This video is, 'We Found Love', by Rihanna and Calvin Harris. The conventions of the video is about finding 'love in a hopeless place'. This video begins with a small speech by a girl explaining the message that the video is trying to show to the audience and how the artist feels in the video/song. This is done to show verisimilitude to the audience so that they can understand how the artist feels and put themselves in the artist position. The speech at the begging makes the video a lot more effective as it explains the emotions involved in the song, which, unless a person was a massive fan of the song they probably would not understand.
The first shot is an establishing shot of two council flats, creating a setting for the narrative. This choice of mise-en-scene suggests that the narrative is set in a place where people live when they have no other choice, stereotypically due to money or just because they don't know how to get out of the place they are in. Suggesting that the pair in the narrative have hit a dead end in their relationship and that they don't know how to get out of it. It then switches to a close up of the artist looking upset, suggesting again that she does not know what to do. Their is also a close up of the male in the narrative. He is made to look like Rihanna's ex boyfriend, Chris Brown. This makes the narrative even more realistic and effective as one thing that people know about that couple is that Chris Brown allegedly was domestically violent towards Rihanna. This therefore gives even more effect to the narrative as we see what and who the video and the lyrics are referring to, particularly towards her fans.
The audience then sees close ups of them both in the bath both in a bath with water dripping down their faces. They each look unpleasant and unhappy and as thought they don't know what they are doing. We are then shown a medium shot of the male holding onto the artist whilst they smoke a cigarette. This again shows that they are in a lost place and don't know how to get out.
I then show the two almost kissing with a tracking shot circling that whilst the background moves fast around them. This shows how they feel and that they feel as though they cannot stop what they are doing. A long shot is shown of Rihanna falling into a hole on a field, suggesting that again she feels as though she is trapped and also that she has fallen in a whole and it is getting deeper. A lot of close ups of the two are used to show the despair and emotions and that they are not really happy. It also shows that the two love each other with shots such as a medium close up of them kissing, however the lighting is very dark suggesting that they know that they are in a dark place. A lot of shots are used to show how close they where and how in love they where, along with how much fun they had together. It then shows images of drug and as the music gets faster it shows they pair being more intense and and more crazy as they are on drugs. The juxtapositions are a lot faster going to the music and showing that their worlds move quicker and more easy when they are on drugs, again suggesting 'a hopeless place'.
Shots are also used to show them using a bandit and cuts offs of them loosing which is another indication that they are in a hopless place.
A long shot is then used of a building falling down, this suggests that everything in the narrative is about to fall apart. It then shows Rihanna shouting a the man because he is going around in fast circles in his car. This again suggests that the pair are going around in circles and are trying to find a way out. It also shows the male drinking a can of beer which, like the drugs, smoking and the gambling are all addictive things that people (stereotypically it is more likely on a council estate) cannot stop themselves from doing. What is also used is a close up of sirens on the top of a car, suggesting that they are are in trouble in some way and need help. Medium shots are then shown of them arguing in the car, the then storms out of the car and walks away. This is iconic as the tabloids showed that the first time Chris Brown hurt Rihanna was in a car, this again suggests that the song is written by Rihanna about Chris Brown.
It then shows more images of them being close and one medium shot of her drawing in the sky with a sparkler 'yours'. There is then a medium shot shown of her with fire rising behind her suggesting that the badness is going to spread and get bigger/worse. Then as the lyric, 'as his shadow crosses mine', a shadow of the male crosses Rihanna, relating to the lyrics. Long shots are then shown of Rihanna passing out on the road and then sirens are shown again. The male the then shown holding her seeing if she is okay, suggesting that he is worried and that he cares for her. Juxtapositions are then used fast as does the beat of the song. Images such as cigarettes and them being close together are used as well as images of eye pupils enlarging suggesting that they are on drugs and they are both then shown distressed and not happy with each other. There are also then shots of the male in the video tattooing 'mine' on her bottom. This suggests that he has a hold over her and that he always will.
Rihanna is then shown putting her head under water, again, showing that she is trapped. She is later shown packing her clothes to leave and the male grabs her foot to try and stop her. She is then shown hitting him with her bag so that he gets off her, connotation that her won't let her go.The last two images used are of her slamming the door in a medium shot as she leaves the flat. There is then a long show used of her curled in a ball in the corner of the flat again suggesting that she is still trapped 'in a hopeless place'.
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