Textual Analysis #1 - The Sky's The Limit - Jason Derulo

The genre of this track (The Sky's The Limit - Jason Derulo) is R'n'B. The video opens with a long, establishing shot of the artist, which tells us immediately who the song is by. The shot is also a low angle shot making the artist look superior and important. The shot then cuts to a medium close up of Jason Derulo to ensure the audience know exactly who the artist is. The title track also appears on screen along with the artist name, all within the first 15 seconds to give recognition to the audience about the track. When the name of the artist appears on the screen, within the letters there is an image of Jason Derulo, bringing the attention to the artist even further. There is also a 'Jason Derulo' jingle played faintly over the track to add to the recognition as the same jingle is played on every Jason Derulo track.

The main structure of the video is a performance, a running theme throughout R'n'B/Hip Hop videos, therefore no story is being told and the main features are song and dance. The backdrop on the video is an enclosed mirrored/silver room with strobe lighting, giving an image of class, along with vanity, a further theme that stereotypically is associated with the R'n'B genre (i.e Rock Your Body - Justin Timberlake). Another convention in the 'The Sky's The Limit' video, that is also used throughout most R'n'B videos is the use of strobe lighting and laser beams which connotes being in a club which is related with having a good time. Also, in most club's R'n'B music is played, linking with the use of it in the videos.

As the track starts to get more upbeat the editing cuts with the beats, cutting images of Jason Derulo with the backdrop and also an attractive girl, another running theme throughout many R'n'B videos. The shots also frequently cut between long shots (of both Jason Derulo and the girl featured) to give the audience a good and clear view of the artist. The idea of having the video shot in a mirrored room also gives the audience a clear and thorough view of the artist, therefore satisfying their needs.

Throughout the first part of the song Jason Derulo also wears mirrored glasses so the audience are kept hidden to who he really is, and his character seems some what of a mystery. This is also linked with the idea that during the first seconds of the video, when cutting from a long shot to a close-up the screen cuts down from a clear view of the frame to a complete black screen in stages. This connotes mystery further as there are parts hidden to the real him, represented by the glasses and also the black between a far away image and a close up image. Similarly, Jason Derulo also changes the colour scheme of his outfit mid way through the track to an all black suit, when previously it was a more casual blue outfit. Likewise, when the artist is wearing an all black outfit the lighting is not as bright and appears quite dark. This adds to the mystery of the artist and connotes further that there are two different sides to him (good and evil, perhaps) and he is willing to use either in order to impress and get the girl.

The audience of this track and genre would be most likely to be young people who enjoy going out and having fun to up beat tracks, predominantly aged between 15 and 25, therefore a mainstream audience. I believe that the audience would be both males and females as most video's, including this one, features both males and females, therefore attracting both genders.