Wednesday the 27th October

-Craig and I went out and took pictures of possible locations to use in the final version of the video. We came across a location which perfectly suited this video, which was the setting we usedfor the under the railway shots which are projected within the video.

Saturday 23rd October

A photoshoot took place to establish the artists image and also so that we could use the images we obtained from this shoot for promotion, to be used in magazine advertisements etc.

Tuesday 19th October

As a group we continued editing of the first draft of the video.

Monday 18th October

Today Kojo and Zack spoke to Mr Hitchinson in order to organise using the theatre to film, they then tested the projector in the theatre to decide whether we would use it or not. We then all began to plan for the filming in order to decide how it would work. After school we then took pictures from our initial video shoot and began to edit the first draft.

Eminem Stan

The music video I will be analysing is Stan by Eminem, the genre of music that it belongs to is Hip-Hop and I have chosen to analyse this simply because unlike most typical Hip-Hop videos it actually contains a structured narrative and it does not contain many characteristics of its genre.

The lyrics within the song are well illustrated through the visuals in the video, as we see the character Stan becoming more increasingly angry as Eminem doesn’t reply to his letters, whilst the vocals of the song are also becoming more aggressive and the subject of the lyrics begins to get more sinister until we come to the end verse of the song and we see the lyrics and visuals in perfect harmony, as the character of Stan is seen shouting into the tape recorder whilst telling the situation on screen, ‘I’m in the car right now ‘m doing ninety on the freeway’, this has been done to add emphasis and create a greater dramatic story behind the lyrics of the song. The props within the visuals, such as the posters of Eminem on the wall of Stan’s basement accentuate how much of a fan Stan is of Eminem.

The visuals are directly parallel to the song, as the fades and cuts are directly on the change of pace within the beat; for example, when the drum pattern begins we see the darkness and eerie scene of the basement, which is parallel to the audio, as the k=notes that the bass is played in create a very dark feeling track and the overlay of the rain and thunder sound effects which are fluent throughout the entire song, which become relevant to the visuals later in the song, during the second and third verse, as we see the rain flooding the car.

The video does not contain many close ups of the artist, but still manages to sell Eminem’s star image as being a famous rapper simply through the narrative of the video and the way we see him rapping on stage from a low angled mid shot creates the idea that he is a important person. The record company aims to sell the track through the serious tone which is being delivered and by the star image that Eminem offers in the video, as we see through the reoccurring themes of sinister violence through Eminem’s previous work that his star image has been created so that we take Eminem as a more meaningful lyricist and this can gain an audiences respect for the artist.

There are intertextual references within the actual song lyrics, as the song 7 Bonnie and Clyde’ which is also by Eminem was referenced during the first verse, but the more obvious references to the star image of Eminem and his previous work would be the posters on the walls also the television in the background of the first scene is playing footage of an Eminem performance. The scene which starts off the music video, before the actual song begins is also a intertextual reference to Eminem and his star persona, as it shows the character of Stan dying his hair blonde, which is also what Eminem has been known to do, accentuating on matters of his personality and personal life.

The video is a mix of performance based footage within the narrative of the video, as we see the character Speaking in sync with the song whilst writing the letters to Eminem and the same thing can be said for Eminem as he is writing a letter in reply to Stan, it can be seen that this is not enough to be considered as a performance within the video, but I believe that it is substantial enough to be classified as a performance/narrative based video instead of simply a narrative based. The main focus of the video is the concept, which it can be seen is primarily the sad, depressing tone of the song, which is further emphasized through the dull, drained lighting and the constant sights of the rain, thunder and snow, as it can be seen that these have been included within the video to increase the feeling of depression which is delivered through the video, although the bright lights within the scene in which Eminem is performing on stage, the lighting becomes more bright and this is to show the difference of emotions from when he thinks he is being ignored by Eminem to where he actually gets to see his idol in person.

Artist star image

The artist that I am analysing is Christopher Bridges, more known by his stage name ‘ludacris’, He is a well established rapper within the music industry who started his career in Atlanta in which he moved to at the age of 9. He has received huge success within his music career with his debut album entitled ‘back for the first time’ reaching 3x platinum status, alongside this he has also made appearances in films and television shows such as, gamer and Law & order. The genre that Ludacris’ career has been based upon musically is the rap/hip-hop genre.

Ludacris’ star image during the earliest videos was to be set as a light hearted, comedic yet ‘gangster’ rapper, videos such as ‘rollout’(released by def jam music) emphasize this point exactly, as while he is heard reciting lyrics basically bragging about how much money that he has and how much money he spends, the image which the video provides is slightly comical, as a fish eye lense has been used to give him a disproportional body, which along with the fast motion editing provides a comical experience.

