RnB- Keri Hilson "I Like"

Another music video we’re going to analyze is I like by Keri Hilson.

In this music video, we can say that it’s just performance, as Keri Hilson doesn’t seem to tell a story in the video, instead, she sings and dances through out to enhance “repeatability”.

It’s in the genre of R&B which stands for Rhythm and Blues, and was originated in the 1940’s.

I like is still in the R&B genre, however it’s technically under Contemporary R&B which developed over the years, and became more popular in the 1980’s.

The beat to this R&B music is in a moderate beat in which you can dance to. Keri Hilson seems to stay in a similar location throughout the video, which looks like an empty studio, which also fits perfectly with the song’s beat. Because of the simplicity of locations and mis –en- scene, she only uses one prop (chair) to add a little bit more to the video. Being an R&B artist, there is a way to dress like one. For example, Keri Hilson, dresses in a simple black outfit to emphasize the song lyrics “Sun down Friday night, up on city lights here I go start it out I like”. However, her black outfits have an edgy look to it, to represent the urban culture and the R&B culture e.g. knee high boots, short dress, big earrings etc…

The video doesn’t use graphics, however, it uses a lot of different light settings, mostly low key lighting. As well as make up, extreme artificial lighting is used to create the “bleaching” effect on the star’s face to make her look younger. The use of strobe lights and flashing lights is also used to stress out the point of being in a club partying until late.

The video includes a lot of close up shots of the main performer e.g. eyes rolling, and gesturing to the audience. It’s mostly close ups, however there are some scenes where it includes wide shots to show the scene. Extreme close ups are also used to show the performer’s actions, e.g. focusing on the lips for the lip syncing. Cut- In is another shot that this music video often uses to create some texture for the camera shots.