R'n'B Music Videos

R'n'B Music Video's Timeline

                                                                                    Waterfalls -TLC: 1994
The setting of this music video is mainly set in a hot place however these is all an illusion of the green screen as the girls first appear standing on water which isn't statistically possible. The 3 girls are first appear wearing clothing which is quite revealing. The clothing symbolises the year's fashion however with crop tops as the top characteristic the females mid rife and cleavage is show. However on the bottom half of their costume they are wearing trousers which almost subvert the stereotype as girls are stereotypically expected to wear skirts therefore this slight subvert creates and image for the singers. Their hair is rather relaxed with little effort put in to make it look flawless. The make up is quite minimal however is only used to highlight certain facial features such as the lips and eyes.
A lot of close ups are used of the females face as they sing the song, this allows the audience to connect to the song and focus them to the lyrics, alongside the sections of singing there is another storyline being revealed of a man leaving which is suggested to be his mother. The male character running away is black and is dressed in a hoodie and jeans, this creates a bad representation for that ethnicity however is a stereotype. The lyrics of the song whilst showing the male running away highlights he has been in some sort of trouble. There is a section of the song where the music is just instrumental and the storyline of the 'bad boy' builds. Continuity editing is used as the boy shows some money on a close-up and then another gang of black men dressed very similar to the boy punches him and runs away. His mother stands over him and cries as she tired stopping him but as a ghostly figure which is a unique editing technique. Quick zoom, panning and flash cuts are used to show lots of different locations which can suggest this situation could happen anywhere. The next verse tells a different story of two lovers, match on action flash cuts foreshadows the strong through movements the singers do and the movements the lovers do such as waving their hands across there face. The female has a flash back as the image of herself and the
male changes to several different males.
The next setting is at a waterfall where the 3 girls becomes water models. The dance moves are quite simple and have a small bouncy to them. When the rap commences the bounces in the dance moves become bigger and flash cuts are used of various long shots and mid shots of the bouncing and female rapping. To end the music video the 2 story lines are re-shown however this time is shows the person in the wrong slowly fade and disappear. Overall the music videos structure is a mixture of the stories and live/ physical performance by the end of the music video the lesson is learnt therefore the lyrics tell the story of them two stories. The editing is quite simple as the technology wasn't as advance as today, however there were a lot of different camera angles in order to make the music video look more interesting. For the females to have their word put across about not going wild and being quite plain and controlled subverts the conventions of R'n'B however for them to sing about love is very conventional, as most R'n'B songs have the common theme of sex or love.

                                                                                Ignition- R.Kelly: 2003 

The beginning of the music video opens with a low angle panning shot of some girls dancing in club, wearing shorts skirts and crop tops, despite this being the fashion in this year it is a male gaze and the females are looking very flattering and with the movements of body ripples the sexual attention is brought to the females.
The live performance of R.Kelly on the other hand shows him wearing a big white fluffy coat which shows wealth and control. With the coat being very large it shows the 'swag' look which is the image of R.Kelly. A low angle is used throughout to show the females boobs and bump as well as the status of the singer.The lyrics are very sexual as R.Kelly sings 'trying to get you to a hotel' showing the domination of the males. When the live performance is shows a background of a stack of squares with bottles in them with a very bright light, this suggests the atmosphere of a club and the amount of money in which they process, the light tries to make the males look innocent despite them singing about sex, this juxtaposes the mood. The girls get into a limo which emphasises the wealth of the males. Flash shots are used and the camera jumps between the females and males walking into the club, the changes of the angle happens on the beat of the music, this creates rhythm of the story line. Whilst in the club the lyrics sing'so what I'm drunk' which shows the immaturity within the adults as well as them splashing the cash, the movements of body ripples and hip swings which is a suggestive sexual movements. As the males become suggestively drunk their costumes changes to a brown and yellow looking basketball wear which is stereotypically a black man's sport which makes the male looked relaxed.
The structure of the verse and course is the same, the cuts change on the beat and a low angle in the club continues as the girls body ripple and hip trust. R.Kelly is then stood on a turning board and he turned round, this allows the audience to see his ear ring, which is a jewel, his glasses and the chain around his neck as well as the lack of emotion on his face which shows he doesn't care. The editing technique of a fade is used throughout as a transition of the club and the live performance. A male white boy then stands forward which creates tension as he is the only white character within the club however he starts dancing which continues the party, this shows it doesn't matter what race you are all you need is drink and sex, or so the song suggests.The return of the limo is shown to continuous the theme of wealth and the idea of R.Kelly taking a female to the hotel room in his limo. The difference between the previous video and this one is the lyrics and subject of the song, TLC sung about a heart break where as R.Kelly sung about sex. The females in both videos are portrayed as 'sexy', the dances moves have become more sexual for the female characters. The transition of each shot has a fade transition where in the before hand video there were just flash cuts. I chose this music video because it follows the R'n'B conventions massively with the codes of the little dressed women, in a club and drinking.

        Don't Judge Me- Chris Brown:2012

The sound of R'n'B became more soothing in 2012 with the beat being softer and the lyrics being deeper and having a deeper meaning 'Don't Judge Me' by Chris Brown shows this. The music video tells the story of Chris Brown travelling. Long shots are used to show his location, due to the large back pack it is suggested that he is travelling quite far. His walking is shown in slow motion to show the length it is taking him to walk his distance. He is wearing jeans, a plain top, with a checked skirt tied round the middle and boots, this costume is accessorised with glasses and a watch, this shows he is a mainstream character as he doesn't show himself as being poor or rich.

