Music Video Case Study
Beyoncé – DIVA Mahdi Mustafa
The Video The video I have chosen is ‘Beyoncé – Diva ‘ . I have picked this video because I think the video uses a lot of camera angles and different movement's that keep the video very interesFng. The lyrics are about a ‘Diva’ in a terminology meaning an independent women who is chasing her money and want a lot of aIenFon , the term is emphasised in the video with gold , money and even blowing a car up. The video does not really go with the video because there is no specific narraFve , but the video does show Gold , Money and Beyoncé acFng like a diva. The camera language are very interesFng as the video does not have one sFll shot or filmed at one angle , the camera is very loess and the beat and the movement of the camera goes really well together. This video is a Hip-‐hop genre with a strong and soul voice which Beyoncé is famous for. I also like the music because it’s a very Hip-‐Hop and catchy song , the music is also playful and doesn’t really have a serious meaning to it. Beyoncé is a well known arFst and has gained her fame through starFng of in a band called ‘DesFny child's and slowly making her own solo career and today she is known to be Music's very own queen . I did pick this video because of the camera language and how the video is not strict when it comes to movement I think its very unpredictable . I also really like the isolated locaFon and an empty warehouse which shows the imagery of the video which is independence. I think the lighFng also works really well with the video and dance rouFne. YouTube Video link to .. Beyoncé – Diva = Name = Beyoncé Knowles Record Label = Columbia hIp://www.youtube.com/watch? ArFst Present =1997-‐Present v=rNM5HW13_O8&ob=av2e
Beyoncé is sighed to Columbia Records her record deal was given to her when she was in the band called ‘desFny's child's in 1997 and has been one of the records biggest and best selling arFst along side the likes of Adele , the Fng Fngs and newcomer Keyshawn.
The art in this video is very well presented and shows a lot about Beyoncé's personality . The art in the video almost presents an idea in what Beyoncé believe that women should act like. The video is about a Diva and so are the lyrics so the video shows visuals of gold , money and independent women. The image s on the lee show figures of mannequins stuffed in the boot of a car , Beyoncé then blows the car up showing her expression on ‘Fake people’ and ‘Fake women’ who act like followers and in a way ‘Barbie's’. This shows that the video is trying to explain to women that you don’t need to be a follower and you can be unique and independent. The imagery shown might relate to views that the audience have about women . The song and lyrics is very playful but it has a meaning behind it which a lot of people might turn around and agree with what she is singing about go out and buy her music. I think he locaFon of the video is good as it is isolated and shows a real locaFon as no green screen is not used.
Art
The Imagery shown from the images on the lee also back up the suggesFon about a ‘diva’ meaning an independent women , Beyoncé sings ‘Diva is a Female version of a Hustler’ showing the audience that not only a typical male ‘hustler’ but now women also tend to be out to make money this can be proven as she sings ‘If you aint got money , than you aint got nothing for me’ , this shows how she isn't playing games with any one , she just wants her money. The images show her with statues of gold and also shows her holding a fan made out of money. At the start of the video she also writes down her own opinion of what the word ‘Diva’ actually means staFng it as a ‘successful and glamorous women’.
Synergy Synergy and business Fe-‐ins are also why some music videos are created. Many arFsts are asked to make sound tracks for movies and TV to help promote the film or program. The reasons on why the many arFst do tend to help make a music video for different insFtuFon is because of branding and promoFng. By mixing the insFtuFons together the arFst can appeal to people who watch the film , and also the film can appeal to people who like the arFst. The film industry also benefit from a process like this as film trailers are a minute long on TV but music videos witch are played over and over again are 3-‐4 min long which means people are more exposed to this movie.Beyoncé has been also approached by many Film producFon company's to produce music for their films. Beyoncé has done a couple films her self and even recorded the album or some hits for the film. An example would be ‘Dream Girls’ in which she has stared in and also made songs for the dream girls album. Even though ‘DIVA’ was not picked up by any film company's it had been involved in Ftle tracks for a couple US reality shows such as ‘The bad Girls Club’ who pay the record label a fee to add this on to their program so it can be broadcasted on TV. , And also made a Parody for the tonight show. These involved Beyoncé to go into other sectors in the industry and Fe in with insFtuFon and being exposed to any audience who may watch these shows or films creaFng exposure for Beyoncé's Music.
