Thursday, 16 July 2015
Task 2:Research into existing products- Video Game trailers (Fallout 4)
For my research into video game trailers, I have used the Fallout 4 trailer.
Fallout 4 - Official Trailer (PEGI) from The Hut Group on Vimeo.
After watching the trailer several times I made notes on several things.
Fallout 4 - Official Trailer (PEGI) from The Hut Group on Vimeo.
Thursday, 9 July 2015
Task 2: Skills development and analysis (Yes Boy)
The task was to create a short scene form a potential movie based on a scenario given. The main idea for the movie was about a boy who would constantly say yes to things. For example, if something went missing and he was asked if he was the one who took it, he would reply with yes. The consequences of this would obviously lead him into lots of trouble with people. in my group (Me, David and Abbie) we decided to make our scene about the boy getting in trouble with the teacher for something another student did ( the Bully).
Analysis:
Camera:
The first shot is a wide shot which helps establish the audience to the setting which is a classroom. The camera is placed in one corner whilst the characters are in the other further away. This is done because it makes the audience feel as though they are observing the lesson.
A match on action is used when the bully is seen scrunching up some paper and then throwing it at the teacher .
After this a P.O.V shot from the teacher's perspective is used which shows that the teacher honestly has no idea who threw the paper and so it could be either student. A tracking shot to over the shoulder shot shows the teacher walking to the boy asking if he was really the one who threw the paper. This suggests that the teacher is still a bit confused as to the real culprit.
A high angle shot is then used to make the boy look inferior. He says "yes miss" which is his down fall and so he is shown to be weak because he took the blame even though he is innocent.
Mise-en-scene:
The location for this scene is the classroom and so general classroom items are found in the frames. This is because it helps the audience to get more information about the characters. For example, as it is in a school the audience can clearly see that the boy is a schoolchild and is fairly young.
Editing:
After the title screen, a fade is used to show the first shot. This helps the audience to establish when the scene has started. Transitions were used to make the shots flow better. At the end another fade to black has been used to show that the scene has ended. The titles have special effects/ transitions added to them as well so that it makes them more active and interesting for the audience.
Sound:
The teacher has the most dialogue as she is the one who is teaching the lesson to the students. There are not many ambient sounds in the scene and so at times makes the scene quite boring.
Skills development:
From this task I have developed my skills the following areas: camera,editing and scripting. We created the following script to follow when we produced the scene.
Script
Titles:The words YES BOY appear on a black background for 2 SECONDS.
FADE OUT
INT.CLASSROOM-DAY
FADE IN
A WIDE SHOT of a classroom is shown. The TEACHER is at the front of the class by the whiteboard talking the students through the lesson plans. The BOY sits upright and is paying close attention to the teacher while the BULLY is slouched on her chair.
TEACHER: Today we will be doing a lesson on media and we are going to go through the different types of...
CUT TO CLOSE UP of BOY nodding his head, showing he is listening to the teacher.
...camera shots....
CUT BACK to WIDE SHOT
...and angle typically seen in a short film.
CUT TO MID SHOT of TEACHER
Teacher: First we are going to learn about an establishing shot which is everything in the mise-en-scene....
CUT TO a LONG SHOT of the BULLY. The Teacher continues to talk whilst the BULLY scrunches up some paper. Looks around her and then throws it at the TEACHER.
CUT BACK TO MID SHOT of TEACHER
The paper ball hits the TEACHER and she turns around angrily.
...Who threw that?
CUT TO a P.O.V SHOT from the TEACHER'S perspective. The camera moves from the BULLY to the BOY back to the BULLY.
CUT TO a MID SHOT of the BULLY.
BULLY: (pointing at the BOY) It was him miss, not me!
CUT TO a TRACKING SHOT of the TEACHER walking towards the BOY.
CUT TO an OVER THE SHOULDER SHOT.
TEACHER: Did you really do it?
CUT TO a HIGH ANGLE looking down on the boy and teacher.
BOY: Yes Miss
Fade to black.
