Knock You Down - Video Analysis

The video being analysed is ‘Knock You Down’ by Keri Hilson featuring Neyo and Kanye West. It is produced by Danja and Chris Robinson. The song is of an RnB and Hip-Hop genre which is typically shown through its video. The storyline is basically about a girl who is torn between two love interests and the problems that that involves.
Throughout the song the relationship between the lyrics and visuals are parallel. The lyrics are brought to life through its visuals and enable its audience to gain a better understanding of the message within the song. For the example the dancing actions represents what is being said “..Our life, house and kids” She holds her hands to a point above her head as though it’s a roof and puts her arms in a position as if she is holding a baby. Another example would is when Neyo sings “I used to be commander and chief...” whilst saluting which shows him getting into the character.
Looking into the music and visuals we see clear parallels. Each shot cuts to the beat rather then irregular patterns. This wouldn’t be common in an RnB genre video. The rhythm of the music also corresponds to the visuals in the video. Near to the start of the song the music speeds up whilst the screen flashes to black to the beat whilst Keri Hilson is falling. Once the flashing has stopped the beat drops in. Towards the end of the video (when Kanye West sings) the beat sounds like a heart beat which links it to the meaning of the song more as the song is about love and heartbreak.
Keri Hilson is the person who has the majority of the camera. This includes many close up at the beginning, choruses and at the end. This is because she is centre of attention within the song and the main artist. All three of the artists are very stylish and follow the trends of the genre of music, each have their own little stamp. For example Kanye West has his dark sun glasses which has been key element to his style and has feature in many of his own videos. Plus Neyo wears his smart hat which again has played key roles within his videos like Miss Independent and performances. In previous Keri Hilson videos, they all follow a similar trend. The same genre of music, style of clothes, some dance routine but not so it looks too choreographed, she is the main focus and mostly are narration videos with a story within them.
In this ‘Knock You Down’ video Keri Hilson is made out to be a sex symbol. The whole idea of two men is arguing over her. And she is wearing little clothing of just underwear and a see through top which shows off her top. The playful look she gives whilst lying on a bed also gives off the sexualised display. A key aspect of the video is the split screen which happens towards the end. Where Kanye West is at one side and the other side takes you back to previous parts of the video as well as visuals about what he is singing about. This stands out because it turns to black and white and is different from the rest of the video.
It is very common within music videos to have intertextual references to other artists, songs, movie and more. Just by having extra artist featured in the song is promoting other artists and the music which they do. As well as this they sing and name drop about other artists like Michael Jackson and do one of his dance moves, this show some inspiration when writing the song or making the video. Lastly when Neyo sings he says “Miss independent...” which is a name of one of his songs and again this helps promote his own music.
The type of video is mainly narration, of a girl torn between two boys who love her. It includes the trouble that comes with in and shows the emotion which they all go through. However there are some elements of it being performance. Especially when the male singers sing or when it’s the chorus. This video being this type is typical of its genre, very little RnB AND Hip-Hop are ever concept based although they are some.
A final point is that the song itself has a verse which is missed out of the video. This could be because it didn’t fit the storyline of the video and they maybe didn’t wont it to drag on and confuse people within the narration.
As a whole this video is of an RnB and Hip Hop genre following the conventions of a narration type video. The visuals, music and lyrics are all parallel with each other. Making it easier for the viewer to follow. Each artist has close ups and allow there motifs to be shown. This video is very typical of the three artists and is similar to their previous ones. The video I think was successful as it is very interesting to watch and its target audience I feel can really relate to the meaning of the song.