Extended Playability The song DIVA did very well in the charts , The song received a gold cerFficaFon by Recording Industry AssociaFon of America on March 12, 2009. As of October 6, 2010, "Diva" had sold 906,000 digital downloads in the US. The Music video was played all over UK channels from all the MTV channels to even independent channels like channel AKA. It peaked to 27 on the UK charts and also the video was in the top 5 for the ‘2009 Greatest Videos’. The track also reached the third spot in the US billboard Hundred and also featured in many Beyoncé Tours. The Music Video played on TV for over 7 weeks keeping her in the public eye and even aeer that the Music video is sFll seen on channels such as ‘FLAVA’ being listed in programmes such as ‘Top 10 Hits’ ‘Hip – Hop divas’
The Video ‘DIVA’ went viral when it hit the internet from Facebook to twiIer as any Beyoncé music video’s it became an event in its self as a lot of people where sharing it on sites and a lot of people where reviewing it. The views hit over 42 Million showing that a lot of people have watched it and it instantly became an iTunes top 20 in a maIer of minutes. Many reviews also said it was a ‘Irreplaceable pt2’ as it was sFll sFcking with the enigma and theme of independent women.
Visual The visuals in this video are also very observant in this video . CreaFng visuals for a music video helps to expose the arFst even more by showing all the energy the arFst puts in to what type of clothes they where. Music videos are created to create a visual element that It gives the opportunity for the arFst to be viewed online without having to preform which means the label paying for every performance , in this case the arFst can make a good and construcFve video and put it up online for millions of people to see. Beyoncé's ‘Diva’ creates a visual element of ‘Independent Women’ this is shown by her taking the lead in the video and singing lyrics such as ‘Where your boss at’ using direct terminology showing her as an actual “diva” who demands things. She also wear clothes which are very unique such as her glasses on the image on the right , she wears glasses which have piece's of metal hanging from them , this is not worn by any one but superstars who think they should stand out when it comes to fashion similar types of clothing has been seen on Rihanna and lady gaga in various music video which shows Beyoncé as a very mainstream arFst
PromoFonal This means someone who promoted their release on sites such as twiIer or face book and then got a lot of hits off YouTube from another country creates the fact that it can be seen worldwide and can reach to many people who are surfing the net. Sites such as Vevo help these arFst promote their new music videos by doing things such as Count downs and Premieres. some Music video tend to make an event out of its self by creaFng a big buzz for the premiere , this many include YouTube premiers , website countdowns etc. The pre hype causes fans to get ready for the video , this can be by promoFng the premier with banners on social networks and also the arFsts social media such as twiIer , Facebook fan page help to promote the video also by updaFng their social networks with the videos link. Ads also pay a certain fee to the record label get them self's at the start of the video to promote their company
Mainstream TV Mainstream TV is free for everyone and every one can easily access it , the genre is not pointed in one direcFon which means it opens different types of music to the audience. The channels are well known so this means that it already has a good amount of audience. Beyoncé's Diva was not featured in UK mainstream TV because the amount of programs that airs music has gone down as many people find it more enjoyable on Music channels as they constantly play these songs and some Fme they can be watched on demand. The rise of streaming website to watch what they want when ever they want has proven that these shows are not needed any more because people that don’t like Beyoncé do not need to watch Beyoncé's music video they can just go online and watch their favorite arFsts,
Music channels ArFst wants to present them selves more main stream and go on these music channels that play Music videos 24/. Music Channels play these music videos for a certain amount of royalty money , which means that every Fme a certain video is played the arFsts record label pays the channel a constant fee. Another reason for having these videos on music channels is that the channels keep the video going for a month or two constantly before they slow it down so this means that the arFst is kept in the public eye. Beyoncé is always in the public eye due to the fact she keeps making music videos so when one is being worn out a new one premiers and then that goes on for another 6 weeks this is what happened with Beyoncé's ‘Diva’ it is even playing on todays TV under programs such as ‘US HoIest Songs’ or even an interview in which Beyoncé comes in to talk about her album or her new songs. Record label's also make an income when people watch the music video and then purchase it online or the CD in stores.
