Research / case
studies
Director: Benny Boom.
Title: Trust And Believe.
Date: October 22, 2012.
Summary
Trust and believe is an R&B single. The artist (Keyshia
Cole) has noticed her partner (boyfriend) has been acting strange and he hasn’t
been around her as much. She tries to confide in her best friend then,
eventually finds out that she is the mysterious female her boyfriend has been
cheating on her with for a period of time.
Video concept
I think the video is conceptual because, the mini-video with
the actors, Tae Heckard acting as the artist’s boyfriend and model Rotimi acting
as the best friend, helps to give the audience an understanding of what the
lyrics meant. The narrative structure used is non-linear. Throughout the music
video you are seeing a number of flashbacks of what has happened up to the
opening shot at the start in (chronological order). The flashbacks help to show
the emotions the artist is feeling whilst singing/performing the song). In the lyrics it says, “you had my heart but
then you blew it, and I’m so over you go get lost...” this shows, that she was
deeply in love with her ex-boyfriend, but now that they have separated she is
still going through the heart ache and trust issues.
Themes and motifs
The representations of the artist is someone that was in a
long term relationship but they have been through a rough patch (cheating and
trust has been broken in males). In the music video Keyshia Cole’s costume is a
yellow and black, bodycon dress, with a cut out part at the bust, with a
leather jacket and heels. This shows that she hasn’t let this issue in her past
relationship defeat her and she is ready to move on with her life. The
connotations of having a bit of skin showing suggest she is ready to move on
but the fact that she is wearing the leather jacket over it suggest that she is
not ready to commit into a full relationship but at the same time she isn’t
just a thing on the side she is a woman with class and demands respect. However,
in the flashbacks she is shown crying and stressed currently in her
relationship. I think the lip synching in the music video is perfect it looks
as if she is currently singing the song as the video is being made, even when
she hits a high note she’s gives the audience the impression that she is
feeling the lyrics when she closes her eyes or her body language.
Target audience
I personally think the target audience for the music video,
is female women and men of all ages. It helps audiences that have been through
unfaithful relationships to stay strong and deal with their problems no matter
what. It also, helps to give them the strength and courage to leave the
relationship and be happy and show them you are better without them. The most
common reason for relationships ending is because of cheating so this video
helps to gain confidence.
Camera shots
The music video opens with a bird eye video shot of Keyshia
Cole sitting on the floor behind the door in the background you can hear the
boyfriend repeatedly saying “open the door”. Then you see a close up shot of
the boyfriend bang on the door in frustration. The audience sees a close up
view of her facial expression; it seems as if she is emotional because she is
crying. Then there’s a various range of one second close up shots with the
artist being introduced, showing what is to come in the duration of the music
video, which is representing the issues in the relationship that has happened
in the past which led them up to the point that they are at now. After is cuts
straight into a close up of the artist singing the story this is present and
its showing us how she has overcome the struggle or problem in her
ex-relationship and she looks better without him showing the audience that he
was just bringing down her happiness. Then it cut to a wide shot, in this shot
you are seeing the artist and the best friend sitting outside a house, eventually
you see a wide shot of the boyfriend and the girlfriend together. Then it cut
back to a close up of the singer whilst she is singing “... thinking of all
your excuses...” this also, shows us her facial expression which is annoyed.
Then we get to a long shot showing the whole of the artist looking fancy and
attractive in her dress and heels with a new hairstyle showing us she has
gotten over him and she has overcome the heartache. As the music video goes on
there is a sequence of showing the artist alone then in her relationship. Then
you see a close up of the artist confiding in her best friend, at this point we
can see the artist is looking worried and. Close ups are shown to the audience
of them laughing together and having fun. Then the camera pans to focus on the best
friend and the boyfriend, saying cheers with wine glasses, but the close up of
them looking sternly into each other eyes giving the audience the impressing
that they have a secret. A head and
shoulders shot of the artist showing attitude with her body language giving the
audience the impression that she knows the secret. The artist sings “you look
so foolish with my best friend” whilst the audience is seeing a close up shot
of the boy friend and best friend in bed together as if a sexual act is about
to take place. The camera shows a wide shot of the best friend in the car
asking “what if we get caught?” Then a close up of the best friend drinking the
tea showing us her face expression of looking worried about her best friend
finding out she is the mysterious girl. There are various close up shots,
showing the artists facial expression looking aggressive, hurt, furious and
disappointed. We see an extreme close up of the artist looking at the boyfriend’s
phone and answering it. Then we see a long shot of the artist running into the room
crying with the phone in her hand which leads us to the start of the video.
Then we see a long shot of the artist in the heavy rain wearing an all white
dress, which suggest she is pure and innocent and her heart feels crushed.
Special effects/Mise
en scene
In the shot of “Back in the day” the camera effect is sepia;
selenium toning gives a red-brown tone, while a strong solution gives a
purple-brown tone. This effect is normally used to show things that happened in
the past or early 1900’s. This effect helps the audience to know that they have
been together for a while and the video is starting from the very beginning of
the relationship. Another special effect is the tense sexual scene about to
happen between the boyfriend and best friend it’s a midnight-blue effect in the
shots which helps to emphasise the night and helps to create more tension
between the actors for the audiences. The video is set in America, there are
various different locations used in the music video. The couple’s house is where the video has
mainly taken place, for example, the artist bedroom, kitchen and hallway.
Another place is on the streets, we see car scenes and the artist alone singing
in the rain. The final mise en scene is a lonely place with houses and hills in
the background but the camera isn’t focussed on the background so it’s a blur
but it seems as if she has the city behind her. Each mise en scene shot relates
to the music video and was used appropriately because all focus was still on
the artist or actors the locations just helped to make the video look more
realistic.
Editing techniques
The music video has mainly been edited using cuts, for
example when the artists is seen in the bedroom crying then it cuts to showing
us the boyfriend banging on the door and then back to the artist. Another
editing technique is when the boyfriend bangs on the door and when the artists
kicks the car window, the noise is made, you can see the vibrations and the
power used because the camera shakes with it at the same time. This is a
powerful editing technique because it makes the strength seem much stronger and
the fact that the camera shakes with it makes it seem more realistic and has
the audience more alert towards the video. A fade has been used when the
boyfriend is running from the police sirens to the artist thinking about what
he is doing. Then it fades to black and present day is shown. This technique is
used again to show us the artist in the street crying. Fading to black is a
good way of telling the audience that it’s a different day or time or showing a
flash back to present day. The video also has captions such as, “back in the
day” and “present day” this helps the audience, tell the difference between the
different stages of the relationship and helps them to follow along with what
is happening.
Ideas for my music
video
This music video is similar to my video ideas because,
throughout my music video I would like to show the singer playing the role of
the broken hearted girlfriend and I would like to show the couple’s
relationship in chronological order from the beginning to the day they
separated. Also, the story in the lyrics are similar because Keyshia Cole is
singing about her trust being broken and the song my group and I have chosen is
by an artist called Delilah and her song is called Insecure. Her lyrics are
similar to Keyshia Cole’s because she talks about her trust being broken and
her relationship experience. The editing techniques I
have planned for my music video is similar, for example, I would like to use a
lot of cuts to show the journey of the couple but I would be using a lot more
extreme close up and close up when the camera is just focussed on the artist.
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