Beyoncés Music Video research with linking Album Cover and Poster

Beyoncé - If I were a boy Music Video

• The lyrics are about boys who think they can do whatever they want whilst they are in a relationship and they don't really care. It's from the girls point of view saying that the way some boys act does hurt even they don't notice the hurt it causes due to them not caring. It's a very emotional song but the lyrics do appeal to a lot of girls and some boys as well. This was a very popular song which proves its' appeal.
• The music has a slow beat to it with long takes to go with the pace of the song. It is a very mellow beat with some on the beat editing and some off the beat editing.
• The genre for the look of the music video is romance due to the narrative being about a man and a woman's relationship, this reflects the lyrics and the nature of the song. The music genre is ballad/R'n'B. This video has a narrative structure mainly - this portrays the lyrics of the song. The whole music video has been edited to be black/grey and white which shows the simplicity of the situation going on. The situation is simple because the boy only has to change a few things and pay attention and their relationship would be better already. Also the connotation of the black/grey and white used could suggest binary oppositions, for example boys and girls or good and evil. This suggests further that in some relationships it may seem like they are opposites in personality as well as opposite sexes as they may not understand eachother - this is displayed by the lyrics of the song. The music video doesn't start with music straight the way it starts with Beyoncé and the man who plays her boyfriend saying qualities of a good relationship. This relates well to the song and the rest of the video because the qualities are broken by the male figure which suggests to female viewers that they should find a male figure who will give them those qualities so they won't suffer heartbreak. Beyoncé starts off by wearing very simple clothes which hide her figure. This is because she is in the role of a man at the start as the roles have been switched and men just wear whatever they want regardless of what they look like. Her hair is scraped back into a tight ponytail which gives her a tough edge, along with this she has a career in the police force - she has to look and dress as much as possible like a man so she will be able to establish her authority over the criminals. Within the camera movement there are mainly static shots and quite a few shots seem to be taken with a hand held camera to show the audience the urgency of the police and some of the situations. Also some of the hand held shots are for point of view shots this is effective because people aren't always standing still, so it makes it more realistic. For editing there are mainly cuts between shots however near to the end of the song there is a break in the music and there is a fade to black for 3 seconds then a fade in from black for 1 second to reveal part of the storyline with speech. The roles are switched back and Beyoncé becomes the girls point of view again which relates to the lyrics. She is now seen in more girlie and fitted clothing, and her hair is also down, this shows a softer tone to the character she is playing and also portrays her as more feminine now. The man is now the policeman and is doing everything Beyoncé did in the beginning of the video. Also now the roles have changed there are cuts between the storyline and Beyoncé singing on her own with a white wall for the background - this shows innocence. It's the same shot position she was in for the speech at the beginning.

Camerawork and Editing;

• Very fast fade in from black to medium close up of Beyoncé
• Cut to medium close up of character boyfriend
• Cut to medium close up of Beyoncé
• Cut to medium close up of character boyfriend and a voice over edited in of Beyoncé saying "you"
• Cut to close up of Beyoncé and a voice over edited in of the character boyfriend saying "me"
• Each clip is getting shorter however they are quite long, for example the first shot is 5 seconds long.
• Cut to medium shot of the back of Beyoncé putting a top on and there is a voice over edited in of Beyoncé and her character boyfriend saying "us" in time with each other. Also slow motion is edited in for when Beyoncé is putting the top on to make the clip a bit longer
• Cut to medium close up of the back of Beyoncés head as she's walking down the stairs
• Cut to medium shot of Beyoncé and her character boyfriend who is putting plates on a table - breakfast?
• Cut to medium long shot of breakfast table with the two of them there, Beyoncé is standing up and her character boyfriend is sitting down - this shows the superiority that Beyoncés character has in the relationship, it also gives her a sense of urgency because she doesn't have time to sit down
• Cut in to a medium shot the character boyfriends expression to show he wasn't impressed that she didn't sit down to eat and has just gone
• Cut to a medium close up of Beyoncé walking into the shot putting on her policewoman's hat and to show she's in uniform
• Cut back to a medium shot of the character boyfriend who does a fake smile to show he's not impressed
• Cut back to a medium close up of Beyoncé walking away towards the door - the camera pans to the right slightly
• Cuts to medium shot of Beyoncé coming out of door and putting on sunglasses - slow motion is edited in to make her look sexy putting sunglasses on and walking down the steps - which will appeal to a male audience even though she is characterised as the male role.
• Cut to long shot of Beyoncé walking down the steps and the camera pans diagonally downwards and to the right to reveal her male co-worker who is in the drivers seat
• Cut to the outside of the car which shows a two shot through the window screen of the car which could symbolise someone looking through the glass and watching them. People on the outside of the co-workers friendship may get the wrong idea about them for example the boyfriend may assume something's going on just because the co-worker is the opposite sex.
• Cut to three shot of the co-worker on the right, Beyoncé in the middle and the empty stairs on the left. The co-worker and the empty steps are the most eye-catching images in this shot. This is because the empty steps may symbolise how the character boyfriend feels, empty and someone to walk over and the co-worker is one of the reasons for this.
• Cut to the backseat when the car is being driven - shaky camera suggests that there is urgency because the policeman is also on his radio. This may have been a hand-held camera.
• Cut to a two shot of looking through the window screen with the window screen wipers going
• Cut to long shot of a group of policemen/women standing and then looking like they're about to pounce
  

