EMINEM F.T. RIHANNA 'LOVE THE WAY YOU LIE' MUSIC VIDEO ANALYSIS

The music video for ‘Love the Way You Lie’ is performance and narrative based which gives a fragmented narrative as well as creating a star image for the artists. This has been done by using various close up shots and so the audience are able to familiarise themselves with the artists. The use of hoods, frame the artist and so they appear prominent within the image. A hood also has the connotations of youth which makes people think about destruction and so this makes people create stereotypes. Destruction is also suggested through the use of CGI as we see the woman holding fire in her hands.

 

It also implies the connotations of anger and violence and so this becomes evident that the idea of destruction has been used to create a relationship between visuals and lyrics. There is also a relationship between visuals and music because the genre is hip-hop and rap and rap is seen to be aggressive and so this links with their behaviour within the music video as well as the lyrics and the subject of the song. The use of red has the connotations of love, lust, anger and passion and so this is suggestive of the theme of the song as the connotations link with the theme of the song.

The use of a high angle makes the couple appear united as well as vulnerable which suggests that the long and need each other. A fast pace of edit has been used to match the pace of the music. This has been done to engage the audience because it matches they action scene where the two characters are fighting and so this makes the music video more effective. During this scene, a range of long and medium shots have been used to show the two characters fighting, as well as their expressions. A close up of the man’s hands shows a girl’s name and number, this suggests that the man is cheating on his partner and gives the sense of distrust. The audience are able to see both the woman’s and man’s reaction through a pull focus. This adds to the tension and atmosphere of music video.

 

A tracking shot around the male artist suggests that the woman makes his world go round as well as creating a start image. The use of a lens flare makes the shot more interesting because the lens flare is shining on him, it also creates a three-dimensional effect as well as diegetic high key lighting as he appears ‘glamorous’. The soft lighting makes him look ‘glamorous’ because his facial features are highlighted as well as having a halo effect which suggests his supposed innocence contrasting the lyrics and subject of the song. The location of the music video suggests that the violence is domestic but also that the couple are intimate.

There is also use of sexualisation because the female artist is seen wearing a low cut top and so this could be seen as part of the star’s image. Long shot durations have been used to match the pace of the music as it begins to slow down and so this is parallel to the visuals as the scene is calm and the couple have stopped fighting. The slow tracking shot also matches the slow pace and the long shot duration. As the male artist is in the field the use of a long shot makes him appear lost and vulnerable as well as hopeless because he is singing about how he is losing the girl he loves. This is an effective music video because the recurring theme of destruction runs parallel with the music as well as the atmosphere of the visuals.