also uses a red

toned light which is highlighted by

Rihanna’s hair, red shades suggest

warmth and an autumn impression

which represents a new start.

EFFECTSIn the video there is a scene where it

cuts to black and white this creates

interest and makes the video unique

from others with an exciting feature.

ACTORSThe only other character in the video

is Rihanna's love which is a

handsome male actor, the camera

never focuses on him and only shows

him sitting on the bed and

interacting with Rihanna, this means

that focus is not taken away from the

artist. Although in one scene his body

is shown with water flowing down it

but its reversed and is shown in black

and white.

CAMERA ANGLES & MOVEMENTSThe video consists of lots of close-ups whilst

Rihanna is performing and profile shots are

used this creates focus on the artist, also

shown in areas were Rihanna is directly

singing into the camera. Transitions are

smooth throughout the video and in places

over exposer is used with the sun to blank out

the visuals. The camera has oft and flowing

movements and often does arc and circular

techniques.

COSTUME & MAKEUPRihanna uses the codes and

conventions of a love pop video in the

aspect of clothing this is achieved with

little clothing which Rihanna is known

for, the clothes she does wear are all

white and cream suggesting purity,

they are pretty pieces which gives the

idea of a perfect girl. The makeup is

natural with making a statement which

also suggests a perfect girl and allows

people to focus on this meaning

without being distracted.

LOCATIONSThe whole video is based around one

room with a bed in the middle which

links in to the lyrics of ‘king bed’ the

room is surrounded by white curtains

which blow in the wind. However parts

of the video show her lying on the grass

or standing next to an autumn tree.

COMPOSTIONRihanna is sometimes shown on one

side of the camera to create focus

on the background and location this

also creates visual impact.

"California King Bed LYRICS“

Chest to chest

Nose to nose

Palm to palm

We were always just that close

Wrist to wrist

Toe to toe

Lips that felt just like the inside of a rose

So, how come when I reach out my finger

It feels like more than distance between us

In this California king bed

We're ten thousand miles apart

I've been California wishing on these stars

For your heart for me

My California king

Eye to eye

Cheek to cheek

Side by side

You were sleeping next to me

Arm in arm

Dusk to dawn

With the curtains drawn

And a little last night on these sheets

So, how come when I reach out my fingers

It seems like more than distance between us

.

In this California king bed

We're ten thousand miles apartI've been California wishing on these starsFor your heart for meMy California king

Just when I felt like giving up on usYou turned around and gave me one last touch

That made everything feel betterAnd even then my eyes got wetterSo confused wanna ask you if you love meBut I don't wanna seem so weakMaybe I've been California dreaming

Yeah yeah yeah

In this California king bedWe're ten thousand miles apartI've been California wishing on these starsFor your heart for meMy California kingMy California king

In this California king bedWe're ten thousand miles apartI've been California wishing on these starsFor your heart for meMy California king

The video to ‘Mine’ is based on a performance and narrative theme. The

narrative is addressing a love story of ‘boy meets girl’ as its realistic and her fans

can relate to this. The video is structured as her life and the audience seems to

be following her as a fly on the wall to this love struggle.

Taylor swift is a well established artist that uses

meaningful ideas and issues in her song and

lyrics, although most of her releases focus on love

ideas.

LIGHTINGLight is flashed to create a

transition this is used to suggest

that it’s a dream or a memory to

the audience. Light is also used

to create the right emotions and

atmosphere were she is looking

back at her childhood its duller

this gives the idea that it was an

unhappy time. Whereas in the

future its shown to be bright and

a happy time period of her life.

CAMERA ANGLES &

MOVEMENTSSimple camera movements are used,

however during the performance the

camera is looking down at her and follows

her this creates the idea of we want to be

n her position and allows the audience to

focus on the artist. Taylor sings into the

camera making us concentrate on the

song as well as the strong narrative.

LOCATIONSThe video is set in a rural area, and shows

the family home, town and a beach. The

beach is first shown when her and her love

go together then later they revisit with their

children. The locations are meant to

suggest that this story could be anyone's

and that it relates to everyone life.

PERFORMANCEThe scene where she is

performing is in the woods there

are family photos hanging from

the branches, this links into the

narrative and creates an

interesting mis-en-scene. Taylor

is wearing a white dress to

suggest purity and there is light

dapple beaming through the

trees.