A fade transition then brings us to Chris sat against a sofa with a women lying on it asleep, this lyrics sing 'your hearing rumours about me' which suggest this is a love story which has gone wrong. There isn't any separate live performance however within the story line Chris sometimes sings the words, this words which are being spoken are more symbolic and have a deeper meaning. A tank is show coming over the horizon and the camera cuts between the tank and female foreshadowing the female was as tough and powerful as the tank.Chris Brown then climbs onto the tank to show the connect he has within the relationship. The lyrics sing 'please don't judge me' which suggests Chris Brown is trying however the female is being stubborn and judging him. There are mid shots of Chris in different angles glazing into the landscape suggesting he's thinking, the angle changes to the beat, similar to 'Ignition'. Light blue writing then falls down Chris' skin, this symbioses all his feelings and emotions coming to the surface as he realises them. He then arrives at a war camp which changes the audience and meaning of the storyline, the reason he doesn't want to be judged is because he wants to go into the army where he could be risking his life. Whilst he walks around in the camp slow motion is used to show the amount of people around before turning
back to normal speed to emphasise the rush and business of the camp. From this point the camera cuts between the strong and Chris Brown sat and around different positions to the sofa we previously saw, however this time he is on his own and signing. Both him and the girl are shown with there head in their hands as if they are stressed and worried. Even though when I make my video there won't be any stops within the music, in this music video the music stops and the story line is told more and Chris tells a reporter he is doing the mission to save his country, the music then re-enters as Chris abroad's onto a space craft. As he is launched into space the cuts are quicker going between him crying in the space ship as he knows its a one way ticket and him talking to his girlfriend. The ending is quite abstract as we see Chris turning into someone sort or alien. The rocket explodes but the last image is back at the sofa with the girl and Chris hugging however the female is topless. The music video is the most emotion compared to the other two however is slightly more creative as it has a deeper meaning. The female is shown at the end without the top on however throughout she hasn't been seen as a sex object which shows females are gaining more respect over their bodies. One similarity throughout out all these videos is they aren't white people, each artist is a mixture of ethnicities which are stereotypical conventions of R'n'B. This music video slightly subverts the conventions of a male because it's a male singing about his feelings where stereotypically its the females however for a genre of R'n'B it follows the conventions as the themes within this genre as before mentioned is love and sex. 

If It Ain't Love- Jason Derulo :2016

This is the most up to date R'n'B. The setting of this music video starts in an office where Jason is eyeing up one of the workers. She looks smart in a skirt and her hair up however her lipstick colour is a dark purple and her skirts is very short which is very submissive, Jason on the other hand is looking very smart to in a suit and tie. He moves towards the female and on the beat the editing technique of the camera jilting is used, this is an artist technique and Jason uses this within all his music videos. The dance has upgraded from just the bod ripples and bouncing of the knees and its a full on hip-hop dance. In these era songs aren't usually just one genre therefore r'n'b normally hybrid up with hip- hop therefore sometimes having the course as a music piece.

A mid-shot of Jason against a wall with a spot light is used as hands which have red nails touch him, this is to make him look appealing and create the effect all the girls are after him. The light is flashing and the camera is very quickly looking round the dancers to create the night cub look. Within the flash of light the image of Jason against the wall appears become the next flash where they are back at the office. Despite the dancing being more complex, sexual references are still made. The female bends over so her bottom is on full display as Jason then hip thrust's it. The flashing continues and the female goes onto the floor then pulls up on his tie, the sexual connection between the two characters is being portrayed through the art of dance. Every flash of the light changes the angle or setting, whether it is back at the wall or dancing in the office. The two characters walk down the stairs as Jason removes his jacket, the female throws herself against the wall to show the passion between each other. Another dance sequence is used however the female is lifted and her lefts open which make her look submissive. Jason then lifts her up onto the printer, it is here where Jason starts to remove certain parts of clothing such as her glasses. The scene keeps cutting back to the wall where the hands still run over him and the dance routine where now she has her lefts round his neck and is spinning her around. They start to pull each other around as if they are playing and start removing some more clothing such as his tie.
I feel the lyrics are distracted from the video and therefore making the storyline only about sex. Alcohol is a common theme within all these music videos, again 3 bottles are shown in the flashing light suggesting, what the girl and Jason have is just a laugh and nothing serious. The idea of the two character being drunk is portrayed and Jason starts to dance upside down on the ceiling as the alcohol bottle is shown. Jason shirt is up buttoned in the wall scene as he rubs the girls leg. Another dance sequence then commences as the jump off the walls, as this is the climax of the song the cuts are quick however the flashing light still remains. The rest of the music video is very similar, with more clothing being removed (Jason's top) and more dancing on all walls, the flashing continues and various shots of the different locations are used. To end the female get into a red fiat and Jason leaves, they are both fully dressed as if nothing had happened which suggests the story line was about a drunken love. This music video has more shots however the shots change to the beat as they always have been however the dancing is more intense despite the storyline being as clear as previous storyline without the day (Don't Judge Me). Some artists however have kept with the old stereotypical R'n'B conventions such as Beyonce. This music video shows the conventions of R'n'B massively as both male and females are very submissive.

The main theme within R'n'B music is about sex and love therefore all the videos strongly show the conventions of R'n'B music, however in TLC Waterfalls the message is to be submissive and not to do anything different and to stay very quite however this is still a convention of women as they are stereotypically presented as innocent, especially in the early 90's where sex wasn't as dominated as it is today.