Music Video Analysis - Turn Up The Music by Chris Brown

‘Turn Up The Music’ was released by Chris Brown in February, 2012. The song was written by Alexander "Fuego" Palmer, Chris Brown, Damon Thomas, Harvey Mason, Jr., Michael "Mike J" Jimenez, Terence Coles and Agent X. It was produced by Fuego and The Underdogs. The song was released as a single for his album Fortune and was distributed by RCA Records. 

This music video is a mix between performance and narrative but the majority is performance. As for the narrative part of the music video, it starts with Chris Brown drinking alcohol in the streets before hailing a taxi. Inside the taxi, he asks the driver to take him to the best spot in town and turn up the air conditioning. The driver responds by turning up the music wearing a horse mask. He exits the cab onto a street full of people wearing animal heads and goes into a club and starts a dance sequence. A large majority of the video he is dancing but when the camera is on his face, lip-syncing is used. Considering that as part of the narrative, he enters the street which is filled with lots of people, I think the music video would have been quite expensive to produce as they would have had to pay lots of actors/extras. This music video relies heavily on Mise-En-Scene. 

Mise-En-Scene

Props used in this music video include: a bottle of alcohol in a paper bag, the animal masks and a futuristic hover cab. There are three costumes that Chris Brown wears during the music video: the first outfit is a black and white suit with a black tie and a pair of black brogues whereas the second outfit is the same as the first minus the shirt and plus a black hat. The third outfit is a pair of beige suspender trousers, a black sleeveless vest and a grey hat. As for the first costume which is the black and white suit which is featured the most frequently, the choice of costume links in with the narrative, although most people would go to a nightclub in more casual clothes, perhaps he has come from an event or meeting. Anyone who is Chris Brown who is featured in the music video is wearing some kind of mask; this links in with the futuristic and almost strange atmosphere of the video. As for location, it looks as if an empty nightclub was used for majority of the video including the dancing scenes along with the crowded street and an empty rundown building. As the music video was clearly meant to appear as if it was happening at night, lighting is relied on heavily to make it realistic. What looks like strobe lights are relied on in the otherwise dark dance scenes in the empty nightclub.

Camerawork

In terms of camerawork, the two main shot types used are close ups and long shots. The close up shots are used to capture the artist when lip-syncing in an attempt to make the audience feel connected to the artist and help to develop star image whereas the long shots are used frequently used to show the dance routine and establish location within the shot. Many of the shots appear to be hand held which are appropriate considering the narrative and upbeat tempo of the music. A relatively low angle shot is used to capture Chris Brown getting out the cab and onto the street – the effect of which is to make him appear vulnerable which he is considering he has walked out of the cab into an unknown location crowded with people wearing relatively scary masks. 

Sound

In terms of the lyrics and song writing process, the song was written by many people including Chris Brown himself, Damon Thomas, Leon Price and many others. ‘Turn Up The Music’ was produced by Fuego and The Underdogs. The song itself is classified as a electronic dance and house song due to its upbeat rhythm.

Key features of the song include the use of a synthesizer, pulsating beats and percussion. The sound effect of a car coming to a halt is used at the beginning when Chris Brown is hailing the futuristic hover cab. There is also the non-diegetic and muffled sound of the cab driver’s voice since he’s wearing a mask. The song officially starts when the driver says he’ll turn the music up – the song fades in. As for the ending of the song, it slowly fades out. 

Editing

In terms of editing, basic cuts are used frequently to transition between shots however, as the tempo speeds up so do the transitions. There is also a use of fade to black transitions when the rhythm of the music slows down towards the end of the song. Slow motion is used towards the end of the video when the tempo is slowing down. Special effects are also used to make it look like there are 3 Chris Brown in a shot towards the end of the video.  During the main chorus of the song, special effects are used again to create the illusion of crack appearing in the walls due to both the dancers’ performance and the bass of the music. 

