Video Deconstruction Beyonce- Single Ladies

Single Ladies

Artist: Beyonce
Track: Single Ladies (Put a ring on it)
Year: 2008
Album: I am.. Sasha Fierce
Director: Jake Nava
Producer: Christopher Stewart
Genre: R&B

Beyoncé, is an American R&B recording artist, actress and fashion designer. Born and raised in Houston Texas, she enrolled in various performing arts schools and was first exposed to singing and dancing competitions as a child. Knowles rose to fame in the late 1990s as the lead singer of the R&B girl group Destiny's Child, one of the world's best-selling girl groups of all time. Beyonce has gone on to have a very successful solo career.
Single Ladies was released in 2008 from the album 'I am Sasha Fierce'.
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1. The video starts with just black which lasts for 2 seconds and then a light slowly becomes brighter. This reveals a long shot of Beyonce in the centre with 2 dancers. One on either side of her. The video is in black and white. The music begins before the picture starts. The video is shot in a studio, we can denote this from the plain background and the bright lights. Beyone and the dancers wear matching leotards and have matching hair. The song 'Single Ladies' is all about woman enpowerment and being strong, i think that Beyonce chose to have such a plain set so that it didnt distract away from the song lyrics and so that viewers would focus on how in-time the dancers are with her.


2. Beyonce and the dancers being the choreography and Beyonce starts lip-syncing. At 12s the lights become much brigher and the background turns white from a grey colour. This video is nearly all one continuous take which means the camera angles dont change that much.


3. At 18s the lights turn off for a split-second and when camera pans around Beyonce 3 times before another flash of light.


4. 31s- Jumpcut to extreme long shot of trio. Mid-angle shot. Dancing and lip-syncing continues. 38s the camera zooms in to a long shot. Their is another flash as the song moves back to the chorus. 45s the camera pan slightly to the left to keep the trio in centre on frame and then zooms out and the quickly back in. I believe this is done purely to give a little bit of  shot variety as so far it has been very long shot which is unusual for a mucis video.


5. 46s jumpcut to medium CU of trio. Still MCU. 46-51s camera zooms into a close up of Beyonce and then quickly zooms back to long shot of all three followed by another flash of studio lights. As the song reaches another chorus.


6. As the trio do choreography that changes levels the camera pans to keep Beyonce centre. 1m1s camera zoom a fraction towards Beyonce and the cut to close up of Beyonce face then slow zooming to extreme CU. Dancers legs are in shot, rest of body cut out. 1m7s camera pans out in 3 jumps which foloow the beats in the music.


7.Dancing continues at mid shot till 1m19s- cut to extreme long shot followed by slow flash of light which then makes background seem grey again. 1m38s cut to mid close up with the trio turned to profile, camera pans slowly round then trio move to face camera straight on again. 1m51s meduim shot of 3, pans to close up. Pans out then cuts to extreme long shot.


8. 2m15s cuts to low angle medium shot. 2m 18s cuts to extreme long shot, medium angle.
Camera pans to left and then cuts to almost bird’s eye view shot. 2m31s camera pans in circles around Beyoncé till 2m40s where it cuts to a medium shot, straight on. 2m44s zoom to extreme close up of her hand. Quick pan to extreme long shot followed by about 10 very quick cuts moving between close up on medium shot finishing with close up. Zoom out to long-shot then straight back to close up of Beyoncé’s face.


9. 2m59s repeat of 10 quick cuts. Pan towards her face. 3m9s cut to long shot then finish with a extreme close up of Beyoncé then fade to black.