When we were filming I helped do the tracking shot as well as setting up the camera on the tripod to make the high angle shot. I developed my skills by having to remember to leave a few seconds before and after the acting took place so that it was easier to edit. During the editing stages, I decided that we needed to label the footage and put them into files so that they could be found and accessed much easier. When we were editing we found that at one point in the footage the teacher made a mistake by repeating a word twice and so we decided to edit it so that the word was only said once. As the footage didn't flow very well, we decided to do a cutaway from the teacher to a close up of the boy nodding so that it flowed much better. At another point we had to add a transition again, between the P.O.V shot and when the bully says it was the boy who threw the paper. We added titles to make the scene look more professional and at certain times, such as the final shot, the audio had to be increased because it was too quiet.
To improve, we need to focus more on mise-en-scene and have tighter frames because at certain points such as the bully speaking scene it was too "loose". Another improvement we could do would be to re shoot some footage such as when the teacher was speaking so that we didn't have to spend a long time trying to fix it when we edited. More focus on the sound elements are needed as we could have added special effects or made sure there were ambient sounds so that none of the shots are silent. We could also get more actors to be in the scene as by only having two students, during the wide shot, it looks unrealistic as it is meant to be a media class taking place.
Analysis:
Camera:
The first shot is a wide shot which helps establish the audience to the setting which is a classroom. The camera is placed in one corner whilst the characters are in the other further away. This is done because it makes the audience feel as though they are observing the lesson.
A match on action is used when the bully is seen scrunching up some paper and then throwing it at the teacher .
After this a P.O.V shot from the teacher's perspective is used which shows that the teacher honestly has no idea who threw the paper and so it could be either student. A tracking shot to over the shoulder shot shows the teacher walking to the boy asking if he was really the one who threw the paper. This suggests that the teacher is still a bit confused as to the real culprit.
A high angle shot is then used to make the boy look inferior. He says "yes miss" which is his down fall and so he is shown to be weak because he took the blame even though he is innocent.
Mise-en-scene:
The location for this scene is the classroom and so general classroom items are found in the frames. This is because it helps the audience to get more information about the characters. For example, as it is in a school the audience can clearly see that the boy is a schoolchild and is fairly young.
Editing:
After the title screen, a fade is used to show the first shot. This helps the audience to establish when the scene has started. Transitions were used to make the shots flow better. At the end another fade to black has been used to show that the scene has ended. The titles have special effects/ transitions added to them as well so that it makes them more active and interesting for the audience.
Sound:
The teacher has the most dialogue as she is the one who is teaching the lesson to the students. There are not many ambient sounds in the scene and so at times makes the scene quite boring.
Skills development:
From this task I have developed my skills the following areas: camera,editing and scripting. We created the following script to follow when we produced the scene.
Script
Titles:The words YES BOY appear on a black background for 2 SECONDS.
FADE OUT
INT.CLASSROOM-DAY
FADE IN
A WIDE SHOT of a classroom is shown. The TEACHER is at the front of the class by the whiteboard talking the students through the lesson plans. The BOY sits upright and is paying close attention to the teacher while the BULLY is slouched on her chair.
TEACHER: Today we will be doing a lesson on media and we are going to go through the different types of...
CUT TO CLOSE UP of BOY nodding his head, showing he is listening to the teacher.
...camera shots....
CUT BACK to WIDE SHOT
...and angle typically seen in a short film.
CUT TO MID SHOT of TEACHER
Teacher: First we are going to learn about an establishing shot which is everything in the mise-en-scene....
CUT TO a LONG SHOT of the BULLY. The Teacher continues to talk whilst the BULLY scrunches up some paper. Looks around her and then throws it at the TEACHER.
CUT BACK TO MID SHOT of TEACHER
The paper ball hits the TEACHER and she turns around angrily.
...Who threw that?
CUT TO a P.O.V SHOT from the TEACHER'S perspective. The camera moves from the BULLY to the BOY back to the BULLY.
CUT TO a MID SHOT of the BULLY.
BULLY: (pointing at the BOY) It was him miss, not me!
