1. Afet Koraltay
Ms.Rudhun
Case study – Beyonce ‘Broken Hearted Girl’
The video begins with a birds eye view shot of a car and we straight away see a close
up of the artists face. Her face looks sorrowful and sad coinciding with the title of the
song. At this point we are aware that for something involving love she is feeling
upset. Then there is a shot of her walking into the sea with the scenery creating a
sense of calmness and reminiscence, this has been slowed down through editing as
she is walking at a very slow pace. There is a close up of her wiping away her tears
and then continuous clips flicking back and forth from the present and past reflecting
her reminiscent state of mind. In a sense this is a constant transformation from
sadness to happiness. At forty six seconds a fading out transition has been used for
connection of Beyonce on the sea and in the car reflecting on the times she had with
her boyfriend. Furthermore there is a camera angle of the artist and her boyfriend’s
feet walking on the sad with the waves flowing up and down behind them. This
suggests a sense of journey for the both of them together however, from the car scene
and the shot of Beyonce wiping her tears away it is evident that their journey together
has in fact come to an end.
Additionally, we see a long shot of the artist standing looking at the waves in the sea
and her walking into the distance towards the water. There is a shot of the waves and
then a sudden picture of Beyonce’s face floats through the water. This reinforces the
idea of progression and time. Throughout the video there are a variety of close ups of
the artists face, body and gestures allowing the audience to become familiar with her.
At 2:19 there is the first shot of Beyonce smiling in contrast to the title of the song
which previously evoked sympathy. The lighting throughout the video is bright
however, at 2:27 the lighting is darker than previously. This reinforces her feeling of
sadness and despair. A variety of editing transitions have been used to create a
naturalistic atmosphere for example, the fading out.
Moreover, the camera angle of Beyonce holding and picking a rose is extremely
effective for creating a sense of freedom for the artist. Shortly after these shots there is
a professional transition of Beyonce splitting into two and combining into one. This
reinforces her feeling of confusion about the situation she is in. In addition to this
there is a close up of the artist’s body highlights sexual connotation to her figure.
Towards the end of the music video there are short clips of her and her boyfriend
spending time together and showing their togetherness and it seems as though she is
standing alone on the beach remembering these times. The close up of Beyonce
sniffing a rose near her face suggests her comforting feeling from the flower and her
craving for reassurance. The video ends with Beyonce sitting in her car again like she
was in the beginning but this time smiling.