Analysis of promo video 3

I'm now going to write an analysis on Chris Browns music promo video, 'I can transform ya' which was released November 2009. This song belongs into the R'n'B/soul genre which is branched off from the original genre of 'Soul.' The conventions of R'n'B music has more comparisons with the conventions of Pop music rather then Rock music, however some characteristics in R'n'B include: The music isn't anything 'too' romantic or about 'love,' the songs (especially from the male artists) surround more about the subject of sex and lust for the opposite sex, the sounds is described as more edge, street sound which makes it popular amongst a working class audience, it's created with a hard repetitive beat which for some audience may not find it as easy to listen to as much pop music. Also the lyrics tend to be more similar to pop music in terms of songs about clubs and dancing, the artists (especially males, once again) seem to image themselves as being big womanizers who own a lot of glamorous things such as cars, big houses etc.
One big convention in which this video has is the idea of choreography, Chris Brown choreograph reflects the edge street sound, as it's not conventional routine dancing it's cleaver, sharp and fresh in which makes the video a lot more interesting to watch. Another convention is the idea of the song being more buying someones affection through the lyrics, other conventions which are seen in this video include the idea of the song including the subject of sex surrounding women, however the main artist Chris, interestingly isn't surrounded by women and singing what can be interpreted as inappropriate lyrics about sex and seeing women as more of an object.

There is a stronger relationship between the lyrics and the visuals in this video, especially used from the special effects. The idea of the video seems to be surrounding the main title of the music video being 'I Can Transform Ya' and basically stating the idea of Chris Brown is so wealthy and good looking he 'can transform ya' into anything you'd like. As the lyric 'Like 'em like a fire truck' is performed 3 men including Chris are seen transforming into an actual fire truck (Image to the left.) It reinstates the convention of the idea of these artists being amazing and so rich they can literally do anything they want, even impossible things by transforming. Another example of this is when the lyric 'Then my car transforms to a charter, And we can fly to wherever you ever thought of' and thus a car transforms into a helipcopter. All of this is pointing out the convention of this artists being so powerful, wealthy and out of this world they can transform items into completely other things to seduce women, it's an idea of sex appeal especially when he's stating these lyrics to an attractive female dancer/ model.

There is a strong relationship between the music and the video however, the editing doesn't seem to 'cut' as quick between shots as the other videos did. It seems to show longer shots sometimes up to 8 beats long before an edit to show the choreography in full rather then edit to other scenarios which is what both the other videos which i analysed did, they edits, especially in the chorus, sometimes experienced a 'cut' ever beat to the song. However as the song gets into the second verse the edits speed up, which obviously creates excitement and energy into the video and into the song. There are no solo instrumental bits within the song, however 'Lil' Wayne' is seen with a guitar during the intro of the song, this could suggest that he is the producer of the music as well as featuring in the track. It suggests to the audience that the idea of R'n'B being all computerised music rather then Slipknot who do create all their own music is not true, it presents the idea of the producers still having to play raw materials to achieve this type of music.

It seems like the record company are attempting to see this track though the terms of narcissism, fetishism and Scopophilia elements. The narcissim is aroused in terms of Chris Brown being an ultimate being, he's got a tones physique, he's an amazing dancer, he's claimed in his lyrics he's got a lot of money and claims he gets women through all of these factors which he has. The idea of the male audience wishing to be Chris, it's easy to see why they would fantasise about being like him or seeing him as an idol, the girls in which surround Chris and 'Lil Wayne are also very tall, very thin, very beautiful features and are able to surround people like Chris Brown therefore the female audience could have the idea of wishing they where them female dancers / models within the music promo video. The idea of fetishism within the video is the exampled of when Chris Brown first opens his music video in his very expensive looking suite, worn with also, very expensive looking sunglasses. The items in which he has included in his video such as: Chris Brown actually drives onto the set before the music actually starts and the car he drives onto the scene in looks like a very expensive sports car, the video also includes a various amount of very expensive looking bikes. This is great for attracting a male audience, through the use of fetishism, as the stereotypical male craves items just as what is featured within this video. Finally the idea of Scopophilia is used to sell this track, this is used through the terms of naked bodies and choreography. This is an important element in which i feel attracts most of a female audience especially with the male artists: Chris Brown and 'Lil Wayne are all seen topless within this video and they all have a 'toned' body, a lot of the female audience will receive in pleasure from looking at these bodies therefore gaining pleasure from listening to the song in general. This also can be achieved from using outstanding choreography, in which Chris Brown also uses, this is pleasurable to watch by both male and female viewers and also gives him much more sex appeal as a product and an object.

