Weekly Blog Post 6

India.Arie’s “Video” uses a variety of visual tricks to create a feeling of logically unity throughout her music video. These tricks make it easy for the viewer to understand the progression of the video and tie the lyrics to the visual content. The first thing that is most obvious in each of the scenes is the number of objects that the camera focuses on. The camera generally focuses on her, but it also expands its view to include other objects to help tell the story. There is a trend throughout the video of her and her guitar combined with one other object (such as a bike or a mirror) or just her with another set of objects (like the other women). This trend of visual elements highlights the obvious purpose of the focus of the video on India.Arie.

Added to this set of visual elements is a linear hierarchy that ties each set of objects from scene to scene. The main tying element of the video is India.Arie’s body in contrast with the background. She is in a bright yellow top that contrasts with the dark backgrounds, but her dark skin tone is also used to contrast with the light backgrounds to make her stand out. One specific point in which contrast is used in the video to create an emphasis on India.Arie is when she is standing in the line-up of the women and her yellow and orange clothing shouts in comparison to the other women’s dark clothing. In this scene she is also intentionally placed in the center of the screen. This is a common theme through the video- the focus of the shot is placed in the center of the screen.

As well as the number of objects and the arrangement of images in a shot, repetition is a common thread that weaves through the scenes of the video. The color palette used in the video remains the same throughout. Every scene includes the warm yellows and oranges introduced in the opening house sequence. The objects in each scene remain the same as well. Near the middle, the objects begin to vary with the introduction of a new location, but India.Arie, the bike, and the guitar remain throughout the video. Structurally, the video is also set up in a repeated pattern. From the beginning, a shot will focus on the location India.Arie is in, an object or her in that locale, or a close up shot of a part of her or another important object. This sequence remains the same from start to finish and allows the reader to focus in on more detailed aspect of the video.

Weekly Blog Post 5

The imagery of India.Arie’s “Video” is consistent with the message being portrayed in the opening scenes. As she walks out of the house, you are shown blocked images of a bike, a guitar with hand-painted flowers, paper and a pen, and a shot of flower-embroidered jeans that meet worn in boots interspersed with close ups of the guitar. This series of organic and hippie-like images is reflective of the opening lines of the song– “sometimes I shave my legs and sometimes I don't/sometimes I comb my hair and sometimes I won't/depend on how the wind blows I might even paint my toes”. The audience can understand from the visual portion of the video that India.Arie is carefree and accepting of herself, but they can also grasp this idea from the lyrics as well. The use of guitar in the background music matches the close-ups of the strings and wooden body. The viewer is immediately shown that this song will follow a logical structure (i.e. logos) of images matching lyrics and it will be easy to understand the message. This up front engagement of the viewer will hook them to continue watching and hear out the rest of India.Arie’s argument.

Other aspect of the opening scenes of the “Video” that appeals to an audience is the use of color and lighting and lyric choice. Generally, sunlight and the warm colors of yellow and red convey a happy and tranquil feeling. They feel harmonious within the scenes and pull you in as well. These strong hues allow the viewers to feel the upbeat emotion (i.e. ethos) of the song just by looking at the images. These colors match the happy, enlightened message of the chorus. The lines– “but, I learned to love myself unconditionally/ because I am a queen”– also capture the listener’s emotions. These words allow the listener to connect with India.Arie through what she has learned about herself.