The opening shot of Beyonce's petition video shows a large, castle type building on a bright yet dusty morning. There is no music in this shot which begins to create a story for the audience as they have already used imagery to create a scene with this full, wide shot of the castled building.
We are then introduced to the artist (Beyonce) using a middle, wide shot with a strong focus on her emphasized by a blurred background. We can see a maid in the background which instantly shows the artist high status in the storyline. Beyonce wears a silky gown whilst dolled in red lipstick and a neat, blonde bob. This is related to a 'Marilyn Monroe' type of look which introduces the audience to the sex idea in the video. A second shot used in this scene is a more close-up shot focusing on the artists low-cut, lacy nightwear with her cleavage on focus. This uses Mulvey's idea of the male gaze as its purpose is so that the audience are enticed to look at the artists chest. The high-key lighting makes the introduction of the video less sexual however the artists appearance and costume gives the audience a strong idea of the sexual storyline to follow this scene.
The next scene shows a close-up, over the shoulder shot of Beyonce (the artist) gazing at herself in a mirror. Her body language of her hand placed delicately on her shoulder gives again the idea of sex and lust to the audience. Low-key lighting is used in this scene however, light is still visible and not completely abolished yet. Following this shot is a middle, wide shot of the artist dressed head to toe in a jeweled corset with her face hidden behind a jeweled mask. The fact that audience cannot see her face in this scene shows how she is being used as a sex object as we are only revealed to her cleavage and legs and her face is not on show.
The next scene is a low-key lit scene of the artist stood outside in a dark, dusky atmosphere with the only light being from a car parked directly in front of the artist. Similar to the previous scene, we are not revealed to the artist face all we see in her tilted top hat, netted tights and red heels. This gives the audience the idea of prostitution as she is stood in the road wandering which makes the audience think she may be waiting on a male. No close-up shots are used in this setting which again gives the idea of a sex object rather than a person. Following from this, we then see a close-up shot of the same character stood in front of the car carelessly laying across a male in the back of the car. The male touches her legs whilst she lay their stroking her body, this creates male gaze as it makes males envious of the male in the video and it makes women feel sexy and want to be like the girl in the video as she is gaining attention from a male. These shots are fast paced and glimpses of both characters in the back of the car which makes the audience think they are doing something not suitable for the camera.
The next setting in the video shows five characters on a stage exotically and sexually dancing in a very low-key lit setting. A full, wide shot is used to define the detail and movements of the dancers. This takes the focus away from the artist (Beyonce) and focus's more on the exotic dance moves.
Following this scene is a low-key lit, middle-full shot of what looks like the artist sexually dancing over a beam. She seems to have no close on but the low-key lighting makes it look like a shadow from behind something which makes it not as explicit. Her dance moves imply sex movements and the idea of her being behind a curtain creates the idea that the scene could be a sex show which relates to the previous idea of the character in the video being a prostitute.
Finally, following on from the idea of it being a sex show which is supported by the next shot of a male sat in what appears to be a low-key lit, theatre. This shows how the women is used as a sex object as in the past few scenes the audience has not seen her face and only been revealed to her body performing sexual movements and dancing. Similar to the women, the male is then sat in the theatre on his own surrounding by a large cloud of smoke which again hides his facial detail making him become a mystery to the audience. As this is at the end of the video it entices the audience to want to see more as this male is a mystery to them. As this sexual tension is built up, at the end of the video a bell rings and the scene switches back to the first scene of the artist calmly drinking tea at the table. This provokes the explicitness of the video as it promptly rein bursts reality again.
We are then introduced to the artist (Beyonce) using a middle, wide shot with a strong focus on her emphasized by a blurred background. We can see a maid in the background which instantly shows the artist high status in the storyline. Beyonce wears a silky gown whilst dolled in red lipstick and a neat, blonde bob. This is related to a 'Marilyn Monroe' type of look which introduces the audience to the sex idea in the video. A second shot used in this scene is a more close-up shot focusing on the artists low-cut, lacy nightwear with her cleavage on focus. This uses Mulvey's idea of the male gaze as its purpose is so that the audience are enticed to look at the artists chest. The high-key lighting makes the introduction of the video less sexual however the artists appearance and costume gives the audience a strong idea of the sexual storyline to follow this scene.
The next scene shows a close-up, over the shoulder shot of Beyonce (the artist) gazing at herself in a mirror. Her body language of her hand placed delicately on her shoulder gives again the idea of sex and lust to the audience. Low-key lighting is used in this scene however, light is still visible and not completely abolished yet. Following this shot is a middle, wide shot of the artist dressed head to toe in a jeweled corset with her face hidden behind a jeweled mask. The fact that audience cannot see her face in this scene shows how she is being used as a sex object as we are only revealed to her cleavage and legs and her face is not on show. 
The next scene is a low-key lit scene of the artist stood outside in a dark, dusky atmosphere with the only light being from a car parked directly in front of the artist. Similar to the previous scene, we are not revealed to the artist face all we see in her tilted top hat, netted tights and red heels. This gives the audience the idea of prostitution as she is stood in the road wandering which makes the audience think she may be waiting on a male. No close-up shots are used in this setting which again gives the idea of a sex object rather than a person. Following from this, we then see a close-up shot of the same character stood in front of the car carelessly laying across a male in the back of the car. The male touches her legs whilst she lay their stroking her body, this creates male gaze as it makes males envious of the male in the video and it makes women feel sexy and want to be like the girl in the video as she is gaining attention from a male. These shots are fast paced and glimpses of both characters in the back of the car which makes the audience think they are doing something not suitable for the camera.
Comments
Post a Comment