Music Video Analysis

Beyonce – Jealous

In the music video to ‘Jealous’ there is a clear establishment of Andrew Goodwins theory to music videos. There is a strong relationship between the lyrics and the visuals, although while that is not the case for the entire video, certain moments of this video show us exactly what we are hearing and the actions link directly to the lyrics. For example; “There’s one more shot, left in this glass, don’t make me break it” is accompanied by a clip of her throwing a glass of wine and then next clip is of her throwing everything off the table and it smashing on the floor. I think this is really effective because it draws out more emotion, especially from a song like this which, as all her videos are, very powerful and pulls at your heart strings.

The majority of Beyonce’s songs are very much performance and as well as having a couple of low budgdet dancing videos, the message behind her songs are conveyed through the use of her profound acting qualities. This promotes much more realism to the video and is a key factor to why Beyonces music videos are such a success. This song in particular comes from her album the ‘Visual Album’ which in itself indicates how important each video is for the song it is accompanying. As you can see from the screenshot below, beyonces raw emotion and ability to act really is what makes her productions so realistic and so engaging. It has been a very common occurrence for her fans and target audience to question aspects of her life, especially her marriage, after these music videos are released because she makes them so realistic. This follows suit with another one of Andrew Goodwins theories, as he believed the performance element of a music video is what carried the narrative through.

Another thing Beyonce is very good at is bringing and individualist style to her videos through her star image. One of the ways in which she does this is by the costume she is wearing and how she decides to really focus in on that and her face with the use of close ups. The reason this is a vital aspect of a music video is because it makes it more appealing to the audience and creates an image for the artist, whilst enhancing the aesthetics of their movements, attitudes and attire.

The mis-en-scene and other technical aspects such as lighting, camera angles and sound (diegetic and non-diegetic also have a huge part to play in the production of a music video. The reason being is because that’s what gives off a certain vibe or makes the audience see something in a particular way. For example, below there are screenshots from her video that shows how the technical elements can really make us engage with the music video as a narrative piece. As said before, with the first image, the lyrics match up to the actions. When she says “…I’m staying out till tomorrow, dancing on them tables I aint got no cares no sorrows” and it shows her with an alcoholic beverage in her hand, surrounded by a group of friends which insinuates, as her lyrics tell us, that she is out. The setting of the bar and the attitude she has really reflects the lyrics of the song and empowers her. The other two shots at the correct moment in the music video also do the same. The use of non-diegetic sound right at the very end as she is running in heels, and the car is racing and then she falls into a very emotional embrace with someone also really helps contribute to the realistic aspect of this video because we can hear it as if we were there ourselves.