Usher- You remind me

Twitter account
https://twitter.com/#!/UsherRaymondIV

The mise en scene of this video is similar to With You by Chris Brown as it is set in an American urban area; however it seems to be set in New York as there are a number of shots that include new york apartment style fire escapes. The mise en scene of the airport at the beginning of the video is busy and full of people. The artist (Usher) is walking down the escalator after an attractive girl who is very slim and has curly dark hair. The clothes she is wearing mimic the genre of music, they are a pair of baggy jeans and a cropped one shouldered top representing looseness and fluidity, something this certain genre of music evokes. Usher then goes on to walk past another attractive girl sitting outside a shop on a New York sidewalk. The stereotypical new york apartments with fire escapes are also iconic. She is wearing clothes that reveal her long legs and slender figure, something that seems to be a predominant feature in this genre of music video. The urban setting of the busy sidewalk and group of people on bikes gives a relaxed and everyday feel to the video.

The end of the video is set in a club with dim lights and people dancing with one another, the focus mainly on the girls bodies.  The clothing Usher wears throughout the video is also very symbolic of the R&B genre, the tight fitted vest and baggy jeans along with the heavy silver chain around his neck which mimcs the image of wealth being a predominant factor in modern day R&B videos.  toward the end of the video there is a short dance routine which seems to be fairly common in Ushers music videos and r&B videos.

The camera shots vary throughout this video; however, the most common camera shot is medium close up. This is frequently used within the video especially to show Usher singing to the many different women he seduces in his video. This shot allows the camera to easily capture the emotion in peoples faces. Close-ups are also used when focusing on Usher himself. When in the airport there is a sequence of high and low angle camera shots to capture Usher aand the girl coming down the escalators. After the airport scene Usher follows a girl down a New York sidewalk the camera shot used is track but follows to the side of them. In the club there are a series of close-ups of girls and Usher as well as a wide shot of the club to show the decor and create a busy vibe. When Usher is at the bar there is a close up of his wrist on which he is wearing a diamond encrusted watch which is hegemonic to the R&B genre.

The editing varies between fast pacedd editing and a normal speed. The majority of the editing within the video is simple cuts from one shot to another; however, at the beginning there is a fade from one shot to another. When transitioning from the airport scenes to the sidewalk, there is a wipe, but not a simple one, the wipe is lead by a females torso walking from one side of the screen to the other. This transitions is copied throughout the sidewalk scenes, this design of transition could be seen to represent the busy poeple walking the streets of New York. There is a dance routine that takes place infront of a back drop of a wide road lined with stereotypical New York apartments during sunset. It appears as if the saturation of the backdrop has been altered as the image is slightly orange and Usher only appears as an outline as it is firly dark.

The overall message of this video is that its hard to get over someone that were in love with. Usher meets many beautiful women throughout the video; however, as the lyrics tell the listener he is not able to 'get' with them as they all remind him of his previous relationship. There is a strong social identification within this video as it predominantly focus' on the younger adult generation. The men and women featured are all fairly young ad beautiful, this is a apparent factor in all of modern R&B music videos.

Chris Brown- with you

Twitter Account
https://twitter.com/#!/chrisbrown

Chris Brown With you is a slow mellow song about love and only needung one person to make them feel complete. The mise en scene of this video is in an urban setting which is more associated to modern day R&B. The video takes place in an urban town at night, we see car lights and street lamps lighting up the iconic 'LA' streets with huge concrete slabs as 'sidewalks' and street benches with scribbled graffitti. This represents maybe a more deprived area of Los Angeles as there are no hills or trees seen in the video which are normally presented in big american movies, where the mise en scene is focused around Beverly Hills and Rodeo Drive. Walking down the street there are a number of couples, wich represent happiness and love, they are also relitavely young cuples, this mimics the age group of the artist and makes the target age group of the video apparent. The artist gets on a bus which looks very different to the stereotypical red london bus we get in England, It is a single deckered bus and the layout is different to what we would usually see. There are a number of 'attractive' girls throughout the video, with clothing and make up that wee would associate with this genre in particular, such as low slung jeans, low cu tops, fairly heavy make up and 'bling'.

The same few camera shots feature throughout the video. These are  Medium close up's, tilts, Long shots, track and close up's. The predoominant camera shot in the music video is the track which follows Chris Brown down the street whilst he sings and dances. There are also alot of medium close ups of the artist singing to the camera which gives the idea of the artist singing to the viewer of the video. This shot on the left is a low shot which represents Chris as being 'on top of the world' this could be a symbol of his hapiness and why he is singing about love and having the 'only one'. There is also a tilt when the camera goes from high to low then almost goes under so it looks as if the artist is stanfding on top of the camera, it does a 360 degree shot which is quite effective.

The editing is quite fast paced throghout this music video with short shots cutting from one to another. There is one part of editing that stands out from the others and that is the colour change of his shirt whilst singing. The shirt changes colour from blue to purple to green and has almost a diamond sparkle effect which is iconic of being happy and excited. Also toward the end of the video there is a scene where he is kneeling in the middle of a busy road whilst cars drive past, this symbolises how he will do anything for this girl and even willing to risk his own life. The cars driving past have been sped up around him so now they are only visible as 'neon' like lights whizzng past. although the cars have been sped up his speed remains the same which is cleverly edited. The guitar is also edited in throughout the video which shows the soft acoustic side of this song.

The overall messgae of this video ios that its nice to be in a relationship and that it makes you happy to find that one special person to spend time with. There is social identification in this video as you can easily associate yourself with the people in this video as its a snapshot of everyday life, busses, cars, street lamps, trash cans and graffiti. There is a predominant social group represented in this video and thats the younger generation. The couples walking down the street and driving past the artist in a car are all younger boys and girls, there are also a group of young boys who skate past on their skateboards, something that is strongly associated with the youth group.

The History of R&B

R&B is the abbreviated version of Rhythm and Blues, which originated in the 1940's and is a popular genre of African American music. The term R&B has had a number of shifts in the meaning. In the 1950's the term was often associated to blues records. R&B actually contributed to the development of Rock and Roll which would not be expected as the contemporaray R&B that we listen to in todays society is completley opposite to what we associate 'rock' to be today. The term R&B refered to a style of music that incorporated electric blues, gospel as well as soul music. By the 1970s, rhythm and blues was used as a blanket term for soul and funk. In the 1980s, a newer style of R&B developed, becoming known as "Contemporary R&B".


The 'Rhythm and Blues' genre, known today as R&B has been linked as far back as the 15th century. When the slave trade began and the African slaves weere brought over to America to work some aspects of their culture remained with them such as dancing and singing. Their cultured rhythms collided with European music which has had an effect on the development of modern music. The black church music was popular which later developed into gospel, soul and rhythm and blues music.


The artists that our target audience would now associate R&B music with are artists such as Rihanna, Beyonce, Usher and R Kelly. The older artists that are famously known by all generations are Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross and Michael Jackson.


In the earlier days of R&B music the topic of songs was often cetered around love and the problems it brings or how it makes you happy. They were often focused around the artist singing to or about the opposite sex. It was more romantically inclined than nowadays. The R&B music videos we see nowadays are far more sexually inclined with risque dance routines and women in skipy clothing, R&B music videos have pushed the boundries as what is seen to be 'socially appropriate'. The music videos often feature money, alcohol, drugs, partying, cars, and of course women. This genre of music definatly relates to the escapism theory of Blumer and Katz.