I have researched the camerawork and editing up to 1 minute and 10 seconds however the rest of the research I have conducted have been based on the whole of the video.

Application of Andrew Goodwin's theories to the music video for 'If I were a boy';

• One of Andrew Goodwin's theories is that within music videos there are visual parallels with the tempo of the music which are directly represented in music video clips. The speed can be represented in the clips by the movement of the camera, fast editing, post production and any effect edited in by the computer. In the music video for 'If I were a boy' the tempo of the music is quite slow and there are parallels to this by there being slower paced editing than an upbeat song however there are still some sequences within the music video where the editing is fast pace - it depends on what is going on in the narrative as well, and the movement of the camera parallels the music tempo.
• Andrew Goodwin suggests that the voice, the rhythm and the backing which supports them are three central elements of the arrangement of pop music videos. 'If I were a boy' is edited on the beat however it isn't edited to every beat (it skips some depending on the meaning and importance the shot has to the narrative). This puts an emphasise on the rhythm of the song which drives the narrative, rather than having emphasis on the lyrics, this may be because the lyrics are being represented by the narrative.
  
  
  

Beyoncés latest album - I Am... Sasha Fierce Beyoncés Album Cover is very clearly linked to her debut single's music video due to the hair style and the fact she hasn't got any clothes on. In the introduction to the music video it shows Beyoncé and her character boyfriend saying to the camera qualities of a good relationship. This front cover is clearly related to that introduction as she's wearing a white strappy top in the intro and her hair is done similarly. Also the fact that on her cover she is 'stripped bare' suggests that the songs on the album will be emotional and have 'stripped her bare' of her emotions to put into the lyrics of the songs. She is also wearing a bracelet with a cross on it, this suggests that she may be religious and also that the songs made will be peaceful and emotional. The font and colour of her name is in a grey and white with a fading effect also there is a shadow coming off the bottom to reflect her name - this suggests that the target audience will be seeing two different sides/personalities of Beyoncé in the songs within the Album. Also along the side is the title of the Album - 'I Am... Sasha Fierce' - this is Beyoncés stage name or alter ego - this also suggests to the target audience that the other personality they will see is Sasha Fierce. Along with the title it says 'Duluxe Edition' which is eye-catching to any audiences because they think they will be getting more for their money and will be getting special treatment by having more songs put on the Album for them. The whole picture is in a grey colour which also relates to the video as that is all in black and white as well. It suggests that it's very emotional and not as lively as the second CD may be. In the background it looks like its the sea - this can symbolise a new beginning because the tide turns which symbolises change. The new beginning could be that Beyoncé is revealing to her fan-base that she has two different personalities which will reflect in her music. Also it is showing that she is trying to appeal to a larger audience as she has got two different styles of music.

The Back cover;

Unfortunately I couldn't find the deluxe album's back cover so I have analysed the original album's back cover because it has the same kind of feel to it.