CUT TO a TRACKING SHOT of the TEACHER walking towards the BOY.
CUT TO an OVER THE SHOULDER SHOT.
TEACHER: Did you really do it?
CUT TO a HIGH ANGLE looking down on the boy and teacher.
BOY: Yes Miss
Fade to black.
When we were filming I helped do the tracking shot as well as setting up the camera on the tripod to make the high angle shot. I developed my skills by having to remember to leave a few seconds before and after the acting took place so that it was easier to edit. During the editing stages, I decided that we needed to label the footage and put them into files so that they could be found and accessed much easier. When we were editing we found that at one point in the footage the teacher made a mistake by repeating a word twice and so we decided to edit it so that the word was only said once. As the footage didn't flow very well, we decided to do a cutaway from the teacher to a close up of the boy nodding so that it flowed much better. At another point we had to add a transition again, between the P.O.V shot and when the bully says it was the boy who threw the paper. We added titles to make the scene look more professional and at certain times, such as the final shot, the audio had to be increased because it was too quiet.
To improve, we need to focus more on mise-en-scene and have tighter frames because at certain points such as the bully speaking scene it was too "loose". Another improvement we could do would be to re shoot some footage such as when the teacher was speaking so that we didn't have to spend a long time trying to fix it when we edited. More focus on the sound elements are needed as we could have added special effects or made sure there were ambient sounds so that none of the shots are silent. We could also get more actors to be in the scene as by only having two students, during the wide shot, it looks unrealistic as it is meant to be a media class taking place.
July Feedback
Some good analysis of existing media texts when analysing short films.
Is there a better term than 'lower-class', perhaps you could debate the term 'underclass' which is often represented negatively in television particularly. Compare to representations in exploitative programming such as 'Britain on the Dole' or more controversially 'Benefits Street'.
I like the idea that the audience is The Wasp linking to the shaky camera-work. This is a docu-realist style that attempts, as you say, to put the viewer in the heart of the action.
Discussion of the Rihanna video is descriptive at points and moves into good analysis when de-constructing the text and addressing issues raised. You engage with some of the debates raised in the media and begin to use these in your analysis.
Is there a better term than 'lower-class', perhaps you could debate the term 'underclass' which is often represented negatively in television particularly. Compare to representations in exploitative programming such as 'Britain on the Dole' or more controversially 'Benefits Street'.
I like the idea that the audience is The Wasp linking to the shaky camera-work. This is a docu-realist style that attempts, as you say, to put the viewer in the heart of the action.
Discussion of the Rihanna video is descriptive at points and moves into good analysis when de-constructing the text and addressing issues raised. You engage with some of the debates raised in the media and begin to use these in your analysis.
- Now personalise the research into existing media texts.
- Add more depth to your analysis by considering debate in a range of forums and articles. Quote media commentators and engage with their views.
- Add a blog posts about the skills development task
Research into exsiting products: Short Films (Lynne Ramsay)
Lynne Ramsay
A Scottish film director,writer, producer and cinematographer. Well known for her short films as well as her feature films including 'Ratcatcher' and 'We need to talk about Kevin'. Her films often focused on children and young children and young people with recurring, unsolvable emotions and themes of grief, guilt, jealously, death and its aftermath. Usually low in dialogue, she instead uses the camera, editing, mise-en-scene and sound to express these themes therefore making the plot of the film very unsettling for the audience.
Gasman (1998)
This short film is set during the Christmas season and the main storyline is about a girl called Lynne and her brother who go with their dad to a holiday party at the pub. They walk along the railroad tracks but are met by an unkempt woman and two children. Her children ( a boy and girl of similar ages to Lynne and her brother) follow behind them and Lynne talks to the girl and is fairly kind to her by holding her hand. During the party, the dad is very affectionate towards Lynne but later on the other girl is on the dads lap and Lynne becomes jealous. The girl makes remarks that Lynne's dad is also her dad and so it causes some confusion within Lynne and the two girls fight. She is angry because she feels that the girl is trying to take her dad away.Afterwards on the way back, the girls hold hands again but this time Lynne is more hostile towards her. They meet the woman again and she walks away with the boy and girl whilst the dad and brother go the opposite way. Lynne lingers behind and goes to throw a rock but decides not to at the end, possibly due to the fact that she no longer believes that it is the girls fault why she is angry but perhaps it's her fathers fault instead.
