Danielle Rennalls: Camera Interpretation

The video I choose to analyze is that of Beyoncé’s entitled XO that was released in 2013. In this video, Beyoncé not only uses various camera interpretations to enthrall her audience, but she challenges several issues surrounding the topic of media, ranging from the incorporation of the an audio clip from NASA’s Challenger shuttle disaster to clips from interactions with her fans.  Though I will not analyze the entire video, I will choose parts that illustrate the various camera interpretations the director chose to specifically captivate us as an audience.

At the start of Beyoncé’s XO, the first glimpse we get of her is through that of a close up showing us only her head along with her neck and shoulders. The camera then switches to a wide shot giving us a sense of Beyoncé’s environment, then switching to a medium close up while simultaneously changing the angle of the shot in order to exhibit her facial expression to the audience. At twenty-one seconds we are also given a view of Coney Island through the use of a wide and high angle shot. When Beyoncé enters through the door into the bumper car zone, the concept of motivating the move comes into play for we can see the camera panning as to give the audience a sense of sharing this moment with Beyoncé and being in the same space. At forty-four seconds we see a trucking movement, moving sideways to grab our attention to an image on the side of a boardwalk stall. At forty-seven seconds when Beyoncé is on the roller coaster, we get to experience her fear through a medium low angle shot. Furthermore, at a minute and eleven seconds we see a crane shot, taking the viewer on another ride within the park.

Two shots that I was unsure of how to categorize are located at a minute and sixteen seconds and a minute and fifty-nine seconds. In the case of the former, since the camera was exhibiting a rotating form, I was unsure of the type of movement it could be categorized as. Though my instinct tells me that it is a pan, I believe it could also be a tilt of a zoom movement. Furthermore, in the case of the latter, we are given a view of a man dancing on the boardwalk, which I believe is a trucking shot, however I also think it could be a pan shot.

Though I only analyzed about a minute and half of the entire video in this post, it alone demonstrates the vast amounts of camera interpretations located in this video. Though majority of Beyoncé’s XO is done through a medium or close up shot, there are various different camera movements and angles demonstrated throughout the video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xUfCUFPL-8