The image of the artist is an edgy, sexy male. You can see he has tattoos which creates this idea of him being a 'bad boy' and rebellion as an individual which can create a narcisstistic view on his strength and passion from being a rebel within the music industry and in society. He's under dressed to show off his 'toned' body in which society is seen as 'sexy' and 'appealing,' and his dancing makes him seem edgy and creative, this also adds to the idea of 'sex appeal.' This image Chris has created for obviously his new album, isn't how he used to image himself, he used to be seen as the 'cute' and 'good looking' eighteen year old, however as he's become older and received a lot of negative media with accusations against him, this was a very cleaver image transformation as he's become a lot more sexual and edgy to try and gain fans back in which he would have lost during his media downfall.

This video doesn't relate much in terms as narrative to any of his other videos, however in a lot of his music promo videos and performances he includes choreography, for example his music promo videos such as: Run it, Forever and his new single Crawl:
He dances even in his songs which are more ballads then up-beat which some artists and dancers may find it hard to do if they are not experienced as a dancer.
There are close ups on the artist mickey miming to the song, i feel this is basically due to the idea of performing to the audience and the audience feeling special and personally singled out. It also allows the audience to come 'face to face' with the artist Chris Brown which they wouldn't able to do on a daily basis, even if they went to see him on tour.

There is very strong notion of looking within this video, as both the artists Chris Brown and Lil Wayne are both topless and showing off their 'toned' physique. The women who are featured within this video are not as naked as the artists are, however they are wearing quite revealing tight Lycraa costumes. Chris brown can be seen in a low angle singing to the camera, this gives the audience, specifically the female audience, some dominance over him which can be seen as quite a sexy element, the idea you're above him. It's also rather flattering the way the cinematography has been created and also allows the audience to believe the illusion that Chris Brown is performing, personally to you.
The choreography is also sexual as well, with Chris Brown grabbing his crotch, this is seen as a tease, once again specifically towards the female audience. Other choreography sees him touching his own body in a sexual way as well as dancing in the colour black, which is seen as a very seductive colour.

The only inter textual reference in which is seen from this video is the idea of the choreography, especially when he performs the 'crotch move' is specially like the iconic Michael Jackson dance move, and with Chris Brown confirming what a large fan he is of Michael Jackson it perhaps has been performed in memory of. Even if that idea is the case, he seems to have updated it for a modern, edge audience.

The music video is very much performance based, with little narrative. I believe this music is once again a strong concept and performance based music video created to sell the record and to allow the audience closer then you would normally be allowed to the artist. The choreography and special effects create strong entertainment value within the music video, which encourages the audience to watch the full video and eventually purchase the single, once the song has officially 'grown' on the audience.

In conclusion i feel this has also been a very good music video to analyse specifically in how the record company market male artists supplying music to the mainstream audience. There are also strong comparisons and contrasts between both pop music genre and the rock music genre one comparison between them all is they all include mickey miming in the music videos. Britney Spears also included choreography within her music promo video as well as strong notion of looking which is what Chris Brown also includes strongly in his. There isn't a strong contrast between them, and by analysing more music promo videos from different genres i find it increasingly hard to point out the contrasting differences basically they're all using the main conventions for music videos, there doesn't seem to be anything original or different however by creating something completely original perhaps takes the entire concept away and instead of a band promoting a song, it could turn into a 5 minute film instead. These analysis' have helped me decide and think of more ideas I could put within my music promo video, however i also feel i need to put some more ideas which will advertise and promote the artist, which is, like i said before is the concept of the whole idea behind the music video.