'Trust' by Keyshia Cole and Monica Analysis

The second music video I have chosen to analyse is 'Trust' by Keyshia Cole and Monica. It has an R&B genre and is slow song.

At the start of the music video  an establishing shot shows the audience the outside of a large cream mansion which is set in Tuscany, Italy. The audience know this as it has given it to us on the bottom left hand corner of the shot so that the audience knows where the video is set. The sounds of the birds 'chirping' can be heard making the scene feel calm and happy. The sound of the birds is continued through each shot known as a sound bridge until the melody begins.

The first straight cut shot is of the artist, Keyshia sat down, looking rather upset as she looks down at her mobile phone and it’s a blank screen which suggests she is waiting for someone to contact her. The fact that she is unhappy is a surprise to the audience as the start of the video there are birds singing so it started as the song was going to be a happy and quiet calm mood. The artist is then seen looking out the window after the front door to the house is opened, indicating that she may not want them to leave, This is when the melody of the song begin, suggesting the narrative is beginning.

There is a strong post feminism element to this text as the main artist is represented as a strong female. This can be seen through the camerawork and editing e.g. the main artist is looking out the window at the male actor and this is portrayed through a high angle shot which suggests that she has more power within the relationship than him. This contrasts with usual representations of women within music videos of this genre as they are usually seen to be objects of desire for men to take enjoyment over.

The main artist Keyshia, is then seen again by the window this time on the phone speaking to someone when we then see a second artist, Monica as she is introduced to the video we see a shot of her eyes and of her being on the phone which is clear that they are speaking to each other. They call each other by nick names which displays that they are close friends.

Once the conversation between the artists finish the song begins of with the last line of Keyshias conversation, we have a side shot of her so she is not looking directly into the camera which is effective because it makes the audience feel her emotions without needing to look directly at her facial expressions, this demonstrates her feelings as if she can’t look directly in the persons face.

we see various shots of the man who is leaving the mansion which we see in the begging of the video. As she is watching him leave the audience feel a doomed emotion as it indicates he is leaving which seems as a break up, and this also indicates the relationship between the two.
A shot of her in the bath is then seen before she is accompanied by the guy, most likely to be the past. Both of them are happy showing the audience how content the relationship was. He pours her bath salt in the bath for her which shows her strong post feminism once again in the video.

The next shot introduces Monica who is also sat down in a medium shot, with two other people in the shot. The two unknown people in the shot are sat closer to the right of the camera, with their backs facing the audience. This could suggest that she is in a public place or they are friends of hers.

towards the middle of the song, shots of both artists are direct , there apperence has changed to show the feminine side of the two artists, also them being dressed differently suggests that they are not a part of the narrative but are performing.In the chorus another shot of Keyshia with the guy is used again from the past, but this time they are seen sat together 'playing' around and again looking happy. However in one shot of them together it is seen that she answers the phone and is protective of him not looking at who it is, which makes the audience understand how the guy must feel, especially relating it to the song lyrics and meaning of his trust.

The shot then cuts back to Keyshia who is sat in the place as the beginning of the video, again not looking at the camera each time the words 'I need you', are sang, emphasising her need for him back.

As the song is coming to an end the narrative side of the video is used again and the shot of the guy leaving with Keyshia watching him go is repeated, emphasising her pain again.

Shots between the narrative and the performance are used in pace with the music in short shots.

At the end of the song it is seen that the guy comes back, which makes the audience happy after feeling all the sad emotion through the song.