Justin Bieber: U Smile

This music video is narrative based, the storyline begins with a group of fans meeting Justin Bieber, which is where he meets a girl. Because this situation begins in black and white, whenever the video cuts back to the shots of the two of them the footage has been edited to be in black and white. The only footage shown in colour in this beginning scene, is the footage filmed on the girls phone. The narrative in the case of this music video is established before the song begins. This can be a common theme within pop music videos, as they often have some footage shown before the song starts (whether it is the narration or an establishing shot.)

A third example of how the beat of the music corresponds with the visuals is when Justin comes down the stairs to the rhythm of the song

These shots cut back and fourth from two different locations in this part of the song to match the beat of the music, therefore demonstrating Goodwin’s theory, where by the music matches the visuals.

Lyrics are linked with the visuals again here, when he sings “you smile, I smile” and a shot of them both smiling is shown.

“Take” “My” “O-” “Pen”This is another example of how the shots and beat/syllables of lyrics correspond with each other.

This is an example of Goodwin’s theory again, as the lyrics match the visuals here; a shot of the girl smiling is shown when he sings “you smile”

Throughout the video, the narrative is continued to be shown in snippets, whenever the artist (Justin) is shown with the girl whom he is singing about, the clips are shown in black and white as an effect has been added to the footage during the editing process. Commonly in music videos of the pop genre, an effect is added to clips which shows the storyline of the song (particularly when it is about a boy and a girl getting together) this often is often used to indicate that the clips are either a memory or the artists imagination. In the music video, the video, the couple are seen to be getting closer to one another through the use of various shots; these happy scenes are used to reinforce the uplifting beat and lyrics in the song.

In the music video, Justin is seen to be wearing three different outfits. Firstly, he is wearing a hooded jacket; this outfit does not fit within the conventions of a pop and typical associations of a pop artist, however it is used to fit in with the storyline (as he is trying to hide his identity because he is famous).- Also, because these clips are in black and white, the audience can see the familiarity in editing and will be able to identify the genre regardless of his costume.

His second outfit is him wearing black jeans, shirt and braces with trainers. This is therefore a smart outfit that has been made to look casual through his footwear. His third outfit is the most typical for a pop male artist to wear, as it a more trendy casual outfit which looks somewhat smart. These two outfits have been used to allow the audience to identify with the genre specifically through the use of costume (an example of iconography).

“You smile”

“I smile”Within music videos in order for visuals to match the audio (Goodwin’s theory) they often make the lyrics link with the clip shown. If they do not physically show what is happening (eg: smiling in the top right screen shot) then they usually have the artist signaling through the use of hand gestures; this is particularly common within music videos of the pop genre.

In the music video there are four different locations. It is a common feature within any music video to have multiple settings. One of the locations is used only for the artist’s lip syncing to take place; this is a popular theme especially within pop music videos. In this music video, there is only one location used, which provides natural day light (this is the street scene at the beginning), this location fits in with the conventions of the pop genre. But, the other locations used are dark and closed in, which subverts the conventions of the genre, therefore meaning that the audience pleasures are not entirely met. However, within the darker locations, lighting is often used in order for the location to be considered generic.

The main editing effect added to the clips in this music video is a black and white effect on the clips which include scenes with the girl. The main transition added, particularly at the end of the video is cross dissolve. These edits are commonly used within pop music videos, meaning the editing of the video had been done based on the generic conventions of pop music videos