Rihanna - Stay
All along it was a fever
A cold sweat hot-headed believer
I threw my hands in the air, said show me something
He said, if you dare come a little closer
A cold sweat hot-headed believer
I threw my hands in the air, said show me something
He said, if you dare come a little closer
Round and around and around and around we go
Oohhh now tell me now tell me now tell me now you know
Not really sure how to feel about it
Something in the way you move
Makes me feel like I can't live without you
It takes me all the way
I want you to stay
It's not much of a life you're living
It's not just something you take, it's given
Round and around and around and around we go
Oohhh now tell me now tell me now tell me now you know
Oohhh now tell me now tell me now tell me now you know
Not really sure how to feel about it
Something in the way you move
Makes me feel like I can't live without you
It takes me all the way
I want you to stay
Oohh the reason I hold on
Oohh cause I need this hole gone
Funny you're the broken one but I'm the only one who needed saving
Cause when you never see the light it's hard to know which one of us is caving
Not really sure how to feel about it
Something in the way you move
Makes me feel like I can't live without you
It takes me all the way
I want you to stay... Stay...
I want you to stay, oooooooooooh
___________________________________________________________________
The video starts with a shot of falling water, rihanna taking off her clothes and getting into a bath, the source of the running water. In relation to the first line of lyrics "All along it was a fever" she is indicating that just like a cold a relationship comes quick and doesnt last long. The removal of her clothes is her highlighting the end of her relationship with someone as she takes herself away from the feelings she had. The shots show close ups of Rihannas body as she gets ready to get into the bath which could indicate how she gave everything to this person but now she is washning it all away as she is no longer his to have. A shot of white nailvarnish on rihannas hands represents innocence, identifying she may not of been the one to end the relationship or have been the cause. A medium shot shows Rihannas head just aboved the water but she is looking down into the bath that takes up half of the frame. She isnt wearing any makeup and looks very stripped back, she doesnt want any part of her ex left on her body. A tilt moves on to a quick ariel shot of Rihanna in the bath then cuts to a close up and extreme close up of her facial features, showing a lot of focus on her as the song is based on her and the one she has lost. This is done to reinforce the sadness that can be seen in the emotion she holds in her face and body actions. The next line of the song holds a deep and not so obvious meaning, "A cold sweat hot-headed believer" I think the purpose is to show that even when two personalities clash because they are so similar, the irony is that this makes them perfect for each other but she is sad and angry that theyre no longer together. As Rihanna curls up into a ball in the bath she really expresses her lonlyness and how she feels as though she has no one anymore. The way she sings the song by saying "He said", is as though she is telling the audience about what has happened but we havent even asked. Confusion is then introduced to represent her state of mind by her then singing a line that is spoken to her ex "Round and around and around and around we go". No matter how many times they broke up and tried again the same thing kept on happening representing them going round and round in circles when really she knows they shouldnt be together. She’s tired of the uncertainties and heartbreak that it is all bringing but she just cant stay away. The chorus starting, "Not really sure how to feel about it" is Rihanna expressing how far gone she is, how much she loves him, needs him, and can’t live without him. She’s not sure why she loves him so much, she just knows that she wants him to stay. A whole conclusion to how confused, upset and heartbroken she is with the current situation that they share. A close up of her star tattoo on the back of her kneck is shown at the end of the chorus at the point where she says "stay". The stars could relate to dreams and wishes that Rihanna holds for the relationship to work but she has been pushed too far and the fact theyre on the back of her could indicate shes turning her back on it all. A male then is shown sat on the edge of the bath were Rihanna was just laid but she is no longer there. This could be her ex and the shot shows him metaphorically going back to her but shes moved on. From the line he sings "It's not just something you take, it's given" I got the impression that he is singing about how love is a two-way street, to receive love, one must give love, something their relationship lacked and the posible reason to why they split. The man is wearing a white top and black trousers showing the reason for them splitting was each others fault as in relation to colour conventions he is half and half. The white top being innocence and the black being the bad he contributed to the unsuccessful relationship. Similarily to this the next shot is a medium face on shot of him and the lighting gives of the same effect