▶    Discuss the representation of people especially focusing on gender identity including voyeurism

As Chris Brown is the main performer and artist, he is the only one who is shown in detail and is the main focus of the audience’s attention throughout the video. Similarly to the male gaze, Chris Brown is represented negatively as the purpose of his second costume (of which he is topless) is to attract a female audience. Women overall in this music video aren’t seen as they are all wearing masks but they wear relatively revealing clothes in comparison to the men who are very much covered up. Both high and low angle shots are used to represent Chris Brown in various ways – high angle shots are used to make him appear vulnerable particularly at the beginning of the music video in which he doesn’t know where he is whereas low angle shots are used to make him seem powerful and superior to the audience which is probably female due to his target audience.

▶    What can you say about the record label behind the production this? Has this influenced the final product? If so, how?

The record label behind the production of this music video was RCA Records which is owned by Sony Music. Although this record label is owned by one of the big 3, I don’t think that it influenced the final product as all of Chris Brown’s music video have the same genre characteristics which reflect him as an artist. However, it could be argued that the record label has influenced these genre characteristics in an attempt to attract a certain audience in order to keep them coming back, thus building a secure fan base for the artist.

▶    What audience has been targeted and how can you tell? What makes it suitable for them? What type of audiences wouldn’t it be suitable for and why? Are there any secondary audiences?

I think that the target audience for this music video is mainly young people, particularly young women due to the way that Chris Brown is presented. I think a large percentage of the target audience is also young men and those around the age of the artist as they can relate to him and see him as a role model who they aspire to be like. Also the fact that it is largely performance based means that it will probably appeal to a younger audience rather than the older generation.


Watch the full video here:

Music Video Analysis - Survivor by Destiny's Child

‘Survivor’ was released by girl group Destiny’s Child in February 2001. Destiny’s Child is made up of three members: Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams. The song was written by Beyoncé, Anthony Dent and Matthew Knowles for the group’s third studio album ‘Survivor’. The song was distributed by Columbia Records.

This is a mix between narrative and performance music video as the group members are lip syncing and performing to the camera throughout the narrative. The technique of lip-syncing is used by all three members in this music video and works effectively to make it look as if they are actually singing the song. I would say that in the production of this music video, both mise-en-scene and chroma key are relied on heavily to convey both narrative and meaning of the song. I think that for this reason, the music video must have been quite expensive to produce. 

Mise-En-Scene

The only prop that was used in the music video was an orange raft which Kelly Rowland’s character arrived in however, costume is heavily relied on. There are 3 main outfits that are switched between during the music video. 

For example, when all girls wake up on the beach, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams wear an all red dress whereas Beyoncé wears a yellow dress. I think the reason that Beyoncé  is wearing yellow and not red is to make her stand out from the rest of the group and present her clearly as the lead singer and performer of the group. I think that these colours were chosen as they are symbolic – red often symbolises both power and anger which links in with the lyrics. 

In contrast, the colour yellow which Beyoncé is dressed in often symbolises happiness and positivity which reflects the  lyrics as they are singing about being independent. When arriving on the island at the beginning of the video, all their costumes are torn which makes it appear as though they have. Later on in the music video as part of the narrative, they change outfits from their torn dresses to what looks like a handmade bikini top/bra and skirt from animal skin. 

In terms of this costume choice, although different I wouldn’t say that any of them look better than the others – they all look of equal importance. When in this costume, Beyoncé wears medium sized gold hoops in comparison to Kelly who wear small studs and Michelle who wears no earrings. This reinforces the idea of Beyoncé being the lead and thus more important than the others. However, in the shots towards the end of the video when they are struggling on the raft, Beyoncé is still wearing gold hoops, Michelle is now wearing hoops and Kelly wears no earrings. After climbing up the cliff and finding what looks like a deserted temple, there is one final outfit change – the girls emerge wearing camouflage outfits. Beyoncé is wearing very short camouflage shorts and bralet with black boots. As for accessories she wears the same gold hoops and a camouflage headband. Kelly wears a very similar outfit – a one shoulder bralet with short camouflage shorts and black boots with no accessories. Michelle looks slightly different to Kelly and Michelle wearing camouflage trousers and a more covering bralet with black boots and a shiny silver necklace. 