Analysis: Camera
Ramsay has used many close ups in this film to place emphasis on certain aspects including facial expressions. Many shots of legs are used to give the audience the idea that this is from a child's point of view (as they are smaller than adults and so can't see as much). Another reason why this might be could be the fact that children often know only 'half of reality/ the truth' as Lynne has no idea who these other children are but the adults ( the dad especially) do as they are also his children. The focus shifts during some scenes from focusing on the background to the foreground. This is used quite a lot to show the audience what they should be concentrating on as well as another person's opinion of ( usually shown through their facial expressions and body language and they are usually shown in the background).
Mise-en-scene
Objects that children are most likely going to look at are one of the features of the mise-en-scene for example the brother is playing with a toy car which symbolises childhood and innocence. The costumes are of a higher quality for Lynne and her brother than the other two children which shows how they are the "preferred" children of the dad as they are better of than the others. They go to meet a woman and the two children (who Lynne obviously doesn't know) on an abandoned rail road track. This is a dangerous location and could also symbolise how Lynne's life is going to be change (she will be knocked off the track).
Editing
Long takes are used often in this movie especially at the start. This is done to place emphasis on what is happening in the scene such as Lynne putting her tights and shoes on which emphasizes the normal daily things children go through. Short cuts are used during the Christmas party scenes to reflect the party spirit of the place as it increases the pace of what the audience sees.
Sound
Ambient sounds are used to make the movie realistic and reflects the everyday life of the children. they are used to hearing these sounds and so everything is at an equilibrium. The dialogue is a thick Scottish accent which helps the audience with the location/ setting of the movie. At the party, Christmas music is being played as diegetic sounds. Children are laughing and the adults are talking and the whole place has a lively atmosphere which shows the audience that this is meant to be a happy party. When Lynne realizes that the other girl is on her "daddy" her tone of voice shows that she is angry and most likely confused as well. This changes the atmosphere of the place from being happy to more hostile.
A Scottish film director,writer, producer and cinematographer. Well known for her short films as well as her feature films including 'Ratcatcher' and 'We need to talk about Kevin'. Her films often focused on children and young children and young people with recurring, unsolvable emotions and themes of grief, guilt, jealously, death and its aftermath. Usually low in dialogue, she instead uses the camera, editing, mise-en-scene and sound to express these themes therefore making the plot of the film very unsettling for the audience.
Gasman (1998)
This short film is set during the Christmas season and the main storyline is about a girl called Lynne and her brother who go with their dad to a holiday party at the pub. They walk along the railroad tracks but are met by an unkempt woman and two children. Her children ( a boy and girl of similar ages to Lynne and her brother) follow behind them and Lynne talks to the girl and is fairly kind to her by holding her hand. During the party, the dad is very affectionate towards Lynne but later on the other girl is on the dads lap and Lynne becomes jealous. The girl makes remarks that Lynne's dad is also her dad and so it causes some confusion within Lynne and the two girls fight. She is angry because she feels that the girl is trying to take her dad away.Afterwards on the way back, the girls hold hands again but this time Lynne is more hostile towards her. They meet the woman again and she walks away with the boy and girl whilst the dad and brother go the opposite way. Lynne lingers behind and goes to throw a rock but decides not to at the end, possibly due to the fact that she no longer believes that it is the girls fault why she is angry but perhaps it's her fathers fault instead.
Analysis: Camera
Ramsay has used many close ups in this film to place emphasis on certain aspects including facial expressions. Many shots of legs are used to give the audience the idea that this is from a child's point of view (as they are smaller than adults and so can't see as much). Another reason why this might be could be the fact that children often know only 'half of reality/ the truth' as Lynne has no idea who these other children are but the adults ( the dad especially) do as they are also his children. The focus shifts during some scenes from focusing on the background to the foreground. This is used quite a lot to show the audience what they should be concentrating on as well as another person's opinion of ( usually shown through their facial expressions and body language and they are usually shown in the background).
