2. Background information
• Once on the band the spice girls, gerri halliwell became a less successful
solo artist who gave her own version of the song ‘it’s raining
men’, origionally by the weather girls. Jim Canty and Jake-Sebastian
Wynne got their inspiration for the video from the films ‘Flashdance’ and
‘Fame’.
• The purpose of the song is to promote ‘Bridget Jones Diaries’ as the song
is featured in the film and the film features in the song, as well as Geri
Halliwell’s new look after her depression.
• The song is a cover of the weather girls ‘its raining men’ and both were
pop songs of their time.
3. • What genre is it?
The genre is pop, you can see this because of the performance of
choreographed dance in a narrative story live that connotes the lyrics. Gerri
halliwell is also lip syncing which is another convention. The song is upbeat and
of a fun and lively nature with a general appeal to a younger demographic. The
artist is also wearing mainstream clothing which implies a pop genre. Usually
in pop videos the artist and actors are young which also proves that this video
and therefore song is pop.
The most common colours are reds and yellows which are bright and colourful
which represent and emphasise the image of a happy exciting pop song. The
video also contains a lot of people creating a feeling over-crowdedness.
This all matches with the stereotypical representation of pop videos such as
dancing , performance, bright colours and an over all positive feel throughout
the upbeat video.
In contrast, at the start of the music video the artist performs a ballet routine
which in uncommon in pop music video’s and this helps to create a more
sophisticated and elegant feel which makes it appealing to a higher class
demographic than a usual pop music video. However this elegance is removed
as the video kicks in because of the bright colours and happy dancing.
4. How the video markets the artist
The video markets the artist by showing her looking and sounding her best it
emphasises on her body and figure especially because she has been previously thought
of as being the bigger of the spice girls. She isnt wearing much costume as it only
consists of black knickers and a cropped top which means that most of her body is being
shown off to the audience. This will mean that she attracts a wider audience
demographic because her womanly figure will attract males instead of just females and
women will aspire to be her.
She also has bleach blonde hair which was determined as attractive by
Marilyn Monroe, also emphasising her appearance through the video.
All the way through the video she is dancing and happy and seems to be
having a good time which markets the artist as a happy person which is
attractive and the feeling will be passed on to the audience if they listen
to the song and therefore this will increase the amount of sales of the
single.
5. Who is the audience?
•
The audience of this song would be a young teen or an older child of around 9-13 because of
the upbeat catchy tune and beat and the choreographed dance moves in the video which will
attract a young audience who have the ability to attempt these dance moves. They will wear
high street brands from places such as next and new look.
6. Camera work
The first 30 seconds of the video are close ups of Gerri Halliwell, introducing herself to the audience so that
people can see who she is and so that she can reveal her body. In the beginning the video draws you in because
of the close up of her feet walking into the audition room. Many mid shots are used to show peoples reaction
to her, like the judges in the beginning. An over the shoulder shot is used when Gerri is facing the judges. This is
suggesting that it is in Gerri's POV for a short while, and we as the audience are seeing what she sees:
Extreme close up:
Gerri is here giving direct eye contact with the audience on a personal level. Her face here is taking up the
whole frame, she is the centre of attention and is all the viewer can see. This shows emotion but also means
that the audience can have empathy for her and therefore connect with the artist which means that the song
should sell more.
Gerri makes a mistake before the lyrics have started which marks the end of the narrative and there is a close
up here to show to the audience emotion and to also show exactly who the artist is. The reason the director
chose to do this is to create a starting point for the video and as the song starts again close ups and mid shots
are repeated and are now focused on backing dancers to, to create atmosphere and mood.
Low angle shots are used to give Gerri power and so that the audience look up to her as though she is a role
model to her audience demographic.
7. Mise-en-scene
Clothing – Gerri Halliwell’s clothes are always different from all the other dancers which make her stand out so
that the focus remains on her throughout the video. For example when she is wearing a bright orange top which
it is raining and all the other dancers are wearing dull and dark colours.
Lighting- throughout the video the focus of the video is on her and therefore she is mostly shown in high key
lighting to make her look like the best there and to make sure that the audience mostly look at her. For example
from the beginning scene when Gerri is auditioning it is a very high-key lighting.. Everything looks bright with
little to no shadow at all. High-key lighting has little dramatic effect, and it is often used in a scene with no
tension and the music video has no tension apart from the beginning when Gerri is auditioning, although the
main focus is on Gerri so low-key lighting would not be used. But in my opinion, if it was it would of added more
dramatic effect to the scene
Actors/actress’ – she is portrayed as being the main actress and artist in the video meaning that all the
attention given by the viewer is focused on her. She has blonde hair and a curvy thin figure which is what is
stereotyped as attractive and therefore the women and girls watching the video will aspire to be her, especially
as it is associated with Bridget Jones because this film is all about stereotyping and how woman are viewed if
they don’t have the best figure and aren’t the best looking. She also has her hair down which is a girly thing to
do; all of these aspects will also attract the opposite gender because of sexual appeal.
