The first artist I have decided to look at is Kelly Rowland. I think she has grown so much as an artist and I am going to choose 2 of my favourite music videos of hers and analyse it. She is not only a singer, some of her other occupations are song writer, dancer, actress and now stars on X factor as a judge.

Kelly Rowland started her career in a group called ‘Destiny’s Child’ which then in late 2003, she then established herself as a solo artist which made her extremely successful. One of her most famous songs in 2002 was a duet with the famous rapper Nelly called ‘Dilemma’ which was awarded with a Grammy for the best rap the following year 2003.

Here are some of her most recent songs which have hit the charts and links to watch them:• Motivation • Invincible • Commander • Dilemma (ft Nelly)

My favourite video is commander and dilemma and I am going to analyse these two videos looking at keyelements such as mise-en-scene, camera, ,encoding and de coding and editing features.

R&BKelly Rowland - American Recording Artist

Here are Kelly’s Facebook/ Twitter account and Bebo that can be viewed by fans; I am a big fan of Kelly. Here is Kelly's official webpage that can be accessed

by clicking on her picture.

‘Commander’

The first video is commander; the lyrics have themes around hair, fashion and competing with other women. the song as a fun and aggressive club record with themes of female empowerment and lyrics with deliberate grammatical errors. The females are presented as the dominant sex and she gives all the commands with no need of male influence.

This is the first shot that the video begins with; this Medium shot which allows us to see her hand gestures which shows her control and power; this is quite unusual in a music video as stereotypically, the women are normally seen as vulnerable. In the first shot, she is looking directly in to the camera which makes the viewer to connect with her and makes you feel feared towards her. The smoky background also shows a sense of mystery. In the second shot, she has her hands on her hip in a medium shot which also connotes her sense of authority which also reflects the name of the song which is ‘commander.’

These next shots are very effective and are used in R&B videos as it’s a club scene whereby there they have people dancing; this feature is commonly used and is very popular. This shot with peoples hands in there air shows a fun time and they are influenced by the singer Kelly. The colour red is used a lot throughout the video, this also expresses her passion, aggression as well as create sexual impulses which is created from the lyrics in the song.

This long shot is very suggestive as she plays with her hair which is reflected by the issues when she says ”playing with her hair”; this also shows her vulnerable side which contradicts with her latex clothing that she is wearing as this is associated with sexual desires and power. Two frames are used in "Commander" where Rowland "fights" against herself, whilst dressed in two contrasting outfits. This is an effective editing technique as it makes it seem like her double when actually its just using two frames in the shot.

This close up shot of Kelly Rowland helps us to connect with her emotional song which creates a relationship with the audience. She is against a black background which allows us to just focus on her as the main subject which is very clever. This long shot that is used allows is appropriate in this video as it keeps the social circumstances of everyone partying and following her ‘commands’ and the attention is not solely on her. This is also very clever as red smoke is used again which signifies the sense of power and strength as well as love.

In the final end of the video, David Guetta makes an appearance at the end of the clip he undergoes a 'Transformers'-like metamorphosis, turning into a mixer. Which is a very effective editing technique to use. It is also against a white background which allows the audience to focus on the transitions. In the final part of the video, a medium shot is used, when she breaks through the glass which also shows female power and strength. It is also pushed against the camera to create an effect if she is fearless and the glass is coming through the screen.

After analysing this video, I feel that this is a very successful video and uses many stereotypical features as well as some contrasts. We may consider using some of these features when creating our music video.

‘Dilemma’

The music video for "Dilemma" was filmed on Colonial Street, part of Universal Studios backlot. Dilemma is a song by the American rapper Nelly, a duet with R&B singer Kelly Rowland. Which Is a love song in America where a new female moves in to the area and ‘Nelly’ is attracted to her, however, she has boyfriend which creates the ‘Dilemma.’ She is seen as a ‘hot’ and ‘sexy’ female who is favoured over other girls in the area. I am going to analyse the music video looking at different aspects such as camera techniques, editing etc.

In this music video we are first introduced with an establishing shot which is used to set the scene. The hiding between the tree creates a mysterious effect to see what is behind it. We are then shown a friendly atmosphere whereby everyone knows each other, kind and friendly place to be. This is influenced by the young child on a bike surrounding by people in a safe environment. Copy is used also to set the seen between the two characters to show who the dilemma is between. This is not used commonly in any music videos anymore as it looks slightly unprofessional.

In the next shot, we are then introduced to a ‘young’, ‘sexy’ and ‘seductive’ female which suggests that she maybe in conflict with another girl by showing her sexual influences. We are then shown the two characters names from opposite sides of the road, which shows that there will be a love connection between them; this is also shown between them both sitting on the step of a house shows alikeness. The bright font used also relates to their target audience of young people as bright, young and fun.

The next shots are mainly close ups of her when she sings her first line which introduces the love between them. A close up shot is appropriate at this point as she admitting the connections they have. Her eyes suggest intimacy and love with her fragile lips. Her hat also emphasises her innocence where males are dominant. You don’t need any background in the picture as the focus is just on her and she is telling her story so this allows the audience to connect with her.

This medium shot shows he is attracted to the young female as she waves to him gently, he gets up to help her and introduce himself and his feelings grow. He leaves his friend to help a young girl showing commitment and willingness to help her; he doesn’t care if it affects his ‘man’ image. An other the shoulder is used to see that it is him talking to her and we can see her positive reaction.

This is generally a long shot as we can see why the women are jealous as the men leave them to help the ‘new’, ‘fresh’ and ‘young’ female move in creating a male dominant place. However the close up is over the women so you can see there reactions and hand gestures to suggest a sense of enviously against her. The big house in the background relates to Maslow's theory as it shows he is wealthy which is also emphasised by a close up shot of his new flash car to attract the females attention and also a sense of confidence as well as respect.

This shot is a long shot to see Kelly in the background with his authority and control over her as ‘Nelly’ helped her move in and as she goes to wave to her, he gets very jealous. This next two shot that is used to show their relationship where she is unhappy. His posture in the car is very chilled and relaxed which may suggest that he is very careless and doesn’t care how she is treated. Contrastingly, with her hand in there air implies she has had enough.

This split screen shot, also showing a two shot with them and this Is an effective editing technique to use as it shows there intimacy for one another. Maybe even predicting each others thoughts which is emphasised by her arm on her chin; this shot also shows their closeness. This next shot that is used of Kelly is an extreme close up of her eyes as they are very powerful features. This creates a relationship with her and her audience as it makes you feel for her for being in this situation. It also implies that she is clearly in ‘thinking’ mode.

This shot is very unusual in Music Videos as the headlights get bigger taking over the whole screen blending a white shot into the next seen of the window. it’s a form of Graphic matching with an editorial trick to create an illusion blending the mise en scene with editing. This is very effective to use and different. The next one is a shot of her looking down at him which suggests that the power is in her hands and the decision lies on her making him feel powerless. With him outside in the rain shows a sense of commitment and having strong feelings for her; by him leaning against the car shows his wealthy status.

After looking at this video, it seems to me as if it was created on a budget and could be replicated easily; we may use some of these features when creating our music video as I feel this is very successful as well as achievable. I think that this has been a very successful piece of research that will be invaluable

for our

By Samantha Recknell