Beyoncé ‘drunk in love’

'Drunk in Love' music video analysis

1. Beyoncé ‘Drunk in love’ music video analysis By Katie Cook

2. What is a music video? Peter Fraser defines a music video as: ‘short, moving image product, shot for the express purpose of accompanying a pre-existing music track and used to encourage of sales of the music in another format’ Andrew Godwin identifies a number of key features from the music video such as a relationship between the lyrics and visuals, and also between the music and the visuals. He also points out that certain music genres have their own style of music video which is commonly followed.

3. This music video was.. Directed by : Hype Williams Produced by: Hype Williams Written by: Noel Fisher, Beyoncé Knowles, Shawn Carter, Jordan Asher, Andre Eric Proctor, Timothy Mosley, Jerome Harmon, Brian Soko and Rasool Ricardo Diaz Staring: Beyoncé Knowles and Shawn Carter

4. Lyrics The lyrics to this song generate the mood. The title ‘drunk in love’ fit the purpose of the lyrics by using repetitive phrases throughout such as the opening lines ‘I’ve been drinking, I’ve been drinking’. It’s a commonly used pattern throughout the song for then last part of the lyrical line is repeated ‘feeling like an animal with these cameras all in my grill flashing lights, flashing lights’. This mirrors the theme of song as Beyoncé sounds drunk with the her continuously repetitive phrases. Its also important to note that there Is very little narrative behind the lyrics and mostly don’t make sense, which again contributes to the drunk theme. There is a notable lyric in the song in which Beyoncé laughs randomly, this again fits the theme of the song as it can be seen as not structured and not taken to seriously.

5. Music The introduction to this music video is a soundscape of the setting, therefor you can hear and see the waves as the music video is set on the beach. We then hear a build up of sinister high pitched music, this sets the scene of the low key lighting strange video. The sinister music builds up to the point of a blunt pause, in which we hear two high pitched musical stings that have an echo to enhance the lasting effect. Although the video has a long introduction with no narrative, this has an effective impact on the rest of the video as this is the catalyst which gives viewers the intentional eerie feel. We then here the music for the song start, which starts of very strange an unique, it’s a high pitched voice repeats the same rhythm, the voice is almost like a tribe ritual song, this different sense of sound easily fits into the theme of this video/song, this replicates Beyoncé's feminist stance as this voice is like a woman crying for help. As the music goes on we then hear Beyoncé starting to sing with a strong deep repetitive beat of base throughout the rest of the song as well as other strange counterparts of different beats an rhythms. Its important to note when analysing this music video that repetition is mirrored in both the lyrics and music, so that theme of the music is clear to viewers.

6. Genre/ Mise en scene Setting- the location of this music video is set on the beach. Although it contradicts stereotypical beach setting which is commonly used in upbeat songs such as Rihanna's ‘if its lovin that you want’ which perfectly mirrors the theme of the music with its holiday genre location. Although this music video is set on the beach, the audience feel a completely different vibe in comparison to the ones commonly seen due to the low key lighting and black and white filter, as the sea can be ‘the unknown’ during dark hours as there is no way of seeing what is in the water, this along with the sinister music rather gives the music video an uneasy feel. Costume- Beyoncé is wearing a black bikini, which fits the scenery appropriately although Beyoncé is also wearing a black mesh over the top which reaches down to her feet. Its ca n be seen that this costume mirrors the sinister effect shown throughout the video as the black mash closely represents a gown, such as the one used in the thriller film ‘the woman in black’. Its also important to analyse Beyoncé's hair and make up. Beyoncé's hair is cropped in a short bob which is against her normal long blonde waves, her hair is damp which again is appropriate due the setting on the beach. Beyoncé's makeup plays a key part in this music video. The black smeary eyes gives her a tired drowsy look, further fitting the drunk theme to the song. The damp hair and smeared makeup gives Beyoncé the careless persona which is affiliated with being drunk. Props- Beyoncé further promotes her feminist stance with the main prop in this video. In the introduction, we first we see of Beyoncé is her carrying a tall trophy , we can see that this prop is being carried carelessly and is almost dragging along the sand. There is also much emphasis on this trophy when we here the high pitched tribal song, when looking closely we can see that this is a pageant trophy. The song drunk in love is features on Beyoncé's visual album ‘Beyoncé’. The first music video on the album ‘pretty hurts’ features Beyoncé struggling with the demands society puts on woman, in which we see Beyoncé smash up line of trophy's with the tall trophy used in this video. It can be seen as strange that this prop is used in the video drunk in love, although it can be seen that Beyoncé has this prop as she now doesn’t care about her previous pageants and the expectations of society, and that there is more important things in life such as being in love and enjoying yourself.