The back cover has got a picture of Beyoncé lying in quite a sexual position with a stern but sexy look on face - showing that she means business. This image is meant to portray Beyoncés alter-ego, Sasha Fierce, which is her stage name. This is the first world wide public display of Sasha Fierce being Beyoncés alter-ego and it has been incorporated into the "I Am... Sasha Fierce" tour 2009 and also into many of her songs. The mise-en-scene of the image shows Beyoncé as a 'Diva', she is wearing lycra which hugs her curves - which will be appealing to both sexes (female to be inspired to look like her and males to be attracted to her physically). The colour black seems to be the only colour clothing in which she is wearing, this colour represents her as sexy, mysterious, and can be evil in some ways etc. These represent the Sasha Fierce character more than Beyoncé herself, so the evil and mysterious aspects may be hinting towards Beyoncé and Sasha Fierce are opposites and still puts Beyoncé in a positive light. There is also a hint of a particular convention of film noir, which is there is always a femme fatal character. Sasha Fierce seems like a femme fatal character because she is wearing sky-scraper heels, with just a leotard on - which seems like she is enticing the male population and the heels show she means business. The tint to the whole image is a grey-scale/black and white - this is carried on from the front cover and also links to the music video. Accessories worn in the image seem to be metal, metal-like or metallic and if this was a colour image you could imagine that these would be a gold colour. These can represent the diva personality of Sasha Fierce and also the glamour role that she takes on - mainly because Beyoncé uses Sasha as her other mind-set when performing so she needs to be glamorous and also fearless. On the bottom left of the back cover is the name 'Sasha Fierce', the font and colour of this name is the same as the front cover. This is in a grey and white shade with a fading effect also there is a shadow coming off the bottom to reflect this name - this suggests further that the target audience will be seeing two different sides/personalities of Beyoncé in the songs within the Album. On the bottom right of the back cover there is the barcode so the shop will be able to scan it through when it is being purchased. On the bottom, in the centre of the back cover there is a cluster of writing which seems to be a list of people who worked on the album for example the producers and co-writers. Finally, in the centre, underneath the image of 'Sasha Fierce' and above the list of people who worked on the album is two lines of the list songs which are on the album. Each line is for a different disc on the album - there are two discs - for different tempos and styles of music - one for each personality (Beyoncé and Sasha Fierce). The track lists are in the same font as the name of the album and Beyoncés name on the side of the album.

The two Cd's;

The two Cd's a represented as opposites, firstly because the tinted colour of each CD is an opposite and gives each image a different feel to if they were the same colour.

• Disc one has a silvery tint to it and Beyoncé has a fitted black dress on with floaty bits of material drapped in the background - which are also connected to the dress, also she isn't wearing any shoes. The bottom of the image seems to be rocky. This suggests that the songs on this disc are going to be relaxing, slow beat and may have lyrics relating to issues which would show distress and 'hurt'. Towards the bottom left, Beyoncés name (in the same font as her name on the front and back covers), what disc it is and track names are listed etc.
• Disc two has a gold tint to it and Beyoncé has got a very different representation to her image. Her hair has been pulled back slightly and has got a quiff type hairstyle on the front, she has got a very stiff/metallic looking cropped tank top. It is difficult to see what she is wearing on her bottoms - maybe only some shorts of the same style? There is a black fade going across the screen - this is why it is hard to tell what she is wearing. This gives Beyoncé a rough/tough edge with the mise-en-scene of the image. This is infact the Sasha Fierce side of the album - there is a suggestion by the image portrayed that the music is going to be upbeat, have hints of hip-hop and the lyrics may show a tough side of Beyoncés personality. Towards the bottom right, Beyoncés name (in the same font as her name on the front and back covers), what disc it is and track names are listed etc, and at the top in the centre is the name of Sasha Fierce in the same font as the front and back covers.

A CD Album advert; This is a poster for the original Beyoncé Album which was out on the 18th of November 2008. It also has the same features and theme as the CD album covers have and also it shows elements of the music video in it (in the Beyoncé side). The two images used are two of the images used for the CD covers, as are the two smaller images on the bottom left hand side. These give the audience a flavour of what is to be expected from the Album which is due to come out.

• The "I am..." part, on the left, has a picture of Beyoncé 'stripped bare' like on the album i have analysed - this is to show that the lyrics to the songs in that side of the Album are going to be quite personal to Beyoncé, be quite emotional and the audience will be able to relate to them. Also the cross on her bracelet is a symbol for Christianity which could give an innocent feel to the image and represent beyoncé as innocent.
• The "Sasha Fierce" part, on the right, has a picture of Beyoncé dressed in clothing which has a metal feel to it and it looks like if the image was in colour that the clothing would be yellow gold. This symbolises Beyoncés 'Sasha Fierce' side as tough and daring to be different. Her hair is down and has a lot of volume to it, this shows that 'Sasha Fierce' is glamorous as well as daring - this should attract the audience and dare them to be different to follow in Beyoncés alter egos footsteps.

The writing is in the same font and colour as the CD cover - which is following the overall look that Beyoncés manager, producers etc. want to present to the audience. Underneath Beyoncés name (which is in a very large font size to attract the audiences attention) is when the album will be released - 18th of November - Roman Numerals have been used because they fit well with the font used rather than actual numbers - they also have a sophisticated look about them, which is another look that the whole poster is trying to portray. On the bottom right it shows two of the hit singles which the album includes - this is there to attract people who have enjoyed/loved those tracks previously and may want to listen to more songs of Beyoncés.

All three of the media products link in very obviously with eachother - one striking link is between the colour of them all - they have a grey tint/black and white tint to them. This suggests automatically to the audience that they are all part of the same package - so when people see one of the products then the other they will associate them together and want to buy more products by the artist or even go to their tour due to a poster. This is a good way of promoting an artist/band - by linking their promotional materials so they are associated clearly with the artist/band.