Mise-en-scene
Objects that children are most likely going to look at are one of the features of the mise-en-scene for example the brother is playing with a toy car which symbolises childhood and innocence. The costumes are of a higher quality for Lynne and her brother than the other two children which shows how they are the "preferred" children of the dad as they are better of than the others. They go to meet a woman and the two children (who Lynne obviously doesn't know) on an abandoned rail road track. This is a dangerous location and could also symbolise how Lynne's life is going to be change (she will be knocked off the track).
Editing
Long takes are used often in this movie especially at the start. This is done to place emphasis on what is happening in the scene such as Lynne putting her tights and shoes on which emphasizes the normal daily things children go through. Short cuts are used during the Christmas party scenes to reflect the party spirit of the place as it increases the pace of what the audience sees.
Sound
Ambient sounds are used to make the movie realistic and reflects the everyday life of the children. they are used to hearing these sounds and so everything is at an equilibrium. The dialogue is a thick Scottish accent which helps the audience with the location/ setting of the movie. At the party, Christmas music is being played as diegetic sounds. Children are laughing and the adults are talking and the whole place has a lively atmosphere which shows the audience that this is meant to be a happy party. When Lynne realizes that the other girl is on her "daddy" her tone of voice shows that she is angry and most likely confused as well. This changes the atmosphere of the place from being happy to more hostile.
Task 2:Research into existing products: Short Films (Andrea Arnold)
Andrea Arnold is an example of a British director who has made several feature films and was especially successful for her short film 'Wasp' (2003) which won an OSCAR in 2004 for Best Live Action Short Film.
The film was directed and written by Arnold and lasts 26 minutes overall. The plot of the movie is about a young mother and her children; she leaves them outside whilst she goes out on a 'date' with her ex-boyfriend which leaves them in danger and at one point a wasp enters the mouth of her young baby but fortunately flies away. The family then embrace and the next shot shows the children in the ex-boyfriend's car eating chips, with the mother and ex-boyfriend sitting in the front. He then tells her that he wants to have a chat and they drive off.
WASP from Tomboy Films on Vimeo.
The mother (Zoe) is played by Natalie Press who has featured in many different films since then including My Summer of Love. The ex-boyfriend (Dave) is played by Danny Dyer who is currently a recurring character on the soap opera EastEnders. Child actors are used to portray the children and so some issues may have occurred doing production as there are several criticisms when using child actors. The movie itself has very strong language (swearing) and involves the children being placed in some very controversial situations such as eating ribs that were dropped on the floor, although it is more than likely that they were 'protected' from any actual harm during filming.
In 'Wasp' there are several stereotypes of lower class citizens especially of females. On one side we have Zoe who during the first scene is seen with her children storming, down some flat stairs and across the estate to another woman's (Bullet-head's) house. Zoe and Bullet-head proceed to argue and fight each other. The stereotype of lower class females is shown by Zoe's costume and make-up as well as the way she acts towards others. When she leaves the flat she is dressed in a nightgown with no shoes and her hair is messy. Her lack of organization reflects the everyday struggle she goes through. She has to look after her children constantly and has no real social life so when the opportunity arises that she'd could go out with Dave she takes it. Although she tries to get a babysitter she is unable to and so she has a decision whether to not go out out all, go out but leave her children at home or go out and take her children with her. Instead of her top priority being her children she is conflicted with her desire to go out and so chooses to take them with her. This follows the negative stereotype that lower class women do not make good mothers and are unable to multi task daily and social life.
