Music
Video Research
I have
chosen to use Shaggy ft RikRok’s music video for ‘It Wasn’t Me’ which falls
into the Reggae/RnB musical genre.
There are
many different camera shots used in this video. To begin, the video uses close
ups, extreme close-ups and reverse-shots to establish the relationship between
the two main characters- Shaggy and RikRok.
There is also the use of shots through screens- being Shaggy’s security
camera screen which features both characters during a conversation. Low angles
are used to point the camera up at the main characters, seemingly connoting
dominance and power. Transitions such as short takes, and cutting of editing
such as eyeline matches and cutaways are used to create a relationship between
the audience and the characters; maintaining their attention to the video.
Reverse- Shots: These
shots make it difficult to establish who the main character is, as they’re both
portrayed in the same way, thus connoting that they’re on a par with each
other.
There is an
establishing shot of the location which is Shaggy’s bachelor pad. It connotes
wealth and power, as it features a large mansion surrounded by an expensive car
and a long driveway.
The camera
movements within this video are fairly simple. It features Follow shot, where
the camera follows RikRok down the driveway toward the front door, Zoom, where
the camera focuses into the faces of the main characters, and more importantly-
the Zoom which fragments the females’ bodies within the video, adding
voyeuristic elements to the video, encouraging Mulvey’s theory of the Male
Gaze.
There is a
clear Arc camera movement which forms a semi-circle of camera time around the
two main characters. This connotes their power over the women in the video, and
focuses the attention of the audience onto the men. This also encourages people
to listen to the conversation they have during the song which explains the
story behind the video.
The
location of the video is set in a wealthy, sparsely populated area of America,
which features a Mansion, neatly trimmed hedges, and an expensive car on the
driveway. These features of Mise En Scene connote wealth and dominance over
economy.
The entirety
of the video represents wealth and power, as it also features other expensive
cars/motorbikes, GPS tracking machines, Mobile phones, champagne flutes and
cigars. This connotes bombast from the main characters, as stereotypically,
these visual features are perceived as ‘rich man’s toys’ by the average public.
The clothes
the main characters are wearing are bright- Shaggy is wearing a bright purple
jacket, and RikRok is wearing a red sweater. This connotes vivacity and
represents the characters as being animated and lively.
The women in
the video are wearing very revealing clothing. This fragmentation of the female
body encourages the audience to disrespect the women, and look at them through
a Male Gaze. This causes the women to be perceived as inferior to the men,
which also connotes that the men are pompous and clearly objectify the women,
changing their status in the video from characters to objects.
Here, Shaggy himself is using the Male Gaze, as he focuses
on the female’s bare legs.
The video
contains a variety of sexual elements throughout, and especially through the
use of props. For example- candles should represent romance and relaxation,
however here they are used to connote sexual activity, as the lust shared
between the male characters and the objectified women.
The GPS
tracking device Shaggy uses connotes control over the women. They are simply
pawns in his game. He uses it to track theirs and RikRok’s whereabouts in order
to warn RikRok of the trouble he is about to get into for cheating on his girlfriend.
The
alcohol and playing cards featured in the video represent a hedonistic
lifestyle.
This video
fits the stereotype of the genre; thus involving the theme of lust or love, and
clothing/props that represent wealth. This is typical of the RnB genre, which
tends to focus on materialism and female-fragmentation. This video has inspired
many other videos in a similar way. For example, in 2006, Sleepy Brown, Big Boi
and Pharell Williams created RnB song ‘Margarita’ which features visuals similar
to those featured within Shaggy’s video.
Here, this video features a wealthy location, and fragmented
female bodies- similarly to those featured In Shaggy’s ‘It Wasn’t Me’ video.
This is intertextuality.
Graham Allen
claimed that ‘In the Postmodern epoch, theorists often claim, it is not
possible any longer to speak of originality or the uniqueness of the artistic
object’. This claim is representative of the RnB genre, as ever since Shaggy’s
video (2000), other RnB artists are following the trend. Materialism is a clear
characteristic of the genre, RnB.
Due to the
video being mostly redundant to the genre, Andrew Goodwin’s theory of
Synaesthesia is applicable. It is possible to ‘see the sound’, as the majority
of the beats and cuts are in sync with one another, however this is not evident
throughout the video- it is mainly portrayed in the chorus. When the video
begins, there is Synaesthesia between the two main characters during their
conversation through the security camera. After this, there are a few times
where Synaesthesia is present.
This shot is shown when RikRok sings the lyrics ‘making love
on the bathroom floor’. It is illustrative of this event.
Just as RikRok says the line ‘I even had her in the shower’,
it features an illustrative event of him and a female having sex in a shower.
It becomes disjunctive however, toward the end of the video.
RikRok’s lyrics are, ‘I wanna tell her that im sorry for the things that i’ve
done…’ but his actions do not match his words, as he attempts to escape from
her on a motorbike and flee the scene.
Despite the
video and the lyrics clashing in meaning (sings about apologising for cheating,
but attempts to leave the scene when his girlfriend arrives to discuss with
him), the original connotations of the men being powerful and dominant diminish
toward the end, displaying a battle between gender, and eventually, the male
fleeing the scene, and the women winning the race in tracking him down. This
opposes the original idea of the male being ‘in charge’ and fragmenting and
objectifying women, and actually reverses to ensure that during the final few
moments of the video; the woman appear to be the dominant characters. However,
there is a final twist in the story, which enables the video to finish on an
equilibrium (the same way it started), with RikRok (the cheat) fleeing the
women and returning to the mansion that represents power, wealth, and dominance
over females.
The majority
of the video is redundant of the RnB genre, however towards the end of the
video, there is an entropic scene where RikRok jumps from a bridge and lands on
a lorry. This is disjunctive and entropic, as it contradicts the lyrics
mentioned previously, and confuses the audience.
Shaggy
and RikRok as artists have successfully developed a star image/persona as a
result of making this video. Shaggy’s pompous behaviour was originally
recognised in 1995 when he brought out the song ‘Mr Bombastic’. This enables
Shaggy to become a commodity. People buy into his image, as well as his music,
simply for what he stands for; thus again, in this video- promoting wealth,
dominance and power. This is redundant of Shaggy as an artist. The bright
colours he wears and the expensive props he features in his videos are
significant to Shaggy’s work, as he is materialistic and self-focused. He is
recognised for objectifying both women and money.
Shaggy- Mr Bombastic (1995)
Fragmentation of the
female body. Supports Mulvey’s Male Gaze theory. Shaggy is watching her, and
the audience are subjected to her exposed mid-section also.
There is an
unclear narrative structure within this video, however, there are elements of
Propp’s theory, regarding victims and villains. RikRok is a self-professed
villain within the video, as he has cheated on his girlfriend, who is now
considered to be the victim. However, as the video pans out, RikRok finds
himself victimised by a group of women who switch roles and play the villain,
who subsequently hunt RikRok down, and force him to flee the scene. This is a
pivotal moment within the video, as it reverses the stereotypical, redundant
roles that are predominantly evident in Shaggy’s music- thus meaning that the
women become dominant and powerful, leaving the men to act as victims. Shaggy
is likely to appear as the hero to men- as he attempts to help RikRok escape
the women, but will appear as the villain to women, for the very same reason.
This allows us to believe that Shaggy has more male fans than women, as he is
perceived as derogatory towards women.
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