7. Camerawork Its important to note when looking at the camerawork that in the introduction before the music starts, we don’t see any shots of Beyoncé's face, we only see landscape shots that are establishing the scenery, therefore watching the waves wash up on the shore. These shots along with the music that features them has an effective impact on the atmosphere created for this video, only seeing the scenery accompanied with the tension building music gives viewers an eerie feel as the limitation of human visual in this part of the video has viewers on edge that something may jump out on them. We see just before the track starts we see a blacked out screen with the words ‘DRUNK IIN LOVE’ written In the middle to establish the name of the song. We also see many close up shots throughout this music video. This is to establish Beyoncé's facial expression and drunk persona, this also allows us to understand what Beyoncé is singing as thee lip syncs over the music. We can see a pattern in the beginning of the video which sees a long shot of Beyoncé and then a close ups of Beyoncé. We can also see that for a large percentage of the video, its just Beyoncé until jay z comes into sing his verse, in most the shots we see of Beyoncé its her talking ad singing to the camera, and make viewers feel in a point of view shot of whoever she is addressing. We also get this feel due to the large amount of camera movement seen throughout the video. This mirrors the movement of Beyoncé who Is being filmed. Rather than the camera being further away in order to fit Beyoncé's movements in the shot, the director chooses to be closer and follow Beyoncé's face, this means that the camera is often not positioned one place and rather being used free hand. This again gives viewers a point of view shot as the focus is always on Beyoncé's face and what she is telling them. Another important shot to analyse is the further back over the shoulder shot of jay z’s shoulder which features Beyoncé with her arms round him and her head resting on his shoulder, the shots also feature Beyoncé whispering in his ear as well as addressing and talking to the camera, this allows viewers to see Beyoncé's affection towards her husband and gives viewers a glimpse into their love for each other, this is exclusive to viewers as their marriage life is kept very private, other shots such as mid shots featuring jay z with his arm round Beyoncé whilst rapping also add to this exclusive view.

8. Editing the main editing that can be seen in this music video is the editing technique ‘Dissolve’ this is when the next shot fades into the current shot and then the sold shot fades out so it’s the new shot. This again creates the illusion of a drunk vibe, as the shots have no structure and we see multiple things going on at once, we often see this editing skill in films which feature drunk scenes, in films this skill is used to illustrate what the person can see and showcase to the audience the characters state of mind, again showing the same motives in this music video. This means we see multiple transition shots which consist of Beyoncé in them twice, again bringing us back to focus on her. When analysing editing, its important to notice the generic themes of editing in music videos in general, such as the pace of the editing matching to the beat of the editing. Drunk in love goes against this pattern, more noticeably in the chorus when the beat Is fast and the editing is slow, with shots that last for long periods of time. This seems strange to viewers watching although does again fit in with the strange theme of the music video with its tendency's to go against the norm. another noticeable editing skill used in this video is the camera focus. In many shots we can see the shot going blurry and then going back to focus, this yet again brings us back to the drunk theme and its common when under the influence of alcohol for peoples vision to get blurred, this is again another technique used in TV to showcase a drunk persons point of view as it does here, this technique is effective as we feel as though we are experiencing Beyoncé's state of mind and how she is feeling during this video. The filter of this video again shows how Beyoncé is thriving for her video to go against the norm. the black and white filter stands out from the common filters used in music videos today. it can perhaps be understood that Beyoncé's motive for this strived to be unique or could even have a deeper meaning, such as presenting the traditional filter of music video collaborated with the modern lyrics and sexual undertones of todays music videos. More over Beyoncé could be leaving a message that even though times have changed, the want for lust under the influence of alcohol have always been the same.