Camera
The camera in Wasp is often very shaky which gives the impression that it is a P.O.V shot. This could be from the perspective of the 'wasp' as because it moves around, it's view point would rarely be still. Close ups of the children's faces are used to show their innocence as it's not their fault that their mother has left them outside to play in the street/ car park whilst she goes to the pub. Shaky pans are used to represent someone watching the children and possibly wondering why they are on their own. Overall the shakiness of the camera places the audience within the scene. For example when the children are playing in the pub car park, the camera is seen following them as though they too are playing with the children. The audience are the "wasp" that are watching over the children and the idea of a wasp is a symbol for truth, so by being the wasp the audience are shown the real world and what is happening to the children where as the mother has no real idea what is happening to her children as she isn't with them.
Mise-en-scene
One of the most important mise-en-scene is the wasp. Near the start the wasp is trapped in the mother's house where she lets it out. As the wasp is a symbol of truth it is as though the woman doesn't want to know the reality of her situation. Near the end the wasp is seen crawling into the baby's mouth. It is used to show the mother that she should be more careful with her children and as she has a "waspish tongue" (shown when she has a fight with Bullet head) she is a threat to her children. The overall location of the movie is in London and represents the lower classes. This is shown through the streets and houses the characters live in as they are rough looking which is stereotypically of where lower classes are meant to live. The costumes and make-up of the character also suggest poverty and the time of when the movie is set.
Sound
Ambient sounds are constantly used to make the scene realistic. Birds are heard singing in the background and implies a sense of peace but this contrast with the reality of how the mother feels. The sound of cars and buses helps set the location. The dialogue (especially the children's) is very simplistic with no complex words being said but instead at times swearing is used which is a stereotype of lower classes.
Editing
Quick cuts are used frequently to show the havoc of the mother's life. Nothing is calm in her house because she has to look after her children constantly and she herself is still quite young. Transitions are not used at all in the movie because Arnold wanted it to stay as realistic as possible where the audience is always with the characters.
The film was directed and written by Arnold and lasts 26 minutes overall. The plot of the movie is about a young mother and her children; she leaves them outside whilst she goes out on a 'date' with her ex-boyfriend which leaves them in danger and at one point a wasp enters the mouth of her young baby but fortunately flies away. The family then embrace and the next shot shows the children in the ex-boyfriend's car eating chips, with the mother and ex-boyfriend sitting in the front. He then tells her that he wants to have a chat and they drive off.
WASP from Tomboy Films on Vimeo.
The mother (Zoe) is played by Natalie Press who has featured in many different films since then including My Summer of Love. The ex-boyfriend (Dave) is played by Danny Dyer who is currently a recurring character on the soap opera EastEnders. Child actors are used to portray the children and so some issues may have occurred doing production as there are several criticisms when using child actors. The movie itself has very strong language (swearing) and involves the children being placed in some very controversial situations such as eating ribs that were dropped on the floor, although it is more than likely that they were 'protected' from any actual harm during filming.
In 'Wasp' there are several stereotypes of lower class citizens especially of females. On one side we have Zoe who during the first scene is seen with her children storming, down some flat stairs and across the estate to another woman's (Bullet-head's) house. Zoe and Bullet-head proceed to argue and fight each other. The stereotype of lower class females is shown by Zoe's costume and make-up as well as the way she acts towards others. When she leaves the flat she is dressed in a nightgown with no shoes and her hair is messy. Her lack of organization reflects the everyday struggle she goes through. She has to look after her children constantly and has no real social life so when the opportunity arises that she'd could go out with Dave she takes it. Although she tries to get a babysitter she is unable to and so she has a decision whether to not go out out all, go out but leave her children at home or go out and take her children with her. Instead of her top priority being her children she is conflicted with her desire to go out and so chooses to take them with her. This follows the negative stereotype that lower class women do not make good mothers and are unable to multi task daily and social life.
Camera
The camera in Wasp is often very shaky which gives the impression that it is a P.O.V shot. This could be from the perspective of the 'wasp' as because it moves around, it's view point would rarely be still. Close ups of the children's faces are used to show their innocence as it's not their fault that their mother has left them outside to play in the street/ car park whilst she goes to the pub. Shaky pans are used to represent someone watching the children and possibly wondering why they are on their own. Overall the shakiness of the camera places the audience within the scene. For example when the children are playing in the pub car park, the camera is seen following them as though they too are playing with the children. The audience are the "wasp" that are watching over the children and the idea of a wasp is a symbol for truth, so by being the wasp the audience are shown the real world and what is happening to the children where as the mother has no real idea what is happening to her children as she isn't with them.