as his costume, one side of his face is in the light and the other is in the dark. It next cuts back to Rihanna with identical lighting effect, confirming my idea of this being an equal situation. A low angle shot of the man is then shown with a large chandelier behind him. A sense of leadership is seen here indicating Rihanna looked up to him and sees him as an important person in her life although they didn't work. For the next six shots it alternates between Rihanna and the male we presume is her ex. The source of light that can be seen comes from the top right of the frame for all six shots although there is two different locations. This links the twos feelings of hope they still have for things to work or how they wish they could of worked as it sort of acts like a light at the end of the tunnel. The video continues to swap from Rihanna to the male showing them placed in their location with the expression of them thinking and reflecting on what has happened. Although they are just sat there it still tells a huge message to the audience in terms of how they feel because you can see they look upset and the fact they're individually sat not doing anything shows there is still feelings there. One thing i did notice was that for the whole video Rihanna remains in the bath but the man is moving around. This indicates he is the stronger of the pair or that is the impression he wants to give because although they're equally hurting he is getting on with things and making distractions but Rihanna is stuck and cant help but reflect. This shows what is stereotypically expected from both genders in these situations, the male being all untouched and not bothered and the girl all hurt and upset, even though everybody knows they're equally effected when it has been equally each others fault for the relationship to not have worked.
Cinematography - This music video is full of emotion but minimal location change. Because of this there is a large range of shot that quickly change with only one lasting no longer than 15 seconds. Although this is a long shot for a music video it does include zooms and tilts to make it not appear too boring. Other shots mainly last a maximum of 2-3 seconds which makes the video very fast paced and full of emotion. The shots manly focus on close ups and medium shots with the occassional extreme close up. These shots often start as medium shot and then zoom to a close up to draw in the audience, finalising with a cut to an extreme close up. Varying the viewpoint allows the audience to see the emotion that Rihanna is expressing through her facial expressions, just like Beyonces video of Broken Hearted Girl. It communicates with the audience, making them aware of how she feels due to the situation she is singing about. Long shots are used when Mikky Ekko enters a different location which acts as an estsablishing shot and then again when it goes back to Rihanna, sometime this is even shown through an extreme long shot. Again there are close ups of Mikky occassionally, but medium shots are more noticeable as it is Rihannas song and we are meant to feel sorry for her. By seeing more of Rihannas emotion appose to Mikkys there is not much room for us to create an emotional understanding of his side of the story so we are being forced into taking Rihannas side even though she might not be the one we should be siding with.
Editing - Editing is quite limited in this video in my opinion with the obvious being the transitions between shots which and only simple cuts. As the shots change quickly in the video it is constanlty cut after cut after cut. The pace of song makes you expect to see fades in the video but the constant cuts help to show the emotion and possible anger that both characters are feeling.
Mise En Scene -The locations of the shoot are continuous, repetive and very limited. It has all been captured in one building varying in a bathroom and living area. The bathroom shots of Mikky and Rihanna are both in the same bathroom but vary in lighting, sometimes when the shots are on Mikky it is very dark but on Rihanna there is a lot of light. The dark lighting on Mikky makes him look like the bad one out of the two but Rihanna is lit by a white light connoting innocense on her so the audience feel sorry for her. The lighting in all the room come from one main light source that is meant to represent a window in the top corner of the rooms. This gives the sence of the pair being trapped which reinforces them both being trapped in the love they shared. Mikky is wearing a white top which brings contrast to the dark lighting he is placed in as it represents innocence and although we are shown lots of Rihannas emotion through close ups in hope we side with her being a dominant audience, it makes us question who we should be really feeling sorry for turning us into a negotiator. Rihanna is naked in the back and is very stripped back not wearing any make up. This is to gain the attention of the audience in relation to her celebrity icon as she is known to always look very well dressed and attractive to both genders. She is shown as completly herself to show just how run down she feels due to the situation with Mikky and just this alone will shock the audience into feeling sorry for Rihanna as well as possibly relating themselves to her.
