This song is about love and 'toxic' relationships. Teenagers are known to be obsessed with love which is why I decided to make teenagers and young people my target audience.
Rihanna - We found love ft Calvin Harris
This is a combination music video. Performance and Narrative.
POP MUSIC
Relationship between music and visuals
The sound of the lightening is illustrated through an image of an actual lightening.
The lightening could be insinuating that the relationship between the two protagonists is dysfunctional and rocky. This is a great way to show the audience that the narrative of the video will have a close relationship to the lyrics.
At the start of the video, a sad melody plays in the background as the female narrative speaks. The sad melody as well as the narration is emphasised as the visuals illustrate the fed up feeling the two protagonists are feeling.
When upbeat music starts, a close up shot of a slot machine can be denoted. This matches the playful and lively melody of the song. The slot machines could represent the playful side of their relationship.
Rihanna's make-up for the majority of the video is quite nude. This is to show her carefree attitude and laid back attitude. Arguably it is also to show her vulnerability throughout the video.
The only 'bold' make-up she wears is eyeliner at the beginning of the video where it's smeared while she sits in her bath.
As Rihanna is a fashion Icon, she has to sell her image. She therefore keeps up with the latest trending fashion to appeal to a young demographic.
She wears:
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Creeper shoes, as they were quite trendy during the time the video was shot.
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A large jean jacket with little clothing underneath to showcase her body.
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Fishnets
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Crop tops
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Short tight skirts
These are the typical items of clothing you would find in most teenage girl's closet. This makes Rihanna relatable to her target audience.
Costume and Make up
As Rihanna is a massive pop star, she has to sell her image to appeal to a younger audience.
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Close-up of Rihanna's bare shoulder deliberately chosen by the director to showcase her sensuality and sex appeal.
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Rihanna wears revealing clothing. She wears fishnets, crop tops, tight miniskirts etc.
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Clear shots of her body parts are often shown throughout the video. For example, when she showcases her bare thighs and when she removes her top in the fields while keeping her back towards the camera.
However the male protagonist also appears shirtless multiple times. Arguably this is to appeal to the female audience.
Voyeuristic treatment of the female body
[Narration]
It's like you're screaming, and no one can hear
You almost feel ashamed
That someone could be that important
That without them, you feel like nothing
No one will ever understand how much it hurts
You feel hopeless; like nothing can save you
And when it's over, and it's gone
You almost wish that you could have all that bad stuff back
So that you could have the good
[Rihanna]
Yellow diamonds in the light
And we're standing side by side
As your shadow crosses mine
What it takes to come alive
It's the way I'm feeling I just can't deny
But I've gotta let it go
We found love in a hopeless place
We found love in a hopeless place
We found love in a hopeless place
We found love in a hopeless place
Shine a light through an open door
Love and life I will divide
Turn away cause I need you more
Feel the heartbeat in my mind
It's the way I'm feeling I just can't deny
But I've gotta let it go
We found love in a hopeless place
We found love in a hopeless place
We found love in a hopeless place
We found love in a hopeless place
Yellow diamonds in the light
And we're standing side by side
As your shadow crosses mine (mine, mine, mine)
Relationship between lyrics and visual's
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Several close-ups of Rihanna are shown. This technique is used by the director to keep the artist relevant in Pop culture because close-up shots tend to embed their face into audience's brain and therefore remember them.
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It also keeps a close focus on Rihanna and the song. It makes it more intimate. She tries to express her feelings, which are projected and emphasised through her close-ups. Close-ups also emphasise her vulnerability.
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Wide shots of several locations are shown. Locations are picked carefully to appeal to the youth. For example fast food places are frequently visited by young people. The super market is also associated with shop lifting when it concerns young people. Rihanna shoplifts to show her rebellious side, which once again relates to young people as they are often regarded as troublemakers. An apartment and a bedroom were also chosen for the location. It is very bright and vibrant.
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Wide shot of Rihanna and her love interest squashed up in a bath tub. This is to show how suffocating and toxic their relationship is.
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Establishing shot of Rihanna in the middle of the countryside. She's isolated which amplifies her isolation.
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The camera is constantly moving around resulting in a wide range of shots to keep the audience engaged and interested. It also aids the fast paced editing.
Camera shots, angles and movement
Bike rides and colour bombs create a happy harmony, which matches the upbeat tempo of the song. There is a clear close relationship between the music and the visuals, whenever happy scenes are demonstrated, upbeat and lively music matches it.
During the narration, depressing scenes of the protagonists lying in bath tub are showcased. The shots used portray them as drained and fed up. The shots illustrate the lyrics and the emotions such as 'shame' 'hopelessness' and 'hurt' are transmitted.
In the first verse, Rihanna professes her love for him and expresses how she feels. The lyrics are illustrated through scenes of them being happy and having fun.
The couple is skating and having fun, this illustrates the positive aspect of their relationship. The fact that the shots mainly focuses on them and the 'up' side of their relationship, shows that before all the negative and dysfunctional moments, they had the good and fun moments. This once again shows that there is a clear link between the music and visuals; this helps the audience understand what the artist is trying to illustrate.
The video then cuts to a wide shot of Rihanna in her apartment where she has Christmas lights flickering behind her. The flickering lights flicker to the beat of the song. As the video continues playing with the upbeat music, more happy/lively scenes are shown. As the upbeat rhythm matches the visual, the video becomes aesthetically more pleasing which is a genre characteristic of Pop music. It also keeps the audience engaged and focus on the scenes that are being shown.
When the beat deters once again, the 'toxic' aspect of their relationship is shown. Close up shots of cigarettes, pills and extreme close ups of pupils dilating suggest that the two protagonists took drugs which is why their relationship turned out to be toxic. The drugs, cigarettes and dilated pupils are all shown through a mixture of fast paced editing and slow motion.
