Rihanna - Russian Roulette / Disturbia / Wait your turn

Director: Anthony Mandler

Russian Roulette - Video opens in same window
The editing in russian roulette is seamless, the action has been under cranked or over cranked in places to fit with the rhythm and pace of the music and every subtle beat sees a change of shot. A number of locations has been used throughout, however two main locations are used to host the action, in one she is mainly shot isolated, the other accompanied and hosting the narrative to the video.
These two locations are differentiated through tone of lighting, in one red is strong, the other blue. The narrative is loose, focusing mainly on expressing the depth of emotion. Lighting is sinister throughout, and spot lighting is used to highlight her fragile body positioning but also creates dark shadows to enhances the atmosphere. She is framed at contrasting places in the shot throughout, however she is seen regularly in a corner or against the wall/floor, anxious and alone. Although the action is slow, the pace of the editing is relatively fast to fit to the back beat of the track.
Flash backs are cut extremely fast between pause in lyrics which creates mystery to the narrative as these shots are to fast to establish. The video jumps between different camera angles and camera shots, subtle camera movement is also used, long shots, close ups extra close ups and medium close ups all used throughout.
Lip syncing is laced throughout the video, however poignant parts in the lyrics she mouths repeatedly to increase and highlight their importance eg. "I'm terrified, but I'm not leaving". The ending lyric 'So just pull the trigger' is a theme installed in the video throughout, the use of the gun on the table connects and so the lyric is visualised exactly and the ending gun shot to the audio finishes the track abruptly; as well as a life suggested by the cut to blood within water following.

Framed in a medium close up, Rihanna's body language and emotion conveys despair. Her body is highlighted by the focused lighting, surrounded by darkness
The blood comes into focus as the lyric says "And you can see my heart beating, you can see it through my chest", when this lyric is repeated the blood is reversed and dissipates, a clever portrayal and depiction of the lyrics.
A montage of moments that inspired us:

The dramatic use of overlays are amazing, in the shot where Rihanna faces herself the shot is halved, one half a shot of artist in a close up the other in a medium close up which when juxtaposed creates a depth to the image, the lighting is similar in both so the overlay blends well. Shadows invade half of the artists face in both which narrows the lighting to display the intense emotion on her face. Overlays work well with the pace of the music and are a creative aspect to the video.

During the bridge of the song, as emotion increases and Rihanna's voice strengthens the shots become more complex. The lyric 'As my life flashes before my eyes' shows a complex use of fast overlays amongst a flood of light cascading over the room and the artist,which mirrors the lyric. A kaleidoscope of tigers flashes on the screen which could suggest her inner fierceness, this is however disorientation for the audience .Flashes of images have been cut within to link to quick beats in the music, red also floods the once blue room which mirrors the increase in drama, red connoting danger and passion.

The third and final chorus changes location to the outside, away from the cell she was contained within previously, however this seams to be a flashback, as the action implies she has been run over instantly cutting to bright white and returning to the cell. Amazing visual images follow, sunken into depth of water, white dress used to elegantly adorn the artist, as red blood dissipates into the blue water. As she is hit with a bullet of bubbles she instantly bleeds which suggests her fragility. The creativity is outrageous and inspiring.

Wait your turn - Video opens in same window

Wait your turn starts immediately with six continuous overlay shots, you can already see a coherence between the artists videos and the directors ideas. Here is one

One of the overlays, a static close up and a long shot containing movement which visually works well.

The opening of the video establishes Rihanna in a hard light. Here costume is questionable, if she has been hit could this be a song in retaliation, 'Wait your turn'. Jumps between long shots and close ups as well as fast camera movement hits you instantly as she lip synchs thoughout. By continually lip syncing it suggests the lyric is aimed at the audience, or the viewer it is truly aimed at this is a contrast to Russian Roulette. Interesting angles are used in the video and the editing is fast even though the track has a repetitive strong slow back beat. Although the video is constantly in black the depth of tone is striking, bright light floods from behind her throughout.

Close ups are of great importance, they capture emotion and lip syncing for importance and are used regularly. Again a few location shots are used changing between inside and outside continuously. Outside lighting is important as the video is shot after dark, thus street lamps and city skylines stand out. A grainy effect has been editing onto the video for a gritty and harsh appearance to match Rihanna's hard exterior and bold lyric statements. The smoke which cascades from her mouth is an extremely powerful visual one i would like to recreate, shot in a close up it captures her in profile. The video has an urban feel due to the costume and location which appeals to me greatly; a city skyline, barred bridge and street shots are all surrounded with background smoke creating a sinister atmosphere.

Disturbia - Video opens in same window
This video only emphasises the coherence in Rihanna's music videos.
Again Anthony Mandler again uses close ups of Rihanna juxtaposed with long shots of movement for powerful overlays. This is a creative devise i would love to use in our video.