Sound - The non diegetic music really controls the shots in this video in terms of who we see and when. It starts simply with just the music consisting of a piano and then after .. seconds it introduces the lyrics. The way it controls the shots is when the two different artists take it in turns to sing their lyrics. When Rihanna is singing it will show her through various shots and then when it is Mikky Ekko it will show him. The video wouldnt look right if it showed Rihanna miming to Mikkys lines and transversa, as well as it wouldnt look right if it showed Rihanna when Mikky was singing his lines because its her song and this would make her look weak.
The video starts with a shot of falling water, rihanna taking off her clothes and getting into a bath, the source of the running water. In relation to the first line of lyrics "All along it was a fever" she is indicating that just like a cold a relationship comes quick and doesnt last long. The removal of her clothes is her highlighting the end of her relationship with someone as she takes herself away from the feelings she had. The shots show close ups of Rihannas body as she gets ready to get into the bath which could indicate how she gave everything to this person but now she is washning it all away as she is no longer his to have. A shot of white nailvarnish on rihannas hands represents innocence, identifying she may not of been the one to end the relationship or have been the cause. A medium shot shows Rihannas head just aboved the water but she is looking down into the bath that takes up half of the frame. She isnt wearing any makeup and looks very stripped back, she doesnt want any part of her ex left on her body. A tilt moves on to a quick ariel shot of Rihanna in the bath then cuts to a close up and extreme close up of her facial features, showing a lot of focus on her as the song is based on her and the one she has lost. This is done to reinforce the sadness that can be seen in the emotion she holds in her face and body actions. The next line of the song holds a deep and not so obvious meaning, "A cold sweat hot-headed believer" I think the purpose is to show that even when two personalities clash because they are so similar, the irony is that this makes them perfect for each other but she is sad and angry that theyre no longer together. As Rihanna curls up into a ball in the bath she really expresses her lonlyness and how she feels as though she has no one anymore. The way she sings the song by saying "He said", is as though she is telling the audience about what has happened but we havent even asked. Confusion is then introduced to represent her state of mind by her then singing a line that is spoken to her ex "Round and around and around and around we go". No matter how many times they broke up and tried again the same thing kept on happening representing them going round and round in circles when really she knows they shouldnt be together. She’s tired of the uncertainties and heartbreak that it is all bringing but she just cant stay away. The chorus starting, "Not really sure how to feel about it" is Rihanna expressing how far gone she is, how much she loves him, needs him, and can’t live without him. She’s not sure why she loves him so much, she just knows that she wants him to stay. A whole conclusion to how confused, upset and heartbroken she is with the current situation that they share. A close up of her star tattoo on the back of her kneck is shown at the end of the chorus at the point where she says "stay". The stars could relate to dreams and wishes that Rihanna holds for the relationship to work but she has been pushed too far and the fact theyre on the back of her could indicate shes turning her back on it all. A male then is shown sat on the edge of the bath were Rihanna was just laid but she is no longer there. This could be her ex and the shot shows him metaphorically going back to her but shes moved on. From the line he sings "It's not just something you take, it's given" I got the impression that he is singing about how love is a two-way street, to receive love, one must give love, something their relationship lacked and the posible reason to why they split. The man is wearing a white top and black trousers showing the reason for them splitting was each others fault as in relation to colour conventions he is half and half. The white top being innocence and the black being the bad he contributed to the unsuccessful relationship. Similarily to this the next shot is a medium face on shot of him and the lighting gives of the same effect as his costume, one side of his face is in the light and the other is in the dark. It next cuts back to Rihanna with identical lighting effect, confirming my idea of this being an equal situation. A low angle shot of the man is then shown with a large chandelier behind him. A sense of leadership is seen here indicating Rihanna looked up to him and sees him as an important person in her life although they didn't work. For the next six shots it alternates between Rihanna and the male we presume is her ex. The source of light that can be seen comes from the top right of the frame for all six shots although there is two different locations. This links the twos feelings of hope they still have for things to work or how they wish they could of worked as it sort of acts like a light at the end of the tunnel. The video continues to swap from Rihanna to the male showing them placed in their location with the expression of them thinking and reflecting on what has happened. Although they are just sat there it still tells a huge message to the audience in terms of how they feel because you can see they look upset and the fact they're individually sat not doing anything shows there is still feelings there. One thing i did notice was that for the whole video Rihanna remains in the bath but the man is moving around. This indicates he is the stronger of the pair or that is the impression he wants to give because although they're equally hurting he is getting on with things and making distractions but Rihanna is stuck and cant help but reflect. This shows what is stereotypically expected from both genders in these situations, the male being all untouched and not bothered and the girl all hurt and upset, even though everybody knows they're equally effected when it has been equally each others fault for the relationship to not have worked.