Mise-en-scene
One of the most important mise-en-scene is the wasp. Near the start the wasp is trapped in the mother's house where she lets it out. As the wasp is a symbol of truth it is as though the woman doesn't want to know the reality of her situation. Near the end the wasp is seen crawling into the baby's mouth. It is used to show the mother that she should be more careful with her children and as she has a "waspish tongue" (shown when she has a fight with Bullet head) she is a threat to her children. The overall location of the movie is in London and represents the lower classes. This is shown through the streets and houses the characters live in as they are rough looking which is stereotypically of where lower classes are meant to live. The costumes and make-up of the character also suggest poverty and the time of when the movie is set.
Sound
Ambient sounds are constantly used to make the scene realistic. Birds are heard singing in the background and implies a sense of peace but this contrast with the reality of how the mother feels. The sound of cars and buses helps set the location. The dialogue (especially the children's) is very simplistic with no complex words being said but instead at times swearing is used which is a stereotype of lower classes.
Editing
Quick cuts are used frequently to show the havoc of the mother's life. Nothing is calm in her house because she has to look after her children constantly and she herself is still quite young. Transitions are not used at all in the movie because Arnold wanted it to stay as realistic as possible where the audience is always with the characters.
Wednesday, 8 July 2015
Task 2:Research into existing products: Music videos (Rihanna)
Rihanna's "B***h Better Have My Money"
This is one of Rihanna's latest music video (released July 2015) for her song "B***h Better Have My Money". It lasts for 7 minutes and has had lots of mixed reviews.
It starts with a warning saying that the video contains nudity and other graphic content and then the next shot is of some woman's legs (unknown to the audience who she is at this point) draped over the side of a large box/trunk. The next few shots are of a beautiful white woman who is seen putting make-up on. Her clothes and home are very luxurious which suggests that she is upper class and wealthy. This is compared to Rihanna's character in the video who is a black female and who is dressed rather rough; almost like a gangster. Rhianna kidnaps the other woman ,and with some help from her friends, then tortures her. She is ridiculed,hung upside down naked and put a trunk. Rihanna and her friends are seen partying on a boat and the audience are shown multiple shots of them drinking,smoking and doing drugs. Nearer the end of the video, Rihanna is shown holding up multiple weapons including knifes and even a chainsaw. She is then shown holding a knife and walking towards a shirtless, tied up man ( an accountant). It is then revealed that the woman she kidnapped was actually the wife of the accountant who was constantly cheating on her. He used Rihanna's credit cards to spend on girls and partying which made her angry so she kidnapped his wife in an act of revenge. The audience are taken back to the first scene once again but are much closer and are able to see that it is Rihanna covered in blood sitting on money inside the trunk. Titles for the song are shown as "BBHMM" and immediately afterwards a close up of Rihanna's bloody face is shown.
The type of reviews this music video have are very mixed. For example The Guardian reported that " A headline on Refinery29 declared the video “Not Safe For Work or Feminists” while Twitter accused Rihanna of glorifying violence against women, and condemned the “kidnapped female” trope". Where as The RollingStone say that " Her evolving sound has gotten much harder since her dance pop debut, and "BBHMM" may be her hardest yet". By saying that she has an "evolving sound" suggests that this style of music is increasing in popularity and more songs are starting to contain more graphic images which, in return, cause more people to discuss the issues and express their opinions of it via the internet. Online media are useful for branding the artist and in this case, Rihanna is showing that as well as doing more softer, acoustic songs such as "FourFiveSeconds" ( her collaboration with Paul McCartney and Kanye West) she is also able to be more risky and push the boundaries of what is acceptable. I think that Rihanna's song and music video are just a publicity stunt to get more people talking about her. It could also be a way of her being able to do more songs like that as earlier in her career she was more focused on dance pop. She is trying to brand herself as being more outrageous and so people will like her rebelling against what is normally done/ right.