What I have noticed about all the outfits worn by the girls throughout is that in all of them, their waists and hips are exposed. This is an example of the male gaze which is reinforced through voyeuristic camera angles. I also noticed that Beyoncé is placed in the middle of all the shots, the effect of this is that the audience’s attention is drawn to whatever is in the centre of the frame (her) as she is the lead, making her more important than the other girls. I think chroma key was used for the shots in the deserted temple but for the other locations like the beach and the jungle the group probably travelled to these places for the music video. For the shots at the beach, high-key lighting is used whereas in the shots in the jungle and the temple, a mixture of low-key and high-key lighting is used.

Camerawork

 In terms of camerawork, there is a frequent use of voyeuristic angles to capture the female body. There are a lot of close up shots of the women’s’ chest area, legs, waist and hips. This is an example of the male gaze which is evident in most music videos. Accompanying the close up shots, the camera also pans up and down their bodies, often not showing their face. Camera angles like this are used to sexualise and objectify the female body, by not showing their face and only their body, the subject is being downgraded to the status of a sexual object for the visual pleasure of the heterosexual male. (Mulvey’s Male Gaze). Long and medium shots are used throughout to establish location as well as head-on shots which make the audience feel connected to the artist. Close up shots are used to capture each member of the group as an individual.  

A very high angle shot is used here to put us into the perspective of the man also on the island who has spotted them. The effect of this show is that if makes the group look vulnerable which they are to some extent at the beginning of the video as they have washed up onto a unknown island. Head-on shots are used more frequently when the women are in the jungle and performing to the camera through the bamboo trees. Low angle shots are often used when the girls are performing together during the chorus to make them look strong and powerful which reinforces the meaning of the song – they are singing about how they are strong and independent survivors. Similarly, there are also high angle shots to capture the whole group of dancers at the deserted temple. 

Sound

The lyrics were written by Beyoncé Knowles, Matthew Knowles and Anthony Dent and was produced by Beyoncé and Antony Dent. A both writer and producer, Beyoncé sings and performs majority of the song, however Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams have their own solos. Beyoncé is the lead singer but the chorus is sung by all members of the group. Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams both have their own solos but Michelle’s is significantly shorter than Kelly’s. The concept for the music video came about from a TV show with the same name about contestants voting each other off an island. At the time the song was being produced, a great deal of negativity surrounded the group after 3 members left, because of this Beyoncé wanted to ‘write them out of the negativity’. 

The meaning behind the song is one of independence and being able to handle anything that gets thrown at you. The song has a very upbeat rhythm which links with the meaning of the song. At the beginning of the song, there is the non-diegetic sound of typing as the words appear on the screen but also the sound of a helicopter. There is another helicopter sound effect at the end.

Editing

The video starts with a shot of the sky with text that reads: ‘Somewhere in the south pacific…’ in green coloured writing which is written in a font that looks like computer code before it fades out just before the video. There is lots of fading to black effects at the beginning of the video as it establishes the members as individuals and makes the narrative mysterious. As the tempo speeds up so do the length of time between shots – cuts are used to transition between shots. As the camera needs to follow all 3 members individually, there are a lot of jump cuts. Zooming in is used quite often to establish location, for example the shot starts in the jungle but zooms into the jungle to show where the group is. 

▶    Discuss the representation of people especially focusing on gender identity including voyeurism

As Destiny’s Child is an all girls group they are the only women in the music video along with one other man who seems to have been living on the island for a while. In terms of representation, I think that all 3 members of the group are represented quite negatively due to the male gaze. The voyeuristic angles that have been used to capture them make it seem like they are only on screen for the visual pleasure of the audience.

