Textual analysis of music videos

Knock You Down Keri Hilson - ft. Kanye West, Ne-Yo

Textual Analysis of Music Videos

By Kelechi Okorie

Knock You Down by Keri Hilson

"Knock You Down" is a song by American singer and songwriter Keri Hilson, The song features guest vocals from Ne-Yo and Kanye West.

The song is a contemporary R&B and hip hop song, which includes elements of pop music. The lyrics of the song pertain to how love "knocks you down."

The music video for "Knock You Down",directed byChris Robinson, premiered on March 23, 2009.The Genre of the music video is a Narrative however it does also show signs of it also having a genre of Image. This is because the video features many close up and Birds eye view shots of Keri Hilson, the lead singer wearing a limited amount of clothing. This shows she is showing off her image rather than her vocal ability. The video also uses a range of editing techniques to show the narrative genre such as the use of the black and White effect. This effect emphasises the flashbacks of the artists featured in the song

What is the relationship between visuals and lyrics?

The lyrics are amplified through the use of split screens and black and white effects. This is evident when Kanye West is rapping on one side of the screen and on the other, his thoughts and feelings are represented. An example of this is where he says So we can finally fly off into NASA. He is talking about taking his dream girl to space so they can finally be alone. As you can see in the picture, a spaceship is taking off into space on one side of the split screen.

Kanye West is featured in a range of different split screens. His lyrics have a correlation with the visuals. In this split screen Mr West raps So I wrote this love letter right before my classes. The love letter on the left hand side of the split screen is burning and disintegrating because this connotes that love is knocking him down which relates to the title of the song. This shows that the rapper is also having problems with his love life and that he is suffering yet another setback with women.

These examples reinforce the genre of the music video which is narrative because of the storytelling lyrics and effects used such as black and white.

Kanye West raps Let the hourglass pass right into ashes. The Visuals show what he is saying and thinking in the split screen.

Kanye raps And I was the class clown that, always kept you laughin. A black and white effect has been used on the right side of the split screen which shows a flashback of Kanye making jokes and keeping his woman happy.

What is the relationship of the music and visuals?

A relationship between the visuals and the music is established throughout the music video. At the start of the music video during Keri Hilsons singing, the scenes are much sharper, faster and concise to keep up with the speed. This also happens when Kanye west starts to rap. He is shown in a split screen but the visuals are constantly changing from one artist to another to keep up to the pace of the beat. The relationship between the music and the visuals is perhaps most evident when Kanye West is rapping. This is shown through a range of different visuals which happen inside the split screen. This helps emphasise the lyrics that are coming out from Kanyes mouth.

Editing

Black and White effect

Split Screen and Black and White

This reinforces the genre of Narrative as the split screen and black and white effect show the back story between them and the history which is important for the development of the story. This creates more meaning for the audience because it gives them an idea of what they have been through together.

Other Editing Techniques: 1) Jump Cuts2) Parallel editing3) Slow motion4) Cutaways

Mise en scene

There many costume changes between the singers which helped the story develop in the video

Kanye West and Ne-yo created actions to go with what they were saying

Keri Hilson was wearing a white top which showed that she is innocent in the whole situation and was also laying on a white bed sheet. She was also singing infront of a white background which differed from the other singers

Keri Hilson was falling into the bed to show she was getting knocked down which relates to the title of the song

The singers are showed getting knocked down continuously but they get back up again

Goodwins Rules used

There was a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals

There was also a relationship between the music and the visuals

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Textual analysis of music videos

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