CASE STUDY: Beyonce - If I were a boy (peformance)

VIDEO

This music video for this song is mainly a narrative with elements of performance incorporated within it. The video features a role reversal in which the stereotypical gender roles are swapped, hence the title "If I Were A Boy." The video explores how things would be if men had empathy for women in relationships. The video is stripped back and filmed entirely in black white which allows the focus to be on the story told as opposed to the actors' makeup or any other distractions.

The video begins with Beyoncé and her love interest standing a against a wall reciting single words relating to relationships. During this close ups are used to show the facial expressions of each as they say these words.

Closeups are favoured in this video, to focus on the emotion and pain felt when a loved one is cheating or not giving you the attention you deserve. They are used in particular when Beyonce shuns her partner, or vice versa at the end where the roles reversed. 

As Beyoncé bustles in and out of the kitchen, practically ignoring her partner who has clearly spent time making her a breakfast (emphasized by the table full of food when the shot zooms out) a two - shot is used, in order for the audience to gage the interaction between Beyoncé and her partner. While Beyoncé remains standing, her partner sits, this symbolically represents the relationship the two share in which Beyoncé is "above her partner". The two - shot also allows the audience to focus on the difference in costume of the two individuals. Beyoncé is wearing a vest with her hair scraped back, her trousers are very practical, clear indications she is working in a very "hands on" industry which is usually associated with males. Her partner, however, is wearing a shirt, unbuttoned at the top and has time to prepare a cooked breakfast and sit down to eat, implying he either does not have a job or a less demanding one.

Throughout the video, many examples of two-shots are used to highlight the relationships (and lack of) between the characters in the video. For "masculine" Beyoncé and her man, it shows the lack of communication, love and respect. For "masculine" Beyoncé and her co-worker, the two shot is used to highlight the lust, flirtatious glances and body language between them as Beyoncé shuns her partner. The two-shot is used in regards to her partner and his female co-worker who he rejects as  attempts to seduce him. Mid-way when the roles are reversed to the stereotypical gender roles, the same two shots are used to show how Beyoncé is now the one being shunned as her partner goes to work.

A shot-reaction-shot, is used just before Beyoncé leaves for work, in which we see the disappointment of her partner's face after being shunned at breakfast. We see a close up shot as she adjusts her hat and it is then that we learn she is a police officer, which is a stereotypically male line of work.

The video ends with the gender roles back to the stereotypical. Beyonce is now the one being left at home while her partner flirts with co-workers and the video also now matches the lyrics and the viewers, expectations of affairs often being something men do as opposed to the women.

CASE STUDY: Beyonce - Pretty Hurts (concept/performance)

VIDEO

The "Pretty Hurts" music video focuses on the concept of being "pretty" and explores the lengths girls in particular, go through in order to achieve beauty and be "perfect". There are elements of a narrative video as we see Beyonce play as a pageant contestant and the steps she takes before the pageant itself, however the video is mainly tackles the concept of what it means to be beautiful in today's society.

The video begins a busy room full of girls preparing for the pageant. There are quick shots of the girls doing some absurd things in order to look "perfect" for the stage. In this still, one girl is forcing herself into a dress that is clearly too small, most likely in order to feel more beautiful as a smaller size. In other shots, the girls are seen spraying hairspray onto their outfits, squeezing their non-existent love handles and rubbing petroleum jelly onto their teeth, to create the illusion of shine. The quick shots emphasizes the rush and desperation of the girls to look perfect and the hurried nature backstage. 

2 and 3 shots are also used to show the hostile, catty nature of the girls to each other, before the curtains come up and the fake smiles are plastered on their faces, this reflects the real world where some girls can be fake and pretentious in private, but act sweet and nice when they know others are watching.

In this  full body/ long shot, Beyonce is seen wearing a gold bikini with her sash across her her. Despite her beauty, her lean bikini body and her gown in the background, she is hanging her head down in sadness, suggesting that being beautiful means nothing if you are unhappy on the inside. The long shot, allows the audience to see the contrast between the large room and her possessions and her dejected body language. 

There is a heavy use of closeups in the music video to focus on the things the girls are doing in the name of achieving beauty which may be overlooked, if they aren't clearly focused on. The actions include, the well known secret of eating cotton balls dipped in juice to trick the body into thinking it's full, constantly checking their weight, taking weight loss pills, or maybe pills for depression and the stress of ensuring a thin waistline is maintained. 

The video ends in silence, with Beyonce exhaling after finally removing the makeup, crown and other material accessories, representing her exhaustion of the constant effort needed to maintain perfection and the sigh also shows her liberation from the constraints of tight dresses, elaborate makeup etc. The final shot shows her sash laying abandoned over a chair, implying Beyonce has decided to fling the idea of fake beauty away. The sash now reads "Pretty Hurts" which is the title of the song, this is the last shot and is almost used as a way to sum up the entire song and the strong message it carries.

DIGIPAK

Beyonce's self titled album, was released without any pre promotion - no single, music video or even rumours and leaks. It was released on Blu-Ray format and contains 14 songs and 17 videos. Due to there being no pre-promotion, singles from the album were released AFTER the album release, and many remain unreleased and only available to view on the purchased album. Any attempts to upload the unreleased videos on platforms such as YouTube are swiftly removed.

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These are more examples of digipaks for the "Beyonce" album. It was also made in a vinyl format, this was aimed at her more devoted fans who would spend more on Beyonce memorabilia.It also includes images and lyrics. The second image shows the description above, that shows the "album cover" many believe is the front of the album is actually a sleeve in which the actual album slides out.