I think the way that they have been represented contradicts the lyrics of the song as they are singing about being strong and independent but are dressed to please a male audience. The high angle shot that I talked about earlier was from the man’s perspective looking down upon the women which makes him seem superior in relation to them. Therefore, in this specific shot women are represented as being vulnerable in relation to the man who is looking down on them. On the other hand, the group are presented positively through the meaning of the song – they are singing about being strong and independent which could be seen as inspirational to a wide audience. Throughout the narrative, all the girls stick together, this suggests that they have a close friendship which is a positive representation. 

▶    What can you say about the record label behind the production this? Has this influenced the final product? If so, how?

The record label behind the production of this music video was Columbia Records. As I previously mentioned in the sound section of this analysis, Beyoncé had a large part in the production of the music video. For this reason, I find it unlikely that the record label influenced the music video. Columbia Records is a very large and successful record label that has signed various artists from many different genres which makes me think that they have a lot of freedom in terms of the music videos that they distribute. In comparison to a smaller record label that has a more niche audience, they do not have to make music videos with specific genre characteristics.

▶    What audience has been targeted and how can you tell? What makes it suitable for them? What type of audiences wouldn’t it be suitable for and why? Are there any secondary audiences?

Similarly to the TLC ‘No Scrubs’ music video, I think that the main target audience for this music video is young women as they are of a similar age to the members of the group and can probably relate to the meaning behind the song. A small percentage of the target audience will be young men due to the voyeuristic angles used. These angles have been used deliberately to attract a male audience. The fact that it is largely performance based means that it will probably appeal to a younger audience rather than the older generation.

Watch the full music video here:

Music Video Analysis - Thriller by Michael Jackson

‘Thriller’ was released in December 1983 worldwide by the ‘King Of Pop’, Michael Jackson for his studio album ‘Thriller’. The music video for ‘Thriller’ is 14 minutes long and was directed by John Landis. The official music video was released by Epic Records and Vestron Video. The video was also released via Michael Jackson’s VEVO channel 8 years ago and currently has over 450 million views.  

This music video is a mix two styles: it is narrative based but contains performance to the audience as part of the narrative story. This music video makes use of lip-syncing throughout. I would say that the video relies heavily on mise-en-scene to make the narrative realistic. There was clearly a lot of effort that went into the production of this music video, specifically the mise-en-scene and the dance routine. For this reason, I think that the music video would have been very time consuming and expensive to produce but it was clearly worth it due to its success.  

Mise-En-Scene

As this is a partly narrative based music video we would expect a few props. Props used in this music video include: the ring me gives to her, his popcorn, and a the car that breaks down. At the beginning of the music video, a teenage Michael and his unnamed girlfriend are featured. He is wearing a classic red varsity jacket, blue jeans, white socks and dance shoes. His costume, particularly the varsity jacket works to make him look like a teenager in the 1950’s. His unnamed girlfriend is wearing a pink and purple 1950’s dress with white socks and a pair of Aris  1950’s swing dancing shoes. Both her shoes and dress are typical pieces of fashion from the 1950’s – dresses with a bell shaped bottom were very popular for women in the 1950’s.

Both her shoes and dress are typical pieces of fashion from the 1950’s – dresses with a bell shaped bottom were very popular for women in the 1950’s. Both of their costumes work effectively to ensure that they match the narrative – this scene was meant to be set in  the 1950’s. 

Both of their costumes work effectively to ensure that they match the narrative – this scene was meant to be set in  the 1950’s. In the other half of the video, teenage Michael Jackson is wearing an all red outfit that consists of a red leather jacket, red trousers and dance shoes. His unnamed girlfriend is wearing a denim jacket and low heels with pink/purple three quarter length trousers  which were a popular fashion statement during the 80’s (the time around the video was filmed).  As for location, the beginning scene at the movie theatre was filmed at the Palace Theatre in downtown Los Angeles.  The zombie dance sequence was filmed at the junction of Union Pacific Avenue and South Calzona Street in East Los Angeles and the final house scene was filmed in the Angeleno Heights neighbourhood at 1345 Carroll Avenue also in Los Angeles. I would say that low key lighting is used throughout the video because the narrative is at night. 

