Characteristics Used
One Main characteristic of an R&B, especially with female artists is having a male actor within the music to be the 'love interest'. Jennifer uses this convention very well in her music video as she manages to keep the main interest on her, as well as pulling off the focus on him too. She manages this by using intermate scenes with the attractive man which is sure to sell to female audience members. For example, this screenshot below shows the male on the beach topless with Jennifer cuddled into him. These are the types of R&B scenes which sell money because they are relatable to.
Another main characteristic of R&B music videos is the use of performance (Especially miming/Singing) alongside a narrative. This works very well in Jennifer's song as the audience can get a feel for what she is really singing about. This is a very clever way of connecting to the audience easier, and Jennifer pulls it off well in her music video.
Characteristics Developed
The love story characteristic of a R&B music video is clearly shown through visuals of Jennifer and the male actor, however i believe the love story goes a lot more further than other music videos. other music videos by R&B artists tend to have the typical 'boy meets girl' scenes, however the use of such intermate scenes with the topless man and Jennifer not wearing much either adds a new dimension to the story which i think was aimed to increase sales.
Another characteristic i believe to be challenged within this music video is the use of colour, from Black and white, to a warm toned colour. In the majority of music videos within this genre, they usually use a standard colour throughout the video, usually black and white, warm colours or very cold colours, however Jennifer video contains many different types which in my opinion is developing the use of colour positively.
Characteristics Challenged
The constant extreme close ups within Jennifer's video occur much more than the typical R&B Music video although they do also contain a lot. I believe Jennifers video was challenging the use of them as there are close ups of a lot of different parts of her body, including her hand, her eyes, her mouth, her bum and frequently on her face in general.
Historically, R&B was created by 'Blacks' and was always sung and purchased as an audience by blacks. This meant that a lot of black culture is usually in R&B music videos even still. The choice of setting for Jennifer's video is challenging the usual settings such as clubs, streets, homes and cars by choosing somewhere completely natural and what seems to be deserted such as a beach.
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