Video Analysis - Rihanna, Take A Bow

The video I am going to analyse is Rihanna – Take a Bow. I chose this video as it is by a female artist of the same genre. It also has the same story behind the narrative and therefore could give us some influence and idea's as to how to portray this particular idea. I have only analysed the first minuite as it will give me a clear, sharp indication of how instantly the narrative can be established.


The video starts with a close-up of Rihanna’s arm placed across her body and then tracks upwards so we see Rihanna’s face. The initial close-up of her arm then tracking upwards helps to show the mise-en-scene of different gold jewellery which she is wearing – The gold ring, the gold watch, the gold necklaces, which are emphasised by the black costume she is wearing. This is a genre characteristic – A lot of R&B artists wear jewellery to show there wealth etc. Once the tracking to the focus on her face is complete, Rihanna sings the rest of the line to the audience in a performance-bases sequence. The remains of the close-up helps to show the emotion on her face, which is to some extent vital when the artist is singing an emotional song – It makes the performance more believable. The black costume and background helps to show the overall mood, as appose to if the costume and background were of a bright colour suggesting a more positive mood of song.

Once Rihanna has finished singing and the next line kicks in, we instantly cut into the first narrative-based shot. This is a medium shot of Rihanna walking away, from an angle which appears to be set on the floor. The mise-en-scene is jeans and more importantly, heels, showing the feministic side of the narrative. The quick shot only lasts for a few seconds – It lasts for the beats between Rihanna’s first line and second

We then have a cut back to the performance based sequence. Again, the shot is very quick and once again only lasts for the duration of the one line ‘a standing ovation’. It is a close up of Rihanna’s face which shows the strong emotion but also how the lyrics she is singing are not to be taking literally but more in a sarcastic, figurative way.

For the part in which Rihanna is not singing, it once again cuts back to the narrative concept. A long shot of Rihanna walking to the window and looking out the curtains, almost as if she’s specifically looking out for something, almost suggesting in context of the narrative that her ex boyfriend has just turned up or something. The mise-en-scene in the shot shows a red chair (red as a colour symbolising romance, again linking to the narrative. You also see the laminate flooring, pure white curtains suggesting that money-wise, she is at a higher working class and earns a lot – a genre characteristic of R&B. The long shot allows us to see the physique of Rihanna, referring to Andrew Goodwin’s theory of the male gaze

We then go cut back to the performance base of a close-up of Rihanna, again showing the emotion as she sings. It then cuts to the scene of her ex-boyfriend knocking on the door, furthermore establishing the narrative. There is then a quick cut back to Rihanna in the narrative based shot by the window, which then cuts back to the ex-boyfriend. This helps to establish the link between these two characters and shows us how Rihanna is not only the performer but also the character within the narrative. We then cut back to the performance based, but this time Rihanna is walking and looking down. By looking down, she is showing a more negative overall emotion as appose to if she was looking up and directly to the camera. There is then a quick cut back to the narrative based as she is walking down the stairs to answer the door. Again, stairs showing she is the owner of the house and furthermore suggesting wealth – a genre characteristic of R&B.

We then start the first verse with the same performance based concept of a close-up of Rihanna against a black backdrop. She is looking directly into the camera, as if singing it directly to the ex-boyfriend. This effect is reinforced by the lyrics – ‘you look so dumb right now’, addressing him directly (as appose to ‘he looks so dumb right now’). This then cuts into a short cut of Rihanna walking towards the door in the narrative base. The medium shot helps us to see chandeliers hanging from the wall again, suggesting wealth. This quickly cuts into a performance-based shot of the back of Rihanna’s head, symbolising the way she’s moving away from the relationship and moving on.

There is then a fade transition to the next narrative based shot. It has a quick close-up shot of the male talking to someone through the wall. This then quickly cuts into a medium shot of Rihanna at the other side. There is then a quick cut to a long shot of him leaning against the door, showing how desperate he is to see her. The fact that Rihanna is singing in the narrative scenes again shows how the experience is one taken from her, as appose to referring to some other relationship. This could work effectively as not only would the target audience relate to the song making it a success, they would also relate to Rihanna as an artist. Both shots the characters are both scene wearing black and a bit of gold jewellery are seen. The black costume, again emphasising the moods, and the gold jewellery being a genre characteristic representing wealth. The fact we see the male talking against the door in the dialogue suggests how he may be begging for Rihanna to take him back. The fact she just stands against the door shows the strength she has to ignore him.
We then have a shot of the performance based sequel, quickly cutting at the beat to the performance base for the line ‘trying to apologise’. In both shots she shows a smirk look upon her face, showing the strength of knowing she is now in control, but also in a patronising way towards the male.

There is then a close up of the male for part of the line ‘trying to apologise, you’re so ugly when you cry’. The close up allows us to see the emotion of the males face, showing how sorry he is, linking with the lyrics. At the beat, we have a quick cut to Rihanna at the other side of the door. Her arms are folded to suggest she’s had enough. She’s facing the side to show a slight sense of vulnerability, which is demolished when her head turns to face the camera and create a sense of confrontation. The absence of her singing the word ‘please’ (when it is actually placed within the song) shows the lack of manners she has towards him and therefore the lack of respect she has for him. We then have a cut back to him, continuously knocking on the door and showing how distressed he is and how much he wants her back. We cut back to Rihanna, and once more back to the male. You see him walking away, making gestures with his arms to show his annoyed and upset expressions