My group and I have decided to create a film opening in the genre of RnB. Here is my research into the codes and conventions that are used used in the openings of texts from this genre.
First, let's take a more in depth explanation of what this music genre is. After some research, here is what I found. R&B is a genre born from the combination of an already existing genres, these genres are Jazz, Blues, and Gospel Musics. R&B took their strong and slow beats and rhythms from Jazz, the deep emotions and storytelling from Blues, and the soulful singing style from Gospel music. The lyrics in R&B songs often explore themes of a person's feeling, especially love,which it may have make you feel relax, euphoric, or sad.
Notes: Big Research 2 Small research 6
IN-DEPTH RESEARCH #1
Name Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak, Silk Sonic - Leave the Door Open (2021)
Production Company Bruno Mars and D' Mile
Distribution Company Aftermath Entertainment and Atlantic Records
Genre / Sub genre Philadelphia soul, R&B, and Pop Song.
What conventions does it conform to?
Leave the Door Open can be classified as a slow-paced R&B, with a slower rhythm and beats. Not only this conforms the general convention of R&B to be in a slower tempo, but it also helps enhance the feeling of romantic intimacy, as slower tempo tend to bring more emotional impact compared to a faster tempo. Because slower tempo tend to relaxed your brain, which makes it better to think, feel, and understand the intimacy words that are being said. More importantly, the song directly fluttering out lyrics that are related to the topic of love and intimate relationships, this can be proven by one phrase of "And you want me like I want you tonight baby", this lyrics implies that both couple have the same strong desire or feeling of love and desperation for each other's attention at that moment. Hence, conforming the conventional of R&B songs that discusses the topic about love. Other than that, this music video conforms another convention, where R&B song would have a mini performance shown in the music video clips, for example singing or dancing. In the video it showed us clips of Bruno's band playing their own instrument while he lip-sync (pretending that he was singing the song) as the camera pans.
What conventions does it subvert? Although Bruno Mars seems to be into conforming this conventions, but he is also subverting some elements. Usually, an R&B songs would revolve in storytelling, especially when it comes about love song. Bruno Mars decide to focus more on the emotion rather than telling a narrative approaches, this allowed the music and lyrics to convey more of the emotion rather than relying on a visual story. Another thing that I've notice is the quality of the video seems less-retro'ish or like any other 70s music video song I know, I've seen it to be more modern and polished. In which, it subverts the convention of the old-retro songs that is targeted for the older audiences. The reason for this is to try to relate an older love-relationship topic or intimacy into the modern society, which is currently dominated by younger-adults demographics.
What representations are there? (people/places/events) Gender & Romance: The lyrics tells us about a man expressing his feelings of desirement and affectionate towards his woman, in a way that it is a little bit leaning to be naughty yet smooth but is still respectful to the woman, which really suits the R&B’s typical romantic and intimate portrayal of relationships.
Specific Events: Instead of showing us any events, there are nothing more than the entire music videos are covered with group-band performance. Yet, the performance and overall clips are described very well by using energetic-expression and clear body language. The events help us as an audience to decode the feeling or message the singer trying to tell us.
People: The video represents a positive-joyful black male artists in the clips. They're also dressed in an easy-going tone, which it depicts a happy and colorful atmosphere for the male and female.
What technical elements are used to give meaning? Camera - Long Shots, shown almost frequently in the video which it highlights and shows us the enthusiasm of both the male actors playing the instrument and the female actors following along while singing. It gives us enough view of their facial expression which are filled with joy and smiling. - Panning, from the drummer to the keyboard player. It is to give us as an audience who is currently singing. The camera starts panning to the keyboard player from the dummer as soon as he stops singing to the mic.
MeS - Simple yet colorful clothes, indicate a happy atmosphere - Warm lighting, it can indicates comfortness, coziness and intimacy, in this context intimacy about love relationships.
Edit - Quick Cuts, it is shown when the tempo of the song gets progressively faster. It is to imply a rush of energy, like when someone is excited whenever their partner is around or is it just simply telling us more information of what is currently happening.
Sound - The music initially in a slow tempo, then it gets progressively faster. The tone of the singer gets deeper. This is to show a build up intimacy in a relationship where it stars slower, and gets faster yet exciting.
GENERAL RESEARCH #1
Title Popular - The Weeknd (2023)
Target audience, and how are they appealed to?
The primary target audience for this song is young adults and teenagers around the Gen Z (18-35 years old) generation, specifically for The Weeknd fans and music enjoyers. How they appeal to this target audience is by raising the topic of celebrity as people in this age range are more engaged by celebrity cultures, thus they want to be more related and wanting to be a part of the discussion with their friends, making it fundamental for Social Relationships according to Uses and Gratification. The prop of martini glasses and the USA infamous red cup also makes it more relatable to the young adults, as they tend to be known for their party-goers lifestyle.
