4. The video opens up with slow pace
zoom into the weekend the main artist
in the video his face isn't insight in
which we see XO branded across his
jacket this is a representation of him
and allows the audience to recognise
his ideology as its a brand he's created
for himself the camera then pans upside
down to over his body where he
appears in a close up to be lying down
on a bed
The camera then zooms from the
weekend to down the floor in a medium
close up where we female lingerie and
high heels foreshadowing there a naked
woman in the room typical of the rnb/
urban genre
5. A variety of camera angles are then
used to establish use of location and
show hoe no matter where the audience
are in the room the Weeknd is there
he's constantly following the camera
although from the use of the pan and
track it makes the audience feel as
though we are following him. We are
also then introduced to the woman who
in the previous shot saw her clothing
the shot is a medium close up of her
lied down on her side showing she has
no personal identity or asset besides
her body the audience are then
reminded that the video is seen from a
heterosexual mans point of view
6. As we pull away from the cinematography of all the furniture in this empty room
with just a bed we are bought back to the repetitive mid medium close up shot of
the Weeknd miming the song he is the central of the shot showing the audience
that he is the main focus of the video and shows the artist. The framing then pans
around the room quickly where we again see the room but this time with a lot of
women inside it who were never there in previous shots this creates an illusion for
the audience on what is actually happens and distract from the sexual shock factor
the songs portraying. The shot is fast and a body shot rather than showing specific
facial features again this conveys ideas about how even though there's more
women in the video the weekend is still the main focus and that the women are
there as objects and props rather than being apart of the narrative
7. There's a high use of close ups on specific objects this is effective as it allows the
women to fade into the background to almost symbolise that they aren't actually
there and that they are apart of the furniture and props and the weeknd really has
no interest in any of the women at all and that they are just there for his
satisfaction. None of the objects like the lampshade or clothes curtain have a
certain purpose (or if it does its not stated)
8. The cinematography is manipulated
within the video to sexualise women,
These shots on the left show clearly that
the camera is focusing on the women’s
bodies and not showing their faces
which presents them with no specific
ideology . In the first two shots the
framing cuts off the top of their heads
and shows instead more ‘desirable’ parts
of their bodies – legs and chest. In the
third shot we do see the woman’s head
but still not her face, plus the shot is out
of focus. All of this implies that the
women are there to be viewed sexual
value and that they have no real
purpose being there besides being
desirable for the Weeknd
10. In terms of editing the video doesn’t
have a great deal of effects the video is
all one shot in order to make it not just a
viewing experience but generates the
senses similar to rick altmans theory.
The camera at the start pans around the
weeknd and over his body creating the
illusion that we as an audience are
upside down it can make the audience
feel uneasy and unware of what's going
on. The use of the camera panning
around the room make it look like we are
looking around the room and watching
the video from our point of view rather
than the weeknds this makes it
interesting as a viewer because it makes
us feel connected to the artist
11. In the first 3 shots of the video there's a use of depth of field editing with the
main focus of the video The Weeknd having his back to the audience blurred
out this makes him feel mysterious and keeps the viewers enticed to figure out
who this person is it creates a sense of mystery which could be a convention
of the genre as opposed to pop that have constant interaction with there
audience whereas we as an audience feel a barrier to us and the artist.
There's also a depth of field editing when we are introduced to all the girls in
the apartments the depth of field is on there faces and the focus is shown to
be on the body.
13. The mise en scene in the video is very
basic with the location being entirely in a
blank bedroom with a bed and a lamp
shade this is used to create effect of a
mood and for everything to be very
minimalistic
The use of costume on the artist the
weeknd is wearing a black oversized
bomber jacket with the letters XO on the
back in bold and large lettering. This is
an example of branding and product
placement as its an example of
advertising for his website merchandise
and record label. The colours are all
black making it conventional to a rnb/
urban video
The clothes on the women are minimal
and sexualised in order to make them
more appealing and to show off there
bodies to the audience
15. The language of a music video refers to what the
content actually is and the way the technical elements
are used to create images and a viewing experience to
the audience
Close-ups are conventionally used to focus on the
singer performing and emphasise certain body parts
or props, Medium close up shots establish location
and create a mood that’s an illusion to the audience
the editing is all one shot making it a viewing
experience rather than it being just watched
The mise-en-scene reflects the feeling of the song
clearly through costumes, locations, lighting and
colours
The video contains performance alongside narrative,
again conventional of music videos. The performance
is lip-synced as opposed to live, most likely so as not
to disrupt the diegesis of the world created by the
progressing narrative
17. The video is marker with the label NSWF which stands for not safe/ suitable for
work its often used on the internet which contain material such as nudity,
pornography or profanity. This implies the weekend common ideology and sets
his target audience as most videos marked with the term NSWF you have to be
18 years old to view. The NFSW scenes are immediately identified in the video
with the group of girls who are all in minimal and if not no type of clothing with a
small hint of pornography. There's also an ideology of an rnb star as his attitude
is care free and there's a use of drugs and sexual exploitation of women
19. The Weeknd is signed to
American label republic home
to the likes of Ariana Grande,
Jessie j, Drake and Nicki Minaj
the product (music video) is
distributed to the masses by
republic but the Weeknd has
his own label/ brand in which
he uses so the audience can
establish him as the artist. The
brand xo is frequently used
throughout the video so the
audience are constantly
reminded.
alternative R&B act the Weeknd --
a solo outlet for vocalist Abel
Tesfaye was born on February
16th 1990 and grew up in
Scarborough Ontario in Canada
his career plummeted as in
March 2011 his debut mixtape
House of Balloons. A nine-track,
50-minute mixtape made available
for free download on the Weeknd
website. Since then the Weeknd
has gone onto work with the likes
oh drake and Ariana Grande who
all happen to be on the same
label
21. The main target audience for this video does appear to be heterosexual males,
probably of a similar age to the artist himself. The high emphasis on women’s
bodies aligns with Laura Mulvey’s Male Gaze theory describing how women in
the media are there as passive objects for men to view, which is definitely
what happens in this video. The age range of their audience most likely spans
from older teenagers to young adults. The content isn’t aimed at children or
older adults – its targeted at young people, students etc. which is conventional
of most music videos because that age range consumes the most.
In terms of genre, the video does appeal to an rnb / urban audience because
that’s the genre of the music. The mise en scene isnt conventional but
confusing in the way that its very basic and almost drug like it makes the
audience feel on a trance. However this doesn’t necessarily make the intended
audience a small niche one, I don’t think the overall narrative and performance
within the video is still appealing to a mass audience as it could be seen as
quite vulgar or too sexual for audiences that don’t understand the weeknds
ideology
23. Again the representation of women in
the video as very sexual the girls in the
video has no true identity and are there
as objects rather than people. The
clothing on the women is extremely
minimal and if not provocative with
suspenders and lingerie this is typical
of the genre and the target audience
who are men and both women. This
relates to Laura mulveys theory in
particular as its showing women's body
parts in order to satisfy the
heterosexual male
There's also a representation of drugs
which is again conventional of the rnb
genre and the weeknd as the use of
drugs and women work well together in
the genre to establish the them of the
lyrics and the mood of the song.