COSTUME &

MAKEUPTaylor’s clothing gets

more mature as the

narrative develops

this indicates the plot

of time to the

audience. However

the costumes are

always pretty and fit

in with the

stereotypical. EFFECTSTaylor looks into a family photo and the camera is looking

into it as an over the shoulder shot this gives the idea of we

are in her shoes, it then shows are reflection looking back

at us before it cuts into her memories of this time period.

Silhouettes are used in scenes were her and the male

character are used this is an effective method to clearly

show the characters and not the situation.

THEMEThe lyrics paint a vivid

visual image to the

audience

This is then linked in with

the images shown on the

video.

• "Mine LYRICS"

Uh, oh, oh

Uh, oh, oh

You were in college working part time waiting tables

Left a small town, never looked back

I was a flight risk with a fear of fallin’

Wondering why we bother with love if it never lasts

I say "Can you believe it?

As we’re lying on the couch?"

The moment I can see it.

Yes, yes, I can see it now.

Do you remember, we were sitting there by the water?

You put your arm around me for the first time.

You made a rebel of a careless man’s careful daughter.

You are the best thing that’s ever been mine.

Flash forward and we’re taking on the world together,

And there’s a drawer of my things at your place.

You learn my secrets and you figure out why I’m guarded,

You say we’ll never make my parents’ mistakes.

But we got bills to pay,

We got nothing figured out,

When it was hard to take,

Yes, yes, this is what I thought about.

Do you remember, we were sitting there by the water?

You put your arm around me for the first time

You made a rebel of a careless man’s careful daughter

You are the best thing that’s ever been mine.

Do you remember all the city lights on the water?

You saw me start to believe for the first time

You made a rebel of a careless man’s careful daughter

You are the best thing that’s ever been mine.

Oh, oh, oh, oh

And I remember that fight

Two-thirty AM

As everything was slipping right out of our hands

I ran out crying and you followed me out into the street

Braced myself for the "Goodbye."

‘Cause that’s all I’ve ever known

Then you took me by surprise

You said, "I’ll never leave you alone."

You said, "I remember how we felt sitting by the water.

And every time I look at you, it’s like the first time.

I fell in love with a careless man’s careful daughter.

She is the best thing that’s ever been mine."

Hold on, make it last

Hold on, never turn back

You made a rebel of a careless man’s careful daughter

You are the best thing that’s ever been mine.

(Hold on) do you believe it?

(Hold on) we're gonna make it now.

(Hold on) and I can see it,

(Yes, yes) I can see it now (see it now, see it now...)

The Music Video style relating to its pop genre fits in well. Most pop video's show

artists singing and dancing. Some pop videos also use voyeurism also fitting in

with the style of genre. Bright lights and lighting editing is used really well to give

a fresh feel to it which is normally used in pop videos. Way's in which it may not fit

into pop video conventions may be that there is no use of choreographed

dancing. Most of the dancing in the video is people jumping around or dancing

freewill.

The reason I chose this music video to analyze is because I think it is a fun, atmospheric and feel good music video. I really like the way the director has depicted the representation of a ‘teenage dream’ throughout the video

with a narrative. The way in which the song is linked to the video is also clear with sections in the music video being expanded on and amplified from the lyrics. The song is mainly focusing on the love story of both the boy and girl which can be quite common in the music genre of pop. Close-up’s of the artist are shown throughout the video to emphasize iconography and are also a demand from the artists record company. Some examples of close up's are shown in the music video screen-shots shown on the right.

The first section of the video is more mellow compared to the rest of the song and is set in a car. Establishing shots show this to the audience by setting the scene with landscape views and shots of the artist sitting in the car with the wind blowing through her hair. This part of the music video mainly focuses on

close up's whilst she is lip-syncing. The Mis-en-scene of this section is bright and sunny. The convertible, sunglasses and the 'bleached' light effect shows it is most likely Summer. Summer is usually used when representing 'teenage romances' so this may have been why this was done. Her skin also look bright and flawless with the lighting effects making her look young. Also her hugging and holding hands with the man whilst he's driving shows a sense of being clingy. These factors all add up to represent a teen romance.

When the song speeds up to the chorus it continues with

the stereo typical view of teens. Other friends of the

couple drive past them in cars with there arms out giving

off a party atmosphere. It shows they are carefree which is

what the video is trying to show to the its audience - that

teen romances are spontaneous and carefree. This is also

show in the party scenes of the video.

The forth section of the music video emphasizes how they

are teens. It shows her boyfriend in a gym sports hall whilst

she is standing outside watching from behind her locker.

