Video Analysis of R Kelly – I Believe I Can Fly
This video is clearly a performance-based video. The video starts of with a shot of the orchestra band playing the violins which is typical of this type of song from this genre, there are a number of different shots of the band throughout the video which they cut to at random points throughout the video. However the performance in the video is dominated by R Kelly, throughout the video he is isolated and on his own whilst performing. There is a lot of camera movement and different camera shots whilst R Kelly is performing and also there is montage editing throughout the video as he is changing locations regularly and at one-point moves from a field into a hall where he is orchestrating a band. The video involves a slight bit of disjuncture when it cuts to a young child playing with a basketball; this song however is the theme song of the film ‘Space Jam’ which is about basketball. Throughout the song whilst R Kelly is performing in the background they have added clips from the film.
The number of different shots on him throughout the video promotes R Kelly’s star image, there are a number of high shots of R Kelly in the field which makes him look small in comparison to the field. The song is about doing the impossible and reaching beyond your boundaries, which is shown with this mise-en-scene. The speed of the video and the cut rates are quite slow which keeps pace with music of the video. The video is lip synced throughout the whole video apart from the times where it cuts to the band playing and the part at the start where it cuts to the child playing basketball. The costumes aren’t anything that really stand out, they are clothes that normal people would wear everyday which again is showing that R Kelly is a normal man who has worked hard and pushed himself into a bigger and better life than he could have expected which is the message of the song. This video works well as it isn’t to complicated and fits well with the speed of the song, they also use the star image of R Kelly effectively throughout the video.
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