What would you like to use in your opening from this?
A random-choreography movement of interacting with surroundings and objects performed by Rihanna and The Weeknd seems like a good alternatives if we don't have any ideas on what kind of performance we would want to perform. I like this idea because it also make the clips feels more "alive" and adds more narrative to the video if you compare it to lip-syncing or "out-of-nowhere" band performance, it feels more natural and less staged in my opinion.
What would you like to avoid in your opening from this?
The choice of clothing for the male actor is very dull and monotone. As a teenager myself, his clothes doesn't appeals to my liking. Although I understand he wants to make a formal-popular clothing style, but he can instead add more variations of dark tone colors to his outfits.
GENERAL RESEARCH #2
Title Agora Hills - Doja Cat (2023)
Target audience, and how are they appealed to?
This song primarily targets young and matured female teenagers (18-25) who understand to depicts implicit meanings and connotation presented by Doja Cat. The way she appeals to this target audience is through her choice of fashions that can be said to be unique and revealing, in this way she challenged clothing norms in order for her to express her feelings and emotions of dominance and confidences for being proud of herself by revealing oneself. Other than that, one of her line catches my attention, saying "I am so lonely in my Mansion". Reason why she says mansion is because to imply that she is a woman living alone in her own mansion, indicating her independencies to afford the mansion alone without the help of men, which this engaged her audiences even more as young females want to be more independent and encourages feminism more.
What would you like to use in your opening from this?
I like her props and clothing the most, it is very brave of her to use it in a music video while also making it a unique and attractive costumes. In a way that it heavily challenges traditional retro clothings that I stereotypically imagine before (less revealings with an element of jeans and leather jackets). Maybe for my MV, I'll try to use a more colorful and unique clothing that no one or less people have seen in the industry to make my media product stands out among the other MVs.
What would you like to avoid in your opening from this? Too much random movements in this video makes me confused about what narrative are being told in this music videos. Without the song describing clearly of what was happening, some people might get the wrong message and idea of what the artist intended to say in the music video.
GENERAL RESEARCH #3
Title Heartbreak Anniversary - Giveon (2020)
Target audience, and how are they appealed to?
Although this song represent an adult couple in the music videos, but it's primary target audience are most likely to be young adults ranging 18-30 years old. Especially, the lyrics of the music directly leans to the topic of heartbroken man, which it can be easily acceptable for this targeted audience, especially male audience as the song speaks from the perspective from a men.
What would you like to use in your opening from this?
I like the narration elements that Giveon presented in his song. It directly explain to his audiences the story and what is going on in the video, the straightforward lyrics also support his narration which it clearly denotes a man going through a heartbreak, making him sad and full of regrets about it. I admit that I am simple minded person, so this song really just makes me wanting to enjoy it instead of depicting the implicit meanings they offered on my own.
What would you like to avoid in your opening from this?
GENERAL RESEARCH #4
Title Girls Like Me Don't Cry - Thủy (2022)
Target audience, and how are they appealed to?
What would you like to use in your opening from this?
What would you like to avoid in your opening from this?
GENERAL RESEARCH #5
Title Freek'n You - Jodeci (1995 // REMASTERED 2009)
Notes: yes, I do realized this song is way too old for my research. But for me it is a great example of an R&B songs. After my research on the definition of R&B genre, this is the first song that came up to my mind and in my opinion the lyrics of this song really fits the R&B conventionals topic. I've known this song from an animated shows called Jojo Bizarre Adventure Part 5, where this song plays as the outros of every episodes of the show.
Target audience, and how are they appealed to?
Obviously this song is more suitable for the older audiences (20-35), specifically man, as this song tells us a perspective of a man that is very desperate for love that he does not care about anything other than to be with his girl. Revealing clothes is a way of engaging and stating firmly that this song is prioritized for the senior audiences, this type of clothing makes women appear more beautiful and sexually-attractive for men. Additionally, they attract this audience by using more adult-alluring languages, like what is stated in one of the line "Tonight, I need you baby" and an erotic-slow rhythm and beats, which adding the romantic and intimacy atmosphere to the song.
What would you like to use in your opening from this? A
What would you like to avoid in your opening from this? The clips were the same template of switching to a guy singing and a shot of girl singing seducingly, less variations were added. Which it doesn't clearly state any narratives in the song.
GENERAL RESEARCH #6
Title
Target audience, and how are they appealed to?
What would you like to use in your opening from this?
What would you like to avoid in your opening from this?
Here is some additional research that helped me with some ideas
Self Reflections: I wasn't able to finish this on time, but pretty much I've figure out what to expect in my music videos. I've carefully watch all the music videos relating to RnB in this blogpost and decided that they have 2 things in common, those are slow rhythm/tempo and lyrics discussing about relationship/love. Most teenagers like me had already experience this phase, to which we can still relate to this topic a little bit.
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