Camerawork

In terms of camera work, there are a wide variety of camera shots, due to the film being narrative, it is almost like a mini film which would usually require multiple camera shots to appropriately capture what is going on. A long shot and head on shot are used at the beginning in the shot where the car is being driven towards the camera. Over the shoulder shots are used when they are talking in the car, this is effective as they are having a conversation; it puts the audience into the perspective of the characters. After this, various close ups are used to capture the close relationship between the two and establish the characters to the audience. A pan upwards is used when they are walking to put focus on their
costumes.  

Close ups, medium shots and over the shoulder shots are used during their conversation in the street. Close ups are again used specifically when Michael Jackson is turning into a werewolf, the reason for these close ups is that they allow the audience to see the characters’ emotions and empathise with them.  


There are also extreme close ups of his ears and hands changing. Long shots and medium shots are used to capture her running away into the woods and him chasing her through them. Close up shots are also used to show them in the cinema. A long shot is used when they come out of the cinema to establish location and costume. Head on shots are used when the zombies are coming towards the camera. Medium shots are used to show the group of zombies dancing.

Sound

Since the music video is largely narrative based, the music doesn’t actually start until 4.13 and the lyrics don’t start until 4.43. The whole song is only sung by Michael Jackson himself. The song is about the genre of thriller and things that happen in a supernatural world. The beginning (narrative only) section features sound effects like screaming, growling and some suspenseful music in the background. There is a backing track which was made from two modified minimoogs playing in unison. (A minimoog is a type of synthesiser which generates sound electronically). 

Editing

The music video starts with a black screen and text that reads “Due to my strong personal convictions, I wish to stress that this film in no way endorses a belief in the occult. Michael Jackson.” As Michael Jackson was a Jehovah’s witness as the time and believing in zombies and other supernatural occurrences was frowned upon, he was saying to the audience that although the music video features examples of this, it does not reflect his own personal beliefs. Followed by this comment at the beginning of the music video which fades to black comes the song title which fades in, presented in thick red lettering before it too fades to black. As far as I can tell the only video transitions are cuts and fades to black At the end of the music video, there is a series of credits that are presented in white gothic style writing. 

▶    Discuss the representation of people especially focusing on gender identity including voyeurism

The main characters in the music video are teenage Michael Jackson and his unmade girlfriend (Ola Ray). I think that this music video presents women in a negative way based on the fact that throughout the video, she is portrayed as helpless and vulnerable to both the zombies and him as a werewolf. For example, she gets scared in the cinema and runs out which leads him to leave to make sure she is alright. Another example is at the end of the video when she is hiding in the house and he saves her. The fact that throughout the video she is helpless to the zombies without him make him appear as if he is superior to her and she is just a damsel in distress type character. 

▶    What can you say about the record label behind the production this? Has this influenced the final product? If so, how?

The two record labels behind the production are Epic Records and Columbia Records. Both of these record labels are owned by one of the big 3 – Sony Music Entertainment. 

One of the reasons I think that both record labels didn’t influence the final product is because the idea for the music video came from Jackson having seen Landis’ previous work on the horror film ‘An American Werewolf in London’. After seeing this, Jackson decided he wanted his main character to go through a similar transformation. Michael Jackson also stated that his idea was to make the short film with conversation – consisting of a beginning, middle and end similar to the style of a story. He also said himself that he was very much involved with the production and planning for the music video, this is evident through the music video itself. For this reason I think that the production of the music video wasn’t influenced by the record labels that distributed it. However, it could be argued that the record labels, being based in America did influence the choice of location as it was all filmed in Los Angeles. 

▶    What audience has been targeted and how can you tell? What makes it suitable for them? What type of audiences wouldn’t it be suitable for and why? Are there any secondary audiences?

