What representation of the artist is constructed in this music video? HOW does the use of the camera, editing and mise-en-scene help to construct these?
The music video represents Bruno Mars as an admirable figure using his money and his wealth. The video starts with an establishing shot of a private plane surrounded by expensive cars, which instantly creates the sense of excessive money that he is trying to present. The scene is also dimmed, with the only light being from inside the expensive jet and from the lights of the skyscrapers behind. This ensures the attention is solely on the plane in the foreground, and sets the mood for the very money-centric music video. The lettering for Bruno Mars is also big and gold, which links in to the idea of him owning lots of things that are big and gold. We also see his costume - a silk Fendi shirt, accessorised with everything in gold. The silk shirt has the connotations of money and quality, which serves to make Mars seem even more admirable and desirable.
The music video also shows Mars to be a womaniser. One of the reoccurring shots in the video is him, surrounded by his entourage on a lower level to him, with a group of women in the background. The women are deliberately placed further back than the males, as it paints the males in the video as more important and supreme (which is not uncommon in mainstream music). The women are also scantily clad, and are only given the spotlight when they are being objectified by Mars and his gang. The camera is also doing a tilt shot, with it looking upwards at Mars, to give him an air of power and supremacy over everyone else. This construction of Mar's character is desirable and admirable to his target audience, so the portrayal of him as a "cool" guy works effectively.
The music video also shows Mars to be a womaniser. One of the reoccurring shots in the video is him, surrounded by his entourage on a lower level to him, with a group of women in the background. The women are deliberately placed further back than the males, as it paints the males in the video as more important and supreme (which is not uncommon in mainstream music). The women are also scantily clad, and are only given the spotlight when they are being objectified by Mars and his gang. The camera is also doing a tilt shot, with it looking upwards at Mars, to give him an air of power and supremacy over everyone else. This construction of Mar's character is desirable and admirable to his target audience, so the portrayal of him as a "cool" guy works effectively.
The video is also reliant on a lot of music video tropes to find its footing. It centers around "Mr. Playa" himself using and abusing his masses of cash, and doing many things with it in poor taste just because he can. There are shots of him and his entourage throwing money in their air to ensure that everyone is aware - he has lots of cash. They also strut around a large, expensive hotel to reenforce that this caricature of Mars is a desirable, wealthy guy. One of the final wide shots for the entire video is jets of water spraying out from behind him as if done just for him, which helps them to construct the character he is playing. Because, once again, the camera is at an angle below him, this shot seems much more powerful and grand as it tells the audience how they are evidently lesser than him.
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