DVD/CD special Beyoncé is a very well known arFst and is also one of the worlds most popular and praised arFst because of her soulful voice and they type of music she makes which a lot of people relate to. Beyoncé also has over 10 CD’S excusing special CD specials plus collaboraFons. Beyoncé recently has been out promoFng her DVD ‘Live in Roseland’ . This DVD includes Live recorded footage and also behind the scenes and extended versions of Music videos which the song ‘DIVA’ is featured in. This is a great way in also extending the audience playability and also producing more money for the record company. The record company earns money of the DVD sale and the fans and audience have a physical copy in their hands. The song ‘DIVA’ also features on many ‘Greatest Hits’ albums . The down side is that record labels can loess money when the DVD is ripped onto another CD.
Streaming websites Streaming for music videos on a website is also a popular on the music video market , sites such as YouTube are famous for premiering and show casing new and old music videos. Streaming websites for Music videos are very easy to access and the videos are on demand , because you can play them as much as you want. Streaming websites such as YouTube help the ArFst expose their music online to millions of viewers. Sites such as YouTube , MySpace etc. The video is put up for a lot of people to see and it is also shared with a link on social networks. Beyoncé Is a well known and established arFst who has a massive main stream appeal. These sites allow the audience to view the video as many Fmes as they want . The video ‘Diva’ got a lot of aIenFon and made it to YouTube's homepage so the video was exposed to an audience who may not even like Beyoncé and also people who click on video on the home page to see why a lot of aIenFon to the video is being caused. The video gained over 42,444,446 hits and sFll counFng.
ArFst Website ArFsts website is made to aIract a lot people to come and check what's been happening recently with the arFst . the site can also be used to sell merchandise and Fckets for up and coming events. Beyoncé has an official site -‐ her website is designed to keep up to date with what Beyoncé is doing , it also has an online community in which fans share their opinions about latest events and videos of Beyoncé also various exclusive videos and a blog in which Beyoncé keeps updates in what events she would appear in to what country she is staying at , this aIracts a lot of fans but a minor audience , as many people might not want to see what Beyoncé is up to or where she is preforming they might just want to watch her music video and the easiest way to do that is streaming websites , this is why streaming websites videos get more views rather than arFst. There are also a lot of fake links to different sites which are not the official Beyoncé page.
hIp://www.beyonceonline.com/uk/home
Downloads (legal and illegal) Digital download is another way in which arFst make money. Downloads on site premiers. ‘Diva’ apart of Beyoncé's ‘I am Sasha fierce’ which reached UK no1 s such as iTunes and amazon brings in money for the record label and the arFst , this is also done by creaFng a release date and Fme as it for three weeks. This shows how much mainstream appeal she really does have .Illegal download is something that has become very popular in recent years as money people are downloading music illegally this means record labels are missing out on sales and losing out on money. A lot of people believe if you can get something for free so why pay for it , this causes people to go into sites such as ‘pirates bay 'and download Beyoncé's music for free. Beyoncé and a lot of arFst have been a vicFm in illegal downloading but due to the UK government doing nothing to prevent it – its now seems that only hardcode fans buy their music the legal way.
Comparison
Beyoncé is known as a strong an independent arFst so this song was something which she was bound to release because it suited her as an arFst and the imagery. I believe that Beyoncé looks past the stereo typical view of women in the industry and how they are portrayed in the media and especially in music videos. Beyoncé supports people as being equal so this would aIract more audience and make her appealing to a wide range of audience . Here are some examples I will be comparing with ..
Here are two examples ‘Kanye west – Gold digger’ + ‘Pitbull-‐ hotel room’ . These videos shown women semi naked in their videos and always have women dancing around them portraying them as toys . The men seem to be in the middle as the girls are around them
Beyoncé try's to change this by making songs about independent women such as ‘diva’ ‘irreplaceable’ and ‘single ladies’. She also has less men in her video expressing how she don’t need men and sFcking to the theme of the song .