Cinematography - This music video is full of emotion but minimal location change. Because of this there is a large range of shot that quickly change with only one lasting no longer than 15 seconds. Although this is a long shot for a music video it does include zooms and tilts to make it not appear too boring. Other shots mainly last a maximum of 2-3 seconds which makes the video very fast paced and full of emotion. The shots manly focus on close ups and medium shots with the occassional extreme close up. These shots often start as medium shot and then zoom to a close up to draw in the audience, finalising with a cut to an extreme close up. Varying the viewpoint allows the audience to see the emotion that Rihanna is expressing through her facial expressions, just like Beyonces video of Broken Hearted Girl. It communicates with the audience, making them aware of how she feels due to the situation she is singing about. Long shots are used when Mikky Ekko enters a different location which acts as an estsablishing shot and then again when it goes back to Rihanna, sometime this is even shown through an extreme long shot. Again there are close ups of Mikky occassionally, but medium shots are more noticeable as it is Rihannas song and we are meant to feel sorry for her. By seeing more of Rihannas emotion appose to Mikkys there is not much room for us to create an emotional understanding of his side of the story so we are being forced into taking Rihannas side even though she might not be the one we should be siding with.
Editing - Editing is quite limited in this video in my opinion with the obvious being the transitions between shots which and only simple cuts. As the shots change quickly in the video it is constanlty cut after cut after cut. The pace of song makes you expect to see fades in the video but the constant cuts help to show the emotion and possible anger that both characters are feeling.
Mise En Scene -The locations of the shoot are continuous, repetive and very limited. It has all been captured in one building varying in a bathroom and living area. The bathroom shots of Mikky and Rihanna are both in the same bathroom but vary in lighting, sometimes when the shots are on Mikky it is very dark but on Rihanna there is a lot of light. The dark lighting on Mikky makes him look like the bad one out of the two but Rihanna is lit by a white light connoting innocense on her so the audience feel sorry for her. The lighting in all the room come from one main light source that is meant to represent a window in the top corner of the rooms. This gives the sence of the pair being trapped which reinforces them both being trapped in the love they shared. Mikky is wearing a white top which brings contrast to the dark lighting he is placed in as it represents innocence and although we are shown lots of Rihannas emotion through close ups in hope we side with her being a dominant audience, it makes us question who we should be really feeling sorry for turning us into a negotiator. Rihanna is naked in the back and is very stripped back not wearing any make up. This is to gain the attention of the audience in relation to her celebrity icon as she is known to always look very well dressed and attractive to both genders. She is shown as completly herself to show just how run down she feels due to the situation with Mikky and just this alone will shock the audience into feeling sorry for Rihanna as well as possibly relating themselves to her.
Sound - The non diegetic music really controls the shots in this video in terms of who we see and when. It starts simply with just the music consisting of a piano and then after .. seconds it introduces the lyrics. The way it controls the shots is when the two different artists take it in turns to sing their lyrics. When Rihanna is singing it will show her through various shots and then when it is Mikky Ekko it will show him. The video wouldnt look right if it showed Rihanna miming to Mikkys lines and transversa, as well as it wouldnt look right if it showed Rihanna when Mikky was singing his lines because its her song and this would make her look weak.
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