. I particularly am interested in this song and video because it has a similar feeling to
, with the romance and sexual undertones. In this section I will be looking at the
The video's narrative deals with the happenings at some shady underground club however, most of her audience would not be paying attention to the video's narrative, rather the female dancers and the artists
seductive look and movements. Overall, the song deals with a man not being able to step up and fight for their relationship, the visual is unafraid of the fight, which is what the singer want in keeping love together.
ABOUT THE ARTIST:
She rose to fame as a singer with the American R&B group B2K and released hit songs such as
'The Worst' and '
Sail Out'.
She is 29 years old and was born in Los Angeles, CA. Her music mostly covers the R&B, Hip/Hop and Rap genres. In May
2014 her single 'The worst' reached No.1 spot in
U.S Billboard R&B/ Hip Hop songs. In 2015 she was nominated for the Grammy awards in three categories.
POPULARITY:
I looked on Jhené Aiko's Youtube Channel to see how popular her music videos are on YouTube.
I wanted to also look at the comments she receives by her fans, to see what they thought of the video and how it may have changed their perception on certain situations.
The majority of her comments on the video are positive and have had a great effect on her audience. A lot of the individuals relate to the music which is possibly what Jhené wanted. Many young girls have been through many terrible breakups and come to female R&B artists music to help them recover. Interestingly, the last comment understands the video and what the musician is trying to imply through her lyrics. I will be taking this comment not account when analysing the lyrics.
Most of her fans adore her voice because it is not heavily autotuned. The music that accompanies her vocals is very soft and soothing which pleases her audience. It is amazing to see how a music video and song can help people feel better.
TIMELINE:
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| 00:00 - 00:15 |
A slow fade transition reveals a slim corridor with warm orange/red lighting. Orange represents attraction, heat and stimulation. An open door showing a bar is line with the camera as it slowly zooms forward using a dolly. ‘Jhene Aiko’ ‘Wading’ slowly fades into the shot. The typography is very clean cut and sharp, which contrasts with the setting and lighting in the background. The title of the song is in capitals which is bold and draws attention straight away. The camera continues to zoom forward using a dolly.
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| 00:15 - 00:18 |
The scene quickly cuts to the actress/artist leaning against a wall with blue and purple lighting creating a powerful and mysterious atmosphere. The artist is wearing bold black eyeshadow and red lipstick. Red lipstick attracts men as it subconsciously draws their attention to whether the women is looking for an open and romantic relationship. The actresses hair is big and volumised which is a common look for females in the R&B genre. She is lip-syncing while suggestively touching her hair and acting flirtatious.
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| 00:18 - 00:24 |
The scene cuts to a women wearing a very short dress walking towards a man sitting down. The lighting creates a ‘hot’ ambience and remind viewers of a club or night bar. The camera slowly tracks the movement of the woman as she walks in slow motion. The male viewers would focus on the females legs in this scene.
The scene cuts to the artist seductivly looking in the camera with her head tilted sideways to allow the male audience to focus on her neck and shoulders. The lighting is a dark red which connotes to love, passion and danger. For one second a woman is shown wearing a black bodysuit with tall black heels leaning softly on a plain wall. The scene cuts to a man wearing a black suit with a glass in his hand. The camera is placed on the right side of him only showing half of his face. It appears that he is watching the women seductivly, suggesting voyeurism.
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| 00:32 - 00:42 |
The camera remains still while a women holding two alcoholic beverages walks across the shot in slow motion. Many R&B music videos emphasise the slow motion effect when females are walking. This is because it is a way of showing the opposite sex their features and figure. The scene then cuts back to Jhene singing whilst leaning on a wall, similarly the next shot is of her looking over her shoulder in a warm orange lighting. The lighting in very significant in this video as it emphasises the moos portrayed in the scene.
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| 00:44 - 00:49 |
The quick cut transitions and tracking shots are used to emphasise Jhenes thoughts and movements. A high angle shot is presented in this scene to show her power and dominance. She is wearing high knee boots and a black body suit showing most of her skin, again attracting the male audience.
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00:49 - 00:59
|
The camera tracks the man walking through the corridor in slow motion. He is shown from the back therefore, the audience cannot see facial expressions. A shadow of the mans face is shown on a tile brick wall which creates mystery.
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00:59 - 01:11
|
The shot of jhene lip syncing in the blue lighting is shown twice between these time markers. The scene then cuts back to the shot of the man walking through the corridor, he is shown to be looking at a woman walking by flirtatiously. A montage of clips are shown to sync with the speed of music which looks particularly effective. The shots consist of the actress leaning against a wall looking very desirable. There are also one second clips of a snakes. Snakes represent balance, rebirth and patience. Interestingly, ‘Wading’ means either to walk with effort through water or/ to intervene and attack vigorously. This maybe why a snake was shown in the montage.
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| 01:11 - 02:00 |
Throughout the time gap various shots show women dancing provocatively with minimal clothing to the man that is watching them. The women’s hair is long and open while their makeup is bold and black. Many of the female dancers sway their hips as a way of drawing attention, as men like women with big hips as it represents fertility. It makes sense to say that the snake is incorporated in the video to represent fertility and danger. A mirror effect is used in some scenes which is done in post production.
The flickering is creating the effect of the scenes being superimposed. This may be used to imply a connection between the two scenes or to portray the idea of the actresses and actors being under the influence of alcohol, therefore, creating a dramatic effect. Jhene is shown running her fingers through her hair which draws attention to her chest and shoulders. Downward tilts are incorporated to elongate the dancers legs.
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02:15 - 02:30
|
Shallow depth of field and quick cuts are shown. Repletion of scenes, red and blue lighting, dancers and actress. The scene cuts to a different setting as the camera slowly zooms across the bar counter. The white lighting underneath the bar counter is incorporated to emphasise the alcohol therefore, could foreshadow further events in the video for example, aggression or violence.
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| 02:30 - 02:34 |
An extreme close up shot is shown where someone is dropping a pill into a glass of water. This again signifies that many people in the bar are under the influence and are not sober. This may explain some of the scenes shown before as being hallucinogenic imagery and disorientated, which may be why the mirror effects, and overlay flickering occured. It is used to represent the characters as being dazed.
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| 02:34 - 02:50 |
The extreme close up of the glass is shown in slow motion as the person slowly picks it up to drink. Jhene is sitting by the bar looking innocent and sweet. A narrative seems to begin at the point where the characters are not looking into the camera or lip syncing. The two men are shown to be looking at each other aggressively which may suggest that violent actions are about to occur.
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| 03:25 - 03:50 |
The two asian men begin to fight, quick cuts side shots and close ups are used to intensify the fight and add drama. Interestingly, the men are very strong and powerful even after shown to be drinking alcoholic beverages. Quick shots of Jhene looking shocked and terrified are presented to indicate to the audience that this is a disturbance.
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| 03:25 - 04:04 |
A SWAT team appear to be entering the bar as they are shown loading guns and putting on hard hat helmets. The shots are blurred from this point to either indicate it is the end or that the men are feeling dizzy and dazed from the fight. The camera tracks the SWAT team as they begin to enter the premises. Their faces are not shown, this represent a mystery or unimportance.
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| 04:04 - 04:25 |
The scene dips to black.
The majority of her comments on the video are positive and have had a great effect on her audience. A lot of the individuals relate to the music which is possibly what Jhené wanted. Many young girls have been through many terrible breakups and come to female R&B artists music to help them recover. Interestingly, the last comment understands the video and what the musician is trying to imply through her lyrics. I will be taking this comment not account when analysing the lyrics.
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