The music video has representations of gender and ethnicity within it. Rihanna is a black woman who has power over the white woman and man. This shows the audience that women are stronger than men but as she also tortures another woman it causes conflict within the video and suggests that even though they are both female, because Rihanna is black she has more power over the white woman. White people are represented negatively (except for the women Rihanna is shown partying with) within the video. They are seen as victims and are weak. All they care about are money which is a theme within the video, as the man is an accountant for Rihanna. The black characters, although being shown as stronger by kidnapping the white characters, are also victims as Rhianna just wants her money back that the man took from her. Overall the video suggests that women can be stronger than men and at times other women, and that white and black people are both victims of money.
This is one of Rihanna's latest music video (released July 2015) for her song "B***h Better Have My Money". It lasts for 7 minutes and has had lots of mixed reviews.
It starts with a warning saying that the video contains nudity and other graphic content and then the next shot is of some woman's legs (unknown to the audience who she is at this point) draped over the side of a large box/trunk. The next few shots are of a beautiful white woman who is seen putting make-up on. Her clothes and home are very luxurious which suggests that she is upper class and wealthy. This is compared to Rihanna's character in the video who is a black female and who is dressed rather rough; almost like a gangster. Rhianna kidnaps the other woman ,and with some help from her friends, then tortures her. She is ridiculed,hung upside down naked and put a trunk. Rihanna and her friends are seen partying on a boat and the audience are shown multiple shots of them drinking,smoking and doing drugs. Nearer the end of the video, Rihanna is shown holding up multiple weapons including knifes and even a chainsaw. She is then shown holding a knife and walking towards a shirtless, tied up man ( an accountant). It is then revealed that the woman she kidnapped was actually the wife of the accountant who was constantly cheating on her. He used Rihanna's credit cards to spend on girls and partying which made her angry so she kidnapped his wife in an act of revenge. The audience are taken back to the first scene once again but are much closer and are able to see that it is Rihanna covered in blood sitting on money inside the trunk. Titles for the song are shown as "BBHMM" and immediately afterwards a close up of Rihanna's bloody face is shown.
The type of reviews this music video have are very mixed. For example The Guardian reported that " A headline on Refinery29 declared the video “Not Safe For Work or Feminists” while Twitter accused Rihanna of glorifying violence against women, and condemned the “kidnapped female” trope". Where as The RollingStone say that " Her evolving sound has gotten much harder since her dance pop debut, and "BBHMM" may be her hardest yet". By saying that she has an "evolving sound" suggests that this style of music is increasing in popularity and more songs are starting to contain more graphic images which, in return, cause more people to discuss the issues and express their opinions of it via the internet. Online media are useful for branding the artist and in this case, Rihanna is showing that as well as doing more softer, acoustic songs such as "FourFiveSeconds" ( her collaboration with Paul McCartney and Kanye West) she is also able to be more risky and push the boundaries of what is acceptable. I think that Rihanna's song and music video are just a publicity stunt to get more people talking about her. It could also be a way of her being able to do more songs like that as earlier in her career she was more focused on dance pop. She is trying to brand herself as being more outrageous and so people will like her rebelling against what is normally done/ right.
The music video has representations of gender and ethnicity within it. Rihanna is a black woman who has power over the white woman and man. This shows the audience that women are stronger than men but as she also tortures another woman it causes conflict within the video and suggests that even though they are both female, because Rihanna is black she has more power over the white woman. White people are represented negatively (except for the women Rihanna is shown partying with) within the video. They are seen as victims and are weak. All they care about are money which is a theme within the video, as the man is an accountant for Rihanna. The black characters, although being shown as stronger by kidnapping the white characters, are also victims as Rhianna just wants her money back that the man took from her. Overall the video suggests that women can be stronger than men and at times other women, and that white and black people are both victims of money.
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