Geri Halliwell - Its raining men

For part of our research, as a class we watched the music video 'Its raining men' by Geri Halliwell. We then analysed it thoroughly to establish any effects, shots etc that we particularly liked to give us more ideas for our own videos.

• the video starts off like an audition from the film 'FAME.' Geri Halliwell is also wearing a FAME top displaying intertextuality
• it is very upbeat and active throughout
• there is a clear contrast between Geri and the judges whom she is performing in front of. They are very formal wearing suits and appear to look down their noses at Geri as if they are thinking 'What are you doing here? All they say to her is "In your own time miss Halliwell" which is very formal and patronising
• there is a lot of focus on her physique
• having been watching the video for almost a minute, the audience are still unaware of what Geri actually looks like. This causes anticipation and makes us want to watch more
• this video is used in the film 'Bridget Jones' Diary' supporting empowerment of women. The dancer is in control
• it is a form of song and dance routine borrowed from musicals
• the video is drawn heavily to flash dance
• at the beginning of the video, Geri puts on a vinyl rather than a CD this is showing authenticity and is also iconographic
• there are diegetic sounds of her footsteps and her putting the vinyl on at the beginning. All we can see is fragmented shots creating a sense of anticipation and enigma
• when the music starts the camera is positioned being framed by the judges. This is the notion of looking throughout the video with over the shoulder shots making us see the dance from their view
• this notion of looking continues with fellow students watching her through the door
• when she sings "humidity's rising" she raises her hand which at the same time the camera scrolls up echoing the word rising
• as the verse builds, people flock to see her dance
• by the end of the first chorus, the judges have taken their glasses off and are tapping their feet to the music which we are aware of by having a foot level shot. They have abandoned their stern looks and appear to be enjoying the performance
• as the chorus begins, the other students burst into the room and dance carnival style, jumping and rolling wearing colourful outfits
• however Geri is always framed in the centre
• in the 2nd phase of the video, Geri breaks down patriarchal barriers by crawling across the table and kisses the head judge
• she also has an outfit change into yellow hotpants
• she is seen above the other dancers by a low angle shot making her visually dominant
• her 3rd outfit is a red top which we see the top half of as she is given a close up shot of her face and she is singing to the camera, which personalizes the video and engages the viewer
• when she sings "barometers getting low" the camera scrolls down revealing her 4th outfit which is a blue top and jogging bottoms
• there is emphasis of the other dancers as they come in front of the camera doing splits etc however we don't see their faces
• in the 3rd phase of the video we see Geri doing aerobics/ crunches portraying how she got her physique that has been emphasised throughout
• this video is a typical American teen film - rushing to lessons
• there is a contrast between the two dances seen in the video. She is no good at ballet however she leads the flash dance
• towards the end she bursts through the front doors wearing a leather jacket, portraying rebellion
• the filming is taken outside to what becomes a street party tightly framed to make it appear busier
• on the words "stormy weather" there is chromakey present. The shot is low angle and the movements are slow motion. The lighting gets darker which we are lead to believe is to do with the storm
• it starts rain which her actions appear to be sexual
• at the end she blows a kiss to the camera