Based on the concept of the narrative and the fact that it featured zombies and werewolves, I don’t think that the audience would have been young people and by young people I mean children or young teens. I think as an artist, Michael Jackson’s music appealed to a very wide audience. I think in terms of the main audience, the older generation would be targeted due to the fact that it is assumed that younger audiences prefer the pop and R&B genre rather than the disco and funk genre however, I would say that the secondary audience would be young adults/middle aged adults as all his music was very unique and iconic would appeal to them.

Watch the full music video here:

Music Video Analysis - No Scrubs by TLC

‘No Scrubs’ was released by girl group TLC in February 1999 for their album ‘Fan Mail’. The music video for ‘No Scrubs’ was shot by director Hype Williams.  The official music video was released via TLC’s VEVO channel in 2014 and currently has over 87 million views. The girl group consists of 3 members: Tionne Watkins (T-Boz), Lisa Lopes (Left Eye) and Rozonda Thomas (Chilli).

This is a performance based video which is evident because throughout the video, the girls are seen singing and dancing to the camera. Performance based videos were very common in the genre of R&B.  Lip syncing is used throughout by all members in the music video. The music video also relies heavily on the technique of chroma key to create the illusion that the girls are in space. For this reason, I think that the music video would have been quite expensive to produce along with the dramatic hair and makeup. 

Mise-En-Scene

Although there isn’t many, the props that are used along with the hair, makeup and costume are far from minimalistic. Throughout the video the girls are seen in various different outfits which vary from black, white , silver and a shiny blue/purple colour worn by Left Eye during her solo towards the end of the video. In the shots were the girls are dancing together, they are all wearing the same colour which reinforces their brand image and the fact that they are a group. When dancing together in the same shot, the girls are either wearing black or silver. 

T-Boz has vibrant pink hair with a futuristic hairstyle throughout the video which matches her makeup which is also very vibrant – she has pink eyebrows, wears pink eyeshadow, pink eyeliner and a dark purple lip which overall gives her a very futuristic look. In contrast, Chili appears very natural through her hair and makeup and her all white outfit. Similar to T-Boz, Left Eye also has a quite dramatic look which is expressed through her hair, costume and makeup. Left Eye has blue eyeshadow and also sports a very futuristic hairstyle. The fact that T-Boz and Left Eye have dramatic makeup and hair but Chilli appears very natural to the camera makes me think that the director has done this to draw attention to Chilli in particular as she is almost the ‘odd one out’. I think that because she is the lead singer and performer for this song, she is featured the most and the director has used props, costume, hair and makeup to make her stand out from the other girls. Although they all wear trousers and long sleeves for most of the video, all their stomach’s are exposed which links to Mulvey’s Male Gaze theory.  

Not many props are used in this music video, for the majority of it the girls are just dancing around however, a white swing is featured at the beginning of the video which only Chilli uses which further emphasises the idea that’ she has been made to look superior to the others. As for location, it looks as if chroma key has been used to make it look as if the girls are performing in space on metallic sets. During her solo, Left Eye wears a vibrant, blue shiny outfit which reinforces this metallic look. Also during her solo, although still looking quite futuristic through her outfit and makeup she has a more natural hair colour and style than how she has previously been seen. In the shot where the girls are dancing together after Left Eye’s solo, they are all wearing silver outfits – similar to the kind of thing you would wear in space.  

Camerawork

In terms of camera work, lots of low angle shots have been used for two main purposes: the first purpose is for the male gaze, this is similar to the way in which in most music videos the camera will start at the bottom and pan upwards on the female body suggesting that their body is what is important rather than anything else.  

The second reason that low angle shots have been used is to make the girls look powerful and strong which would link with the lyrics of the song as it is about men who have nothing going for them, but this doesn’t stop them from hitting on women. The term ‘Scrub’ is used to describe a man who is worthless. As the song is about these types of men, perhaps the low angle shots have been used to put us into the perspective of these men thus making us feel powerless whereas the girls look superior and independent. Similarly, a lot of high angle shots are used, I think the main reasons these high angle shots are used is to again put emphasis on the female body to satisfy the male gaze. It could also be a contrast with the low angle shots to show that although powerful and independent, they are still slightly vulnerable. There is also lots of close up which help to establish a relationship between the artists and the audience. These shots also are effective in showing their hair and makeup in greater detail, assisting them in achieving this futuristic look which ties in with the overall theme of the music video.

