Beyoncé is one of the most, if not the most, influential artists in the current industry. She released her most recent album 'lemonade' on 23rd April 2016. This album was one her best selling. The whole album was influenced by the hardship she had gone through at that time with her husband cheating on her. Each song references the hardships he went through at that time and how she wa feeling. One of these songs being 'Sorry'. This songs shows Beyoncé getting at men and she is not sorry for it. Women are often made to feel bad about showing certain emotions, especially anger (towards men). Her Beyoncé is angry at her husband and she's not sorry for it. Throughout the song she almost attacks her husband, using shady lines to get at his career and what he has done. The music video to the video complements the lyrics in an unusual style, explaining a reaction to the adultery. It is a very powerful video, which is why I wanted to analyse it. There is a very clear message of female empowerment which runs through this videoI think there is a lot to learn from this video.
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The opening scene to the video shows, the ceiling of a bus. These are reflections of light off, what I presume to be, a disco ball covering the ceiling. They move as music begins to play. The shot is a tilted, low angled shot. It is in black and white, like the entirety of the video. In the centre of the frame is the word 'apathy'. This perhaps could represent Beyoncé lack of interest towards an apology from her husband. Or it could how that sh has lost motivation from the things she has been through. I think that it is cleaver how she has included this single word at the befinning of the video, as it immediately grabs the audiences attention, in that it creates a question. The audience is questioning why she has this word there.
The next shot is of women sat on the bus. They sit looking foreword and without any interaction with each other. They are all black women and wear white face paint. The shot is a side close up of the women's faces. It could also be considered a wide shot as it captures all of the woman's faces , as well as their surroundings. The women look strong; their posture it's up right and they hold their heads high. This scene is not only captured from this angle, but from a low angle beneath the women as well. The woman move in sinc with the innocent music of a music box. They almost look as though they are robots as they dance. This scene is another one which grabs the attention of the audience. The song 'sorry' doesn't originally have the opening of the music box noise and therefore the change in it being there isn't expected. It also is a very dramatic style of music, which creates power behind the scene. This shot is the beginning of the representation of powerful women which runs through this video.
The next shot introduced in this video is of Beyonce herself. It looks as though she is sat opposite the women on the bus. In this shot you are unable to tell the individual in the shot is Beyonce as she sits with her head down and a hat over her hair. She is sat central in the shot, which is a mid shot of her. The idea of her bowing her head contrasts with the previous shot as it introduces the idea of weakness; head bowing is usually associated with weakness. However alternatively it could represent a strong introduction for Beyonce; you currently don't know who it is, which builds up a big reveal. The fact that she sits alone also enhances her independence and strength. She is also dressed and represented in a different manor to the rest of the females. The others all show their face containing the white make up and sit with their heads held high. Another way this could be interpreted is the idea that these woman are strong, but Beyonce has weakened because of the betrayal from her husband. It could be that the other woman have noticed this and intend to change it.
The shot then changes to an outside shot. This shot is a low angled shot of the sky and the tree. The tree is a willow tree and its branches cover the majority of the sky. To the side of the frame is the sun. The sun highlights the gaps between the tree branches, as well as the trees outline. This shot is introducing something more than just the bus which we have seen so far in the video. As the camera pans down slowly, viewing the surroundings, a house is introduced. This is only a subtle introduction, which foreshadows later events. The sun shining through the trees in this shot could be representative of power. The sun is extremely powerful, as well as the light that it produces. This follows the theme of power which runs throughout this video.
Following the house being subtly introduced, is a shot of the decking in the front of the house. The house looks extremely grand. Everything seems to be white and well looked after. There is also multiple of sitting areas displayed in shot, which suggests that there are many people staying in the house. The shot itself is a low angled establishing shot. The camera pans inwards, tracking the floor; almost exploring the surroundings. This creates a snake like view of the area. This shot is very smooth and creates tension about what will happen next in the video.
In a similar manor to the previous shot, we are taken inside the house. As the camera goes exploring through the house, there seems to be no human activity. However, as shown in the outside shot, it is very grand and very looked after. The camera goes from a low angled shot, panning upwards showing a staircase. Sat at the top of this stair case shows a woman. She sits low, looking directly at the camera. The shot itself is a low angled establishing/wide shot. The woman wears all black and stands out against the white house. At this point it is uncertain whether or not this is Beyonce as the camera is so far away. The same theme as running through the whole video is followed; power. The way the woman sits shows that she wants to be noticed; she lowers herself below obstacles which could block her from the camera. The way she looks straight at the camera is very intimidating as well; this shows power.
