Target Audience (AO4)

I have chosen this video to see how Rihanna appeals to her primary and secondary target audience by analysing on costumes, props, performance, mise-en-scene, lighting and production design. Interestingly, Rihanna/Hard is a conceptual music video. Meaning, the concepts of the music video is based on a military theme.Throughout, the video you notice fighting, fire, grenade bombs, weapons, jeeps, and tanks which are used in the army.

From the beginning of the song, ''hard'', Rihanna commands a group of men in an army/war setting. The image that Rihanna is trying to portray is her dominate ego and authority reflecting her album title.  Rihanna's roles in the video can be seen as masculine and powerful. This is shown through dress codes in a contemporary femininely sensualist way.

The fact that the location, from the start, of the video is introduced to us, as viewers, in an army/war setting prepares us to, instantly, imagine about the traditional views and thoughts of the scenes in a war. Where, men are predominantly there rather than females because they are conventionally seen as vulnerable and weak. However, Rihanna is going completely against these conventions and she becomes the leader in the music video not the men. This would, surely, appeal to Rihanna's primary target audience as they will learn from it and become ''Hard'' just like Rihanna to 'rule the world' from the opposite sex. The message is don't be a failure but a winner.

The use of the mise-en-scene used throughout is portraying this ''Hard'' character is shown through her costume which includes military clothes such as helmet, boots and colour range from her costumes are khaki green, brown, blue, black and white which makes her stand out from the dancers who are suppose to be soldiers.
The fact that Rihanna wears at the start a white costume reflects the war that the soldiers are fighting is justified and the leaders are pure of heart. Meaning, there are no confidentialities.

Amazingly, in this music video Rihanna wears eight different customes in each eight scenes which are rather short and revealing. Hereby, she still portrays her sexy image which convey conventions of females in the R&B videos by revealing their body parts and show lots of skin.
The eight different scenes portray the artist as superior.

Furthermore, the video ends and starts with Rihanna wearing a helmet, close up shots of her face, and her red lipstick draws attention to her lips, but her eyes are covered by her military helmet.
Likewise, Rihanna's makeup denotes that in some scenes her makeup is very dark and strong connoting mystery and a stern look. Additionally, red lipstick portrays her femininity. At the same time, Rihanna's harsh war makeup evokes strength and power which relates back to the song title.

The mood and tone of this music video is portraying this female artist as powerful, giving orders but she is not part of the action when the men are actually fighting.
Power is shown through her body language where she is quite stern , walks with confidence, with her head up and feels important, her facial expressions are quite serious but at the same time balanced with femininity and a flirtatious look.
Tone of voice is loud and aggressive rather than down and soft like a typical female.
The artist is depicted in this video as a female who is the one at the top of the hierarchy giving orders to male soldiers.

There has been a various range of shots used in Rihanna's music video,''Hard''. These camera shots include close up shots of her face, long shots of her and her costume, medium close ups and extreme close ups. Also, low angle shots makes Rihanna more superior and represents dominance and  female empowerment.
Fascinatingly, I denote that Rihanna is the only female in the music video connoting that she is the only one in control by ordering the men, power, importance, and challenges the depiction of women in the army.
The choreography denotes a mixture of street dance combined with military gestures and the camera composition are often deep and shallow focused. It has come to my notice, that in many camera compositions, I denote Rihanna in the ''Rule of Thirds'' composition connoting a dominant and vital focus on her within the frame of the camera.

Often, there is external natural lighting used for brighter and more original definition on Rihanna. However, the part where she is wearing this green soldier’s hat with red lips, the light just shines very sharply from a high angle often emphasizing her facial expression and her bold makeup.
Although, she is in a war zone she is still looking very sexy, fashionable, outrageous, yet also, attractive and flattering. Rihanna is showing an unconventional war zone in her music video. To continue talking about, Rihanna's facial expression often appears as if she is ...

Following that part, Rihanna strolls through a field of explosions, as if it is not occurring. This suggests that the war has no affect on her, showing that she is ''hard'' not afraid and will do anything to ''win''. Again through Rihanna's music video her star persona, clearly, appeals to her target audience by Universal has creating her star persona as being very rebellious, rocky, tough, seductive, sexual and an independent woman who fights for everything. She's ''hard'', dominant and powerful through her music.

The part where Rihanna is playing games during a war suggests that she is directly targeting to her audience as being playful, partying, having fun, seductively, and living their lives despite them meeting the demands of the world around them. The game reinforces the real truth during a war that there are winners and losers but the most dominant, ''hard'' and wealthiest person wins. Rihanna is conveying to her target audience, that having control, money and wisdom can change your position within the society.

Furthermore, the scene where Rihanna is on a pink tank, Barbie makeup and a Mickey Mouse helmet connotes that Rihanna is one who is representing someone who is pure, positive, and peaceful but at the same time, childlike and different. Yet also, it places war in a harmless and irresponsible light.

Most shockingly, in this music video Rihanna has often used violent and aggressive props such as the gun as she is firing in the air, symbolically, connoting that the gun shows the social and sexual equality between man and woman. At the same time, portraying a negative action to her target audience.

Interestingly enough, Rihanna, then, sits with the tank gun between her legs, using it as a source of prop, as if it were a penis, as dominance and strength are associated with men, showing Rihanna's ''hard''. Also, connoting that Rihanna's character is ''hard'' in a sexual way. In other words, creating an imagery of Rihanna looking as if, tough, she has got an ‘erect penis' connoting sexually aggressiveness and sexual independence. Rihanna has got a wild lifestyle.

At the end, half of Rihanna's face is covered with her hair but emphasised with eyeliner her left eye representing the ''All Seeing Eye''. This connotes that just like ''God'' she is looking over the human kind. This is why she has won the war by waving the R logo, at the end of the song, connoting victory of the war, This fascinatingly, reflects her star persona, as a result, makes everything Rihanna does more appealing to her target audience as they imitate from her actions because her primary target audience is young teenage girls which means they are naive, vulnerable and want to be like Rihanna, particularly looking up to her dominant and rebellious figure.
However, the one eye not being cover and the other one is covered also connotes mystery, we don't see or know a lot about her. Rihanna is hiding many things away from the public eye connoting her sensitive side is concealed rather than revealed.

To finalize, the use of lighting in this music video, at the start, we are introduced to Rihanna holding her soldier hat downwards but the light is shined very bright on her to strengthen the qualities and the interpretations of her facial expressions and body language. Mainly, her lips through the red lipstick is emphasised, her black nail polish and her diamond rings all appeals to her target audience. Rihanna has got a modern fashionable army look. This is clearly seen because this is the purpose of the top lighting to make the small, invisible and unnecessary props or items stand out the most. For example, top lighting is to highlight Rihanna's quirky and weird fashion sense, dress codes, makeup techniques, physical parts, postures etc, we will become more interested in the music videos and follow Rihanna throughout different media text because we become more obsessed with her image, as fans.
Def Jam Recordings the record label which she is signed to has created this star persona to make her appear unusual and stand out from the main to make it more appealing to her target audience as everyone loves 'different'.
At last, natural lighting gives us a sense of originals, brightness, purity, realistic and it gives a high definition images or shots.