Location – the school setting helps connect to the young audience so that they can relate to the scenery
making it familiar and therefore more enjoyable. They also feel as if they can join in and dance with the artist
which will all make the audience more likely to buy the single or album that the single is on. She is also filmed
outside singing in the rain with the people which conforms to the lyrics ‘Im gunna let myself get, absolutely
soaking wet’.
Makeup – the makeup used in the video is subtle to create the feeling that Halliwell is naturally pretty and
doesn’t need much makeup or editing to make her look beautiful. This also correlates with the fact that she
hardly has any clothes on: showing the natural beauty of her body. Towards the end of the video she is out
dancing in the rain and once wet, the audience is able to see through her top to know that she has no bra. She
doesn’t seem to want to hide herself due to how provocatively she is acting in the video which could further
imply that she things she is naturally pretty and wants to show off her figure. This could be due to the fact that
she was seen as the ‘bigger’ of the spice girl and before this video and song she had lost a lot of weight.
Props – the props in the video include the table which the judges are behind, at first this creates a sense of
formality but this formality is over come by a fun vibe when she dances on the table in front of the judges
provocatively therefore changing the whole atmosphere of the video and making the genre more prominent.
8. Andrew Goodwin
• Relationship between the lyrics and visuals…
Here they are represented in the best way possible because it is impossible to actually make it rain men and
therefore just having it rain in the video while the artist is surrounded by men is a good way t represent the
lyrics, the visuals are therefore amplifying and illustrating the lyrics. On the other hand there could be no
relationship because it isn’t possible for it to actually rain men.
• The relationship between the visuals and the song…
The relationship between the visuals and the song amplify the genre and the visuals correlate positively to the
up beat tune of the song for example the dances are jumpy and full of energy throughout the song, once is
actually starts. The changes of pace in the song are echoed by the editing of the video, however not
necessarily the dance moves. The only area in the video with a strong positive relationship is when the other
dance students crowd into the room and start dancing around Gerri, the must then increases in volume to
portray an exciting change.
• Particular genres may have their own video style and iconography…
Repeating actions throughout the music video. For example, at the beginning of the video Gerri repeats the
dance moves that she done before she falls over like she is starting again.
• Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics…
The genre characteristics is women are meant to be looked at. And Gerri, taking on the role of the
dominant, role of the woman being 'gazed at' as she is dancing in front of the judges who are judging her and
looking at her, as well as the people outside the room gazing at her. So she is being gazed at in different ways.
The audience gaze at her in a desirable way, (woman want her body) and men view her in a sexual way.
• The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artists…
The best way to sell and market the artist, particularly if it is female, to show the females in a provocative way.
For example, by constantly having the camera on them while they are dancing/moving/looking in a
provocative way.
• There is frequently reference to notion of looking:
Goodwin decided that the artists often look into the camera to give a direct approach. This makes it feel as
though the artist is singing to us, the video and also makes the audience feel empathy and connect with the
artist which in turn increases sales.
9. John stewart
•
The video was based on the films fame and flash dance. This links to john Stewart's
theory of intersexuality, a more distinct text within another text. This has created a
scene of nostalgia for the audience and adds for of a meaning to the video. This attracts
more people to the video . There are also other scenes with the artist not in , these
scenes are from the film Bridget jones, where this song features. By having the film
within the song and the song within the film, it created technological convergence
meaning that each media will attract a larger audience demographic meaning that the
song may sell more.
Voyeurism
• As already depicted voyeurism is used in the video to help sell it to a male audience as
this type of song and song title may not make them want to watch it, so by making the
artist not wear any clothed, more males would want to have sex with her; making geri
into a sex object. This links with ‘the male gaze’ and is common in most musoc videos of
this genre to achieve the same goal.
10. The male gaze
The most profound of the three parts of the male gaze that takes place in the music video is 'men
looking at women' as well as 'woman looking at woman'. Gerri Halliwell stands prominent as part
of Mulvey's theory. She is gazed upon in the music video not just by the audience, but also in the
music video by actors, and you can see in these pictures that she is being gazed upon by males
and females
Because she is showing her body off so much and singing about it raining men she is clearly
conscious of how she appears to men. This is also emphasised by the amount of weight she lost
because of what the press used to say about her before this video, meaning that this part of the
male gaze was done on purpose so that people can see her ion a sexual way. All of this is meant to
result in more viewings, ratings and sales.
She is protrayed as a stereotypical blond, who is skinny ad what every girl aspires to be which
pulls people to want to watch the video .
At the beginning of the musoc video we see man gazing at her which sets the scene for us to view
Geri through the heterosexual male gaze.