 There are also various camera pans at a low angle which have the same effect as the low angle shots, to make the girls look powerful and superior to the audience in one way or another. Head on shots are also used to show Chilli swinging on the swing where she is also moving her hips in quite a sexual manner.  

High-key lighting is used throughout the video to help achieve the look of them being in space and an upbeat mood which makes the audience feel empowered and good for the girls in the video. Their confident body language reinforces this idea that they are sick of worthless men and deserve better. Facial expressions see the girls nothing but happy and smiling throughout the video because they are positive about the message that they are promoting which is female independence. The video ends with a low angle shot when the music has faded out but the girls are standing with their backs’ to the camera. 

Sound

The song is sung by all three girls but Chilli sings the lead vocals and Left Eye has a solo towards the end. Surprisingly, ‘No Scrubs’ was actually the first TLC song which Chilli has sung lead vocals on. The song overall has a very upbeat rhythm which links strongly with the lyrics. The lyrics describe a ‘scrub’ who is a worthless man and how they don’t want one. The lyrics can be inspirational to women dealing with relationship issues with men however, the video may been seen as quite offensive to men as it does a good job of labeling men who don’t have a high salary or a job as worthless. There are no non-diagetic sounds in this music video. At the end of the video, the music fades out slowly while the girls are play fighting and dancing around.  

Editing

Some sort of animation or special effects is used at the beginning to introduce the TLC logo and the title of the song before it increases in size towards the screen. At the beginning cuts are used to establish the location when the lights light up. Cuts are used for the first half of the music video to move between shots however, fade to black is used when the tempo slow down at around 2.03. Then around 2.17 there are short cuts when the temp speeds up again. Towards the end of the video, when Left Eye has finished her solo, the footage of the girls dancing and play fighting is sped up.  

▶    Discuss the representation of people especially focusing on gender identity including voyeurism

There is only women in this music video as TLC is a girl group and they are represented both positively and negatively. The women are represented negatively through the camera angles and the mise-en-scene. In all outfits they wear throughout the video, their stomachs are exposed which is an example of the male gaze. Low angle shots in particular represent the women in a negative way by putting emphasis on their legs and panning up which gives the impression that their body is what is most important. I would say that through their revealing outfits and the voyeuristic angles used to film them, contribute to this negative representation. On the other hand, I think that it could be argued that the women are also represented positively in the fact that they are singing about female independence which could be very inspirational to other women watching. 

▶    What can you say about the record label behind the production this? Has this influenced the final product? If so, how?

The record labels behind this music video were Artista Records and LaFace Records. Looking at the artists that LaFace has signed, I think that it is likely that the record label has influenced the final product. 

This is I have noticed that  most of the artists signed to this record label are R&B artists like Usher, Alicia Keys, Sean Paul etc. On the other hand, Artista Records have signed various artists from various different genres so it is unlikely that they influenced the production of this music video. 

▶    What audience has been targeted and how can you tell? What makes it suitable for them? What type of audiences wouldn’t it be suitable for and why? Are there any secondary audiences?

I think that the audience that has been target is both young men and women but the majority is young women. The reason I believe it is young women is because they are of a similar age group to the artists, they will be able to relate to the message behind the lyrics that being about the independence of women. I also think that part of the audience may be young men due to the use of voyeuristic camera angles – these are often used to attract and entertain a male audience. I think the fact that it is a performance video with the artists lip syncing and dancing makes it appealing to a younger audience rather than older. I don’t think it would be suitable for an older audience as I think they would find it boring and not understand the message behind the lyrics. I think if there were any secondary audiences it would be middle-aged women – the reason for this is because due to their age they can probably still relate to the meaning of the song and might see an appeal in the fun performance aspect of the video. 

Watch the full music video here: