'Disturbia' - Rihanna
Artist: Rihanna
Song Title: Disturbia
Director: Anthony Mandler
Year Released: 2008
Genre: Hip Hop/RnB
MICRO ANALYSIS
Mise-en-scene :
- One thing that is noticeable right from the begininng of this Hip Hop music video is the harsh dark lighting, which supports the song title 'disturbia', as straight away it becomes aparent that this video has been purposley made to look disturbing. However this dark lighting contrasts with the light that seems to constantly be shining on Rihanna, making her stand out from all of the other people appearing in the video who seem to be put in darkness. The colour red has been used alot aswell to once again give off this disturbing image. One shot shows rihanna stood in up against the window, with a red sky showing through.
The colour black presented on each persons clothing works well with the orangy red light shinging in from behind as it is a way to highlight the main idea of the shot, in this case being the people, but still gives off a demonic disturbing sense.
In the video, we are unfamilar as to where this location really is, and I think that is one of the things that has been purposely used. By using an unfamiliar location that is unrecognisable it adds to the horror that is already present in the video, and is almost relecting why these characters are 'disturbed' are because they are trapped somewhere but dont know where they are. However, one thing this is noticable is every part of this location is run down, dark and dingy, with metal bars covering the windows creating an uncomfertable atmostphere for both the characters in the video, and the audience.A particulary disturbing image of Rihanna is shown where she is shown through a long shot in a shabby dark room with low ceilings where her hands are tied to the floor. This image shows someone trapped and struggling and creates a particulary unpleasent mood to the whole video.
One thing that frequently occurs throughout the video is the editing technique 'dissolve' in which two different shots are merged together. This often effectively shows the same character appearing in different states, almost giving the idea that this character may almost have a split personality, which could be a message trying to be put across. This song focuses purposely on 'a disturbance that is so powerful and mentally and physically disturbs one mind.
The image above is what of the main ones that shows dissolving in a way that shows the two characters in the different states. By having the image on the right with Rihanna with red lipstick as a close up, an the one with the blonde hair as a medium shot, it almost suggests that the left image shows the character with more control, as it is a way of showing that maybe here she is thinking more closely and carefully about things. There, this contrasts with the image on the left and almost suggests that she isn't thinking at all, showed by the way she has her eyes closed, and also gives the impression that she is loosing control. The way the shot has been taken tilting upwards to give close emphasis on Rihanna's hand gripping tightly gives the impression that she is weak reaching out for help, or even possibly gripping onto the bar due to frustration, once again portraying the ongoing uncomfortable theme of 'Disturbia'.
One thing that is noticeable in the medium shot below of Rihanna is the choice of costume that has been made. One feature of the majority of Hip Hop/RnB videos is the use of 'bling' and extravagant jewellery. This shows that although the director of the music video wanted to challenge typically conventions of a RnB music video by making the women appear more disturbing than in other videos, he still wanted to keep some typically conventions, in this case the big shiny gold jewellery.
One thing that frequently appears in the video is the digetic sound of someone screaming in a particulary frightening way, at some points slightly faint, and others particulary loud. The repetition of this scream almost becomes a kind of motif matched with the song, as screaming is often associated with pain or fear, two themes that have been purposely chosen to fit with this video. The combination of a shot of Rihanna screaming, or other characters tugging at hair and clawing at things looking uncomfertable all compliment eachother in creating the frightening image.
Throught the song there is a constant non- diegetic 'Rhythm' to the song, in which four beats are constantly played repeatedly, at times accompanying other music within the song and the beat is often played with speech of the same tone. This constant beat is played quite fast, making a sound that is easy for the audience to dance to. Many RnB Songs are made for people to dance too, therefore this beat puts an element of dance into this otherwise dark and disturbing song.
After watching this video it is clear that the director has really wanted to add the shock factor into it, through the use of outrageous costumes, dark spooky lighting and harsh screaming sounds. The video isn't doesn't give a clear message, it is in fact quite random which I find entertaining. Therefore, I would like to make my own video shocking and unusual. challenging the conventions of a normal Hip Hop music video.
- Camera Angles and Editing
The camera angles throughout the video has been specially chosen to give off a particular mood to the audience, and make sure that they are engaged in it. At the beginning of the video, a variety of close ups are used to emphasis the emotion of pain and fear, showing closely the emotion on the characters faces. In the image below, there is an image of Rihanna shown with Milky contact lenses in. A close up was the most effective shot choice to use because we can see in great detail the gritted death and demonic eyes, getting an overall impression of what the song will be about.
The image above is what of the main ones that shows dissolving in a way that shows the two characters in the different states. By having the image on the right with Rihanna with red lipstick as a close up, an the one with the blonde hair as a medium shot, it almost suggests that the left image shows the character with more control, as it is a way of showing that maybe here she is thinking more closely and carefully about things. There, this contrasts with the image on the left and almost suggests that she isn't thinking at all, showed by the way she has her eyes closed, and also gives the impression that she is loosing control. The way the shot has been taken tilting upwards to give close emphasis on Rihanna's hand gripping tightly gives the impression that she is weak reaching out for help, or even possibly gripping onto the bar due to frustration, once again portraying the ongoing uncomfortable theme of 'Disturbia'.
One thing that is noticeable in the medium shot below of Rihanna is the choice of costume that has been made. One feature of the majority of Hip Hop/RnB videos is the use of 'bling' and extravagant jewellery. This shows that although the director of the music video wanted to challenge typically conventions of a RnB music video by making the women appear more disturbing than in other videos, he still wanted to keep some typically conventions, in this case the big shiny gold jewellery.
One editing technique that I found particularly interesting is the way images have been made to appear distorted, as shown in the image below. This makes the music video because puzzling and almost confusing, but helps to reflect the way that we would expect these disturbed characters to be feeling - out of control and unable to understand what is happening to them.
- Sound
At the very beginning of the song, straight away we hear the digetic sound of a screeching noise of a piano. This is almost used as an establishing sound for the beginning of the clip, to set an eery mood straight away even before any actual non-digetic music is brought into the video. Also, a spooky sound of violin string screeching in an unpleasant tone is combined with the piano screeching, getting louder and louder. I think the choice of using a piano and a violin to begin with is particularly effective in establishing the overall mood of the song as these particular choice of instruments are effective in making uncomfortable, screeching sounds.
One thing that frequently appears in the video is the digetic sound of someone screaming in a particulary frightening way, at some points slightly faint, and others particulary loud. The repetition of this scream almost becomes a kind of motif matched with the song, as screaming is often associated with pain or fear, two themes that have been purposely chosen to fit with this video. The combination of a shot of Rihanna screaming, or other characters tugging at hair and clawing at things looking uncomfertable all compliment eachother in creating the frightening image.
Throught the song there is a constant non- diegetic 'Rhythm' to the song, in which four beats are constantly played repeatedly, at times accompanying other music within the song and the beat is often played with speech of the same tone. This constant beat is played quite fast, making a sound that is easy for the audience to dance to. Many RnB Songs are made for people to dance too, therefore this beat puts an element of dance into this otherwise dark and disturbing song.
After watching this video it is clear that the director has really wanted to add the shock factor into it, through the use of outrageous costumes, dark spooky lighting and harsh screaming sounds. The video isn't doesn't give a clear message, it is in fact quite random which I find entertaining. Therefore, I would like to make my own video shocking and unusual. challenging the conventions of a normal Hip Hop music video.
