The document discusses conventions used in an R&B music video created as a university project. It objectifies the female subject according to the male gaze by showing her in revealing outfits and poses that emphasize her body but not face. Shots were included just showing her body to appeal to the male gaze. Elements like candles, lingerie, and teddy bears were incorporated for their romantic or sexual symbolism. The video followed conventions like close-ups of the artist and matching lyrics to visuals identified by theorist Goodwin to make it recognizable as an R&B music video.

2. Although there are a number of codes and
conventions of this genre, the dominant
and obvious one which I chose to focus on
was the objectifying of women in line with
the male gaze. I believe that this is the most
important convention when trying to make
a successful R&B music video which is why
I made it my priority.

3. The first way I did this was through the choice of
outfit Throughout the entire music video, my
subjects legs and arms were revealed. I chose to
follow the idea that female R&B artists wear
minimal clothing because it attracts both male
and female viewers to watch the video. This is
because men will find the female attractive and
females will aspire to have a body and look the
the particular female artist. However, the
difference between my music video and normal
R&B videos is that it does not feature a male and
therefore the female subject does not come off as
submissive or vulnerable.
These two images show 2 out of the 3
outfits worn in the music video. The first
one to the left is a lace ‘babydoll’ which has
strong sexual connotations – which is why
I chose it. As they tend to be worn by
pornstars or females who wear them for
their partner. The second outfit which can
be seen above is a see through blouse, high
waisted hotpants and a bright red bra. The
fact that the subject has the blouse hanging
off one of her shoulders instantaneously
captures the viewers eye as her bra cannot
be missed especially when the surrouding
environment lacks bright colours.

4. Another way to represent women being objectified is to
simply feature some shots in the music video which are
completely inline with the male gaze. The male gaze is a
theory which suggest that the camera is male and
therefore seeks visual pleasure. There are always 2 way
you can go about this, firstly you can switch it and film a
music video which has no objectifying of women and
voyeurism or you can film a music video which does have
some sense of the male gaze. I believe that music videos
which are not filmed inline with the male gaze are likely
to be a lot less successful. Reason being, males do not
want to see women being powerful and independent
because it makes them feel inferior which may them
threaten their masculinity. Also, the representations and
gender rules which exist in society are another reason
why a music video against the male gaze theory is not
likely to be a success. Ultimately, because I did not want
to risk my music video not being a success and I wanted
to reach the largest target audience possible, I included
some shots which represent the male gaze theory very
well.

5. These shots are both in line with the male gaze because all
you can see is the subjects body and not her face. Although I
did use the typical convention of sexualising women, my
subject does not look weak in any of these particular shots.

6. Mise En Scene means that everything which is seen in a shot is there
for a reason, nothing is a mistake or an accident. This mainly refers to
props which are used whether is being a stage play or a music video.
Although Mise En Scene was not one of my main focuses, I did use
have some good examples of Mise En Scene within my music video.
However, Mise En Scene does vary according to genre. Essentially, this
all comes down to money because the bigger the star, the bigger the
music video will be and the more impressive locations and props it
will include. One of the main uses of Mise En Scene can be ‘to
emphasise an aspirational lifestyle’ which can be related to the R&B
genre. Some locations I have seen in previous music videos are Yachts,
mansions and strip clubs. This links with the idea that Mise En Scene
can be used effectively as part of the voyeuristic context by suggesting
a setting associated with sexual allure.

7. 1) CANDLES – I used the candles in my music
video because they have connotations of
romance especially when surrounded by rose
petals as they were. I did this because the
song is about somebody leaving Jhene.
2) BRA DECORATION – I featured this bra
decoration in my music to add to the
dominant idea of sexuality. This helps
because not only are they seeing the subject
in a sexual way, by they are also seeing
things which can be described as quite
‘sexual’.
3)TEDDY BEARS – I included the teddy bears
once again because the song lyrics hint that
Jhene Aiko is missing somebody and usually
females receive teddy bears from their
boyfriends/partners.

8. Goodwin was one of the theorist I studied before I started my coursework, so after
learning and understanding his theory on music videos, I will see if my music video
contains any of his conventions. His conventions were:
• There is a relationship between lyrics & visuals
• There is a relationship between music & visuals
• Some music genres have their own video style & iconography
• There is a demand for close-ups of the main artist/vocalist
• The artist may develop their own star iconography
• There is likely to be a reference to voyeurism
• There is likely to be intertextual references.

9. “There is a relationship between the lyrics & the
visuals”
“I am out my mind”- As these
lyrics are sung we can see my
subject going mad and throwing
a teddy bear at the camera.
“I wanna fly” – The subjects is
stretching out her arms
looking to the sky.

10. When I conducted my audience
research, I said I would have
number of close ups as Jhene Aiko
tends to have quite a lot in her
music videos. Here you can see
three different screenshots from
three different stages in my music
video. The use of close-ups in a
song like this was essential as the
lyrical content is both emotional
and mental.
“There is a demand for lots of
close-ups of the main artist” – Is
another one of Goodwin’s
conventions which I have
incorporated in my music video.

11. Overall, I believe I have used a number of different
music video codes and conventions to assist me in
creating a music video which uses and develops the
typical conventions. However, it also incorporates a
discreet narrative which isn’t a dominate convention of
an R&B video. I decided to create a narrative because I
felt that if I didn’t, I would get too carried away with
trying to make my music video resemble one of Ciara’s
or Beyonce’s with choreography, back up dancers and
all of those factors which were too time consuming and
expensive.