Research: Analysing Costume, Setting and Location

Chris Brown ft. Tyga & Lil Wayne - Loyal (Explicit)

R'n'B

The video of Loyal follows Lauren Mulvey's theory of representation very carefully. Throughout the video, the males only have 2-3 costume changes, which varies with their location. Often, what they're wearing is appropriate for their location eg. if they're outside, they will be fully clothed. However, the same can't be said with the females. They're are many different costume changes for the females, with each female shown in the video often wearing something different (except from the females who were dancing and all had the same costume) but equally provocative and inappropriate for the setting eg. outside wearing barely anything. This links to the lyrics of the song, as they are very explicit. The basetracks in the music video only involve the use of two settings, but they both look similar. In total, there are around 5 locations.

For this type of genre, usually a car and a house would have been involved however this video goes against some of these conventions of R'n'b and hip hop, as no such things are shown. Although the typical clubs are shown, the rest of the video is shot outside or inside some sort of colourful venue.

Lana Del Rey - Summertime Sadness

Indie pop

There are a total of 7 costume changes in the video, however there is only one particular outfit that the video keeps cutting back to and is used for as a basetrack. The costumes all link to the setting and are appropriate for the setting as there were also around 7 different locations where the video took place. Throughout the video, there is a narrative that is ongoing which is why there are so many costume and setting changes. In one setting, they are at home so therefore she in wearing casual clothing. In another setting, they are on the beach so wears costume appropraite such as swimwear. There are also other settings of being at partys, where she would wear a dress as you would, and at picnic's where she wears smart-casual. All of the settings used are well-known everyone has been there and can relate to them however they are not typical conventions of this genre as there are so many different locations and settings. In indie music, there is often a more laid back approach to music videos and often not so many location and costume changes are used. However, because this is a variation of the genre and is indie pop, this is why there may have been a change in conventions.

Michelle Williams ft. Beyonce, Kelly Rowland - Say Yes

There are a total of 2 costume changes throughout the video. The costume are very typical to the gospel music genre, as they are in all white and casual clothing. The costume also links to the location as there are around 3-4 locations, however only 2 are used as a basetrack. The setting is also very typical to the genre as its in a green park with bright lighting and this is where they are in all white clothing. Both the setting and costume links to the lyrics as the lyrics are very pure and there everything in the video is picturesque.