9. Narrative/Performance The audience struggle to see any narrative in this music video, all we know is that Beyoncé is drunk and on a beach, in which she stays throughout the entire music video besides Jay Z coming in to do his verse the entire video is Beyoncé on her own singing to the camera. The only narrative the audience can find is that Beyoncé and Jay Z are ‘drunk in love’ we know this as Beyoncé has been drunk the whole video, and when jay z comes in he can be seen holding a glass of alcohol which can suggest that he to is drunk. We also see a shot in the video in which jay z and Beyoncé are looking at each other laughing which seems to be natural rather than pretended for the purpose of the music video, again giving us a glimpse into their private lives. Although the narrative in this music video is not recognisable, it can be see that Beyoncé's performance is. Beyoncé's common style of music video is strong and perfect choreography that compliments her diva persona and also empowers viewers, so much so that her music videos remark in peoples head when they hear the song, such as her song ‘single ladies’ which gained mass attention due to the powerful and remarkable choreography of her waving her hand, Beyoncé's common style in music videos is also to have back up dancers. Although in this music video, Beyoncé decides to stray from her norm by having a careless and natural dancing style and also being alone when doing. This yet again brings us back to the drunk theme as it goes against Beyoncé common need to be perfect and structured in her choreography as she chooses to be free and do what comes natural to her when she hears her song, as one would do when under the influence of alcohol. Although Beyoncé still follows her common use of her proactive dance moves.

10. Star image/ The brand Beyoncé is her own brand and rather markets herself within her own music videos and songs. She has set the standard for herself based on what her audience expect and praise her for. Her first visual album ‘BEYONCE’ simply titles her own name, furthermore showcasing herself as the brand. Each song and music video demonstrate her different emotion and aspects of her life. The feedback was over wheeling so much so that she decided to do another visual album titled ‘Lemonade’ which follows us through her journey of heartbreak again showcasing all the different emotions she is feeling. This shows how Beyoncé gives her fans what the like whilst also not being afraid to do different genres of music and also different genres of music videos while imbedding hidden meaning. Due to this Beyoncé has been praised for being a creative artist. Although along with this Beyoncé still sticks to common themes that have been seen in her music videos as far back as her first solo music video ‘Crazy in Love’. This theme is revealing clothing and proactive dancing. Beyoncé sells herself as being a confident and independent woman who isn't afraid to showcase her sexuality. Although Beyoncé is defiantly affiliated for being a feminist, it can be seen that she feels the need to demonstrate herself with revealing clothing and performances with sexual undertones due to feeling the need to appease and fitting in with the demands society expects from the music industry, especially woman.

11. Voyeurism T he term ‘voyeurism’ is the theory that humans gain pleasure when looking at sexual themes, preferably when not being watched. It can be argued that Beyoncé contributes to this with her sexual dance moves used in many of her music videos and also when performing on stage at concerts. Although with such a common theme of voyeurism in the music industry today, especially among woman, it can also be argued that Beyoncé does this to fit in to the norm and give in to the demands expected of her. Beyoncé again follows her theme in this music video drunk in love. By giving in to voyeurism Beyoncé contradicts her feminist stance as she believes in equal rights for men and woman, although Beyoncé's use of voyeurism can also be understood to promote her feminist stance by demonstrating that woman are allowed to be sexual beings in the same men that men are.