This star image has been forever changing through his career, as he has released songs for the more hardcore rap/Hip-hop market, such as Blow it out(2003) which was a song off of his album ‘Chicken-N-Beer’ which was a more gritty, underground track that he had put up for release again with island def jam records. Although throughout the years he has consistently returned to his original star image of the fun or maybe even ironically ludacris nature of behaviour. Throughout the videos which he has released or featured in, a transformation can be seen, which has taken the star image of Ludacris from a creative, comedic artist into a more commercial figure within the industry who conforms to the music of the recent pop culture. Within the music videos that this star has been featured in, the act of performance is the primary focus, much like what is stereotypically seen within most rap videos. There are also reoccurring motifs which we can see with the use of props such as expensive cars and provocatively dressed women within his videos, this again shows that Ludacris is falling intothe same stereotypical star image for a rapper.

Throughout the years and developing portfolio of Ludacris, we see that in his videos there are many close up shots of the artist within his music videos, this is predominantly so that the record company can sell the star’s image along with the fact that it helps the artist to become better recognisable to the audience. The record label which Ludacris is signed to, Island Def jam, capitalises on the ‘gangster rapper’ persona which involves the main focus of the videos to always be centred around the artist which gives him a very self centred image, as he is not aiming to convey any specific messages through his music, other than that of how he lives his lavish and expensive lifestyle.

It can be seen that the star image of this musician is actually perceived to him being a negative character, although he also holds a widely evident significance, this is because his music and the visuals within his music videos often show women to be acting as what can be seen as immaturely, wearing minimal clothing and dancing very provocatively, This therefore creates the star image for the artist, as a musicians music videos are made so that the artist can get their point of view to the public, so we can take that it is Ludacris’ view that all women behave in this manner.

Music video analysis 1

Video: Eminem – Guilty Conscience ft Dr Dre

The music video that i will be looking at is, ‘Guilty Conscience’ which is by the rapper Eminem and features other rapper Dr dre.The video belongs to the hip-hop genre of music and shows the culture broadly through the fragmented narritive and performance based visuals.

Throughout the video, the relationship between the lyrics and visuals is pretty obvious, as the narrative in the video is being told through the style and way that it has been structured, which is a narrative reminiscent of a reality tv show, as there is a host who at selected intervals explains the storyline to the viewers, this helps connect with the lyrics, as after the host has explained the events which are taking place, Eminem and Dre enter the scene acting as the characters conscience, explaining why the character should or shouldn’t go through with the act in question. Overall the video and lyrics share a close relationship and are parallel throughout the video.

The video and music also share a similar relationship, as the film has been edited in such a way that the scene stops in motion whilst the verses are being performed and the next scene is being introduced while the chorus plays, this is to create a bigger focus on the artists performing within the scene. It also creates a more structured approach to the narrative, as towards the end of the verse, the narrative begins again and this becomes the main focus again and the viewer is then aware of what’s happening.

The video relates to Eminem’ other videos through the storyline and the themes within the video, as in other Eminem videos, such as Stan, there are also scenes of violence and also in ‘Stan’ the video ends with the character murdering his pregnant wife, this shows a star image for the character of Eminem, as it continuous with the theme of violence and gritty scenes. This start image given to Eminem is not typically seen to be given to a artist from the Rap or Hip-Hop genre, as usually the star of a rap video is seen to be centred around the themes of money and wealth and will be a typically performance based video, whereas this video has been given a structure and a fragmented narrative.

The theme of voyeurism has been used once again, as we are referenced to the reality show within the video, as this invites the audience to view the scene as if it was being viewed on a television show. The artists also change outfits so that they are dressed identically to the main characters within the scene, it can be seen that this has been used to emphasize the focus on the actual scene instead of the artists, this also strays from the stereotypical music video from the rap genre, as the focus is predominantly the artist or ‘rapper’, however this is not the case within the Eminem video.

The main intertextual reference within this video is the reality television style narrative, which is centred around the lives of these characters who have a decision to, make, whilst being persuaded by both Eminem and Dr dre to make the choice between right and wrong, this has been used so that a wider audience can relate and understand the reference, as reality television shows are shown and recognized worldwide. Another intertextual reference within this video however is not as obvious, but still common to the hip-hop genre or lifestyle, the reference to the robbing of the liquor store is often seen in movies centred around the urban or ‘ghetto’ lifestyle and is seen in films such as, ‘Boyz In The Hood’ and ‘Four Brothers’, this is used to emphasize on the star image that has been created for the characters of Eminem and Dr dre.

There is a constant narrative which is present within the video, although there are a lot of performance based shots in where the two artists are seen rapping whilst surrounding the scene of the narrative, this emphasizes on Goodwins theory, as it helps amplify the relationship between the lyrics and visuals whilst it challenges the typical conventions within a music video from the hip-hop genre, as the video contains complexities within the storyline and is not centred around the artists, much like what is typically seen within a music video of this genre, however the artists do frequently appear in the video, this is so that the record company can still sell the star image of the artist without over shadowing the actual narrative of the video.

The conclusion I have come to is that while the video still used a method of performance and narrative based imagery, the use of camera angles and shots do not conform to the typical or standard shots seen within a video of this genre, this is mainly because of the stars image of Eminem in this video and as he is such a controversial character within the hip-hop scene it is possible for him to go against the conventions whilst still appealing to the same target audience.