This shows an innocent side to the narrative showing her

infatuation with the guy. The way she is styled here is also a

lot more reserved compared to the rest of the video

showing they are most likely in a school environment. This

all links in with the video's narrative. I think it is a good use

of narrative as it is not overly strong. It leaves some

imagination to the audience but also amplifies some of

the lyrics.

A scene towards the end that really shows of

the teen influences in this video is the use of

bikes and skateboard's at a party. A group of

people jump around in a car park with the artist

amongst them singing. These objects and the

location would not be used to show an adult

party as they are representations of teenagers.

Lyrics and Visuals

During the first section of the video she plays with her hair whilst smiling to go

with the lyrics "you think I'm pretty, without any makeup on". This shows a

relationship between lyrics and visuals. This is because she is smiling at what

she's saying as if she's being almost being shy about it. Another link between

lyrics and visuals in this section would be the lyrics "lets run away and don't ever

look back". This is linked to them driving away in the car. A main relationship

however would be the line "lets go all the way tonight, no regrets just love" this

section is shown in the hotel room scene and amplified from these lyrics.

Music and Visuals

A part which shows a link between music and visuals is when the song starts

speeding up for the chorus, the man driving the car puts his foot down on the

accelerator almost as if the car is speeding up with the song. During these fast

paced sections of the song the editing is sped up to go with it. This is effective by

keeping the audiences attention and creates a further party feel-good

atmosphere. During the verses of the song however the cut's edited are much

slower than the chorus showing the innocent side of the song too.

Genre

The music video style relating to its pop genre fits in well. Most pop video's show

artists singing and dancing. Some pop videos also use Teenage Love which fit in

with the style of genre. Bright lights and lighting editing is used really well to give

a fresh feel to it which is normally used in pop videos. Way's in which it may not fit

into pop video conventions may be that there is no use of choreographed

dancing. Most of the dancing in the video is people jumping around or dancing

freewill. This style would not fit in with the song however as the main focus is the

artist and her "boyfriend".

Camera Shots and IconographyThe camera angles and shots used in the video as i have already mentioned are mainly

close-ups of the artist. However long shots are used to establish the location of the scene

and also medium close ups of the couple. During the first section of the video the camera

is shaky to go with the scene where they are in the car. This makes the audience feel as if

they are actually in the video themselves. This makes the audience relate to the artist more

by being in her position. Other camera work includes some point of view shots that are

used when she is looking at the guy in the gym. The camera looks like it is peeking around

the corner of the gym door at her. This technique was probably used because she is

peeking secretively around her locker door at the guy in the gym.

There is not much specific star iconography for the artist as of yet. But her hair in this section

shows her typical fringe which she has in her other video's but not shown in this one. The

reason for this is possibly so the audience can see her whole face. This also shows she is

playing a role for the narrative. This maybe also due to her thinking the narrative through as

if she's reliving her 'teenage dream'. The lighting during the video also emphasizes this as it is

bright and quite dream like. Another thing common to this artists style is dancing, she is not

dancing specifically in this video but she is in a party scene which is also common in her

videos.

This is typical to her genre of pop.

"Teenage Dream"

You think I'm prettyWithout any makeup onYou think I'm funnyWhen I tell the punch line wrongI know you get meSo I let my walls come down, down

Before you met meI was alright but thingsWere kinda heavyYou brought me to lifeNow every FebruaryYou'll be my Valentine, Valentine

Let's go all the way tonightNo regrets, just loveWe can dance, until we dieYou and I, will be young forever

My heart stopsWhen you look at meJust one touchNow baby I believeThis is realSo take a chance andDon't ever look back,Don't ever look back

I'm a get your heart racingIn my skin-tight jeansBe your teenage dream tonightLet you put your hands on meIn my skin-tight jeansBe your teenage dream tonight

[Chorus:]YoooouuuYou make me feelLike I'm livin' aTeenage dreamThe way you turn me onI can't sleepLet's run away andDon't ever look back,Don't ever look backNo

My heart stopsWhen you look at meJust one touchNow baby I believeThis is realSo take a chance andDon't ever look back,Don't ever look back

I'm a get your heart racingIn my skin-tight jeansBe your teenage dream tonightLet you put your hands on meIn my skin-tight jeansBe your teenage dream tonight(Tonight, tonight, tonight, tonight, tonight, tonight)

[Chorus:]You make me feelLike I'm livin' aTeenage dreamThe way you turn me onI can't sleepLet's run away andDon't ever look back,Don't ever look back

My heart stopsWhen you look at meJust one touchNow baby I believeThis is realSo take a chance andDon't ever look back,Don't ever look back