The camera then pans around and the female is seen down stairs. It can now be seen that this is not Beyonce, however the females face is difficult to make out. The shot here seems to be hand held, tracking the woman. It is a wide shot of the female, she is the only thing in shot. She still wears all black and what she wears seems to be very dramatic; the arms to her top/dress are very flared. Before at the top of the stair, she was the other thing that wasn't white in shot. However in this shot, there is something else coming into shot which is black also. This takes away the drama and the focus on the female. However, the theme of power is something which she still holds.
As the camera continues to track the female as she walks through the house, an over the shoulder shot is used. This is very dramatic. As she comes into another room, we are introduced to Beyonce for the first time. This is a very strong introduction. As the woman is being followed, what she is walking into is blurred and the focus is on the walking woman. However, whilst the over the shoulder shot is occurring Beyonce can be seen in the background. She sits lazily in a thrown like chair. This is the biggest representation of female strength and power we have had so far in the video.
The camera then goes around the house discovering an increasing amount of females all over the house. The camera then goes back to the shot on bus. These shots show the females moving and dancing around the bus. The shots range from wide shots to close ups. In the close ups, the white face paint which is shown in the shots at the beginning of the video can be seen in greater detail. In a close up, the paint doesn't look as decorative as it did before, like makeup, but rather like a form of intimidation. This idea is also complimented by the faces the females make in the close ups. They look as though they are smug; laughing at the men. This follows the power and strength theme.
The camera then returns back to the shot of Beyonce on the thrown. The female shown in the earlier shots is shown sitting by the side of Beyonce. Beyonce still sits in the thrown like chair, with her legs over the side of the chair. The way that she is sat is seen as an improper way to sit on a chair. This could be representative of her power; she holds so much strength, that she is making up new rules and doesn't have to follow traditional ones. This shot is a wide shot of the two.
Beyonce is now shown on the bus again. Here she is seen shouting and singing. This could be seen as a way of hyping up the rest of the women on the train. However, the women here are no longer daning and moving like they were before, they now sit upright looking across the bus, like they were at the beginning. This could show the respect that they have for her. The shot itself here is a low angled shot of Beyonce. Her head almost hits the top of the bus. The shot is very wide also and captures the women sat to either side of her.
In the next shot, the women which has featured in many appears again. This shot is a tracking shot again, however this time it is from the front of her. The shot itself is a mid wide shot of the female. Now from the front of the female, it can now be recognised that she is the tennis player Serena Williams. The fact that she features in this video says a lot about what Beyonce is trying to portray. Serena Williams is a brilliant tennis player and definitely shows what a strong woman is, in terms of sports specifically. Being in this video brings together strong women and what they are capable of.
After several visits ti the shots on the bus and some inside of the house, the camera shows a shot of the females outside. They stand and gather around an army vehicle. This again shows power in women. This is intimidating and shows power. The shot itself is lit in a very harsh light; like car lights. The camera pans from one end of the scene to the other, displaying the entirety of the formation of the women around the car.
The video seems to remain going back and forth between the previous shots of the bus, car, Beyonce on the thrown etc. As the video goes on, the clips seem to get shorter and the women are becoming more vagarious. This contrasts with this new shot. This shot shows Beyonce sat, upright, staring at the camera. Her hair is all up and she wears nothing but a metallic brallete. She looks very Egyptian. The shot itself is very powerful. She sits centre view of the camera, looking directly at it. Her hands are behind her and she leans back onto them. The shot is a wide shot. The lighting in this shot is very powerful. It comes down at an angle onto her, creating the back of the room, the top of the room and herself in darkness. However the light hits the bottom of her. The light also slightly hits the whites of her eyes, which creates power. This is perhaps (in my opinion) the most powerful shot in the entire music video.In conclusion to my analysis of Beyonce's 'Sorry', I can say that I have learnt a lot. I predicted that I would at the start of the video, as it is Beyonce who is a very talented artists. The video itself is very unusual, but moving. I think without backstory to what has happened to Beyonce with her husban, it'd be very difficult to understand what she was targetting. On the other hand, It is very obvious that there is a strong target towards female power. I thought the fact that the video was in black and white created more drama to the video. In my own project I would like to use a lot of black and white, as I think it can be used in many different ways to create meaning and effect. I think the shots that were used in the video were of excellence. Every shot seemed to target the same message, but at a different angle. The use of tracks and pans in the video, was very popular. Again this was something which worked well. When creating my own video, I would like to consider individual shots, like Beyonce has to ensure every detail is create a message. Analysing this music video has been very halepful.
A new shot involved in the mix up is this dark egypitian shot of beyonce.
ends on this after interuptionn of other shots
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