Case Studies: Music Magazine Advert (Three)

CD Album Cover Case Studies ( Three )

Case Study No 3 Earl Sweatshirt Featuring Vince & Casey Veggies - Hive

Earl Sweatshirt

Video - Earl Sweatshirt featuring Vince Staples & Casey Veggies - Hive

Producers - Jason Colon

Info - 2013 Tan Cressida, Inc., under exclusive license to Columbia Records, a Division of Sony Music Entertainment

Synopsize

The music video is one of an alternative hip-hop artist rapping about his feelings and emotions. It is based in and urban setting which adds to the grime element of his video. The reason I chose this video is because is varies from other underground hip hop tracks as he relies heavily on mise en scene (costumes) by other characters in the video to add to the dark tone of this piece

Theme

The theme of this song is dark however, they present this in a comical way, hence the reason I like this video and decided to analyse it. They stick to the same theme throughout the video and similar to my other case studies of Kanye west black skin, also use special effects such as blurring the character face away which gave him a rather un appealing scary look, which also linked with the lyrical content and added to theme and appeals to the niche audience. Furthermore the theme of the song uses similar ways to draw in a audience like Tyler the creator Yonkers, by making a video which completely ignores the social norms of society with use of close up and medium shots will adding graphic imagery, which enhances the theme, will produce an wider attraction. Due to alternative hip-hop being a niche audience I do believe is vital they create videos, which have a theme, which have a memorable aspect to them, as they are competing with other markets with a bigger fan base. 

Representations of stars

The actors are portrayed in a manner which is linked with the theme, the mise en scene is vital as they were in costumes of mask and create visual imagery which supports there lyrics.

 The actor represented as being from the streets and they carry a disturbed essence around their persona through there paralinguistic throughout track. They also don’t wear makeup and some of the faces have cuts on as shown in close up which highlights his natural skin which looks like he may have been it fights which adds to the representation of him being from the streets. Despite the fact them being from the streets, they are clearly lyrical talented as the rhymes sound like poetry against the slow but powerful instrumental, which allows them to portray there thoughts and emotions through a video which is difficult to portray when rapping about inner feeling. Even though they come across harsh and unsociable, due to the mise en scene and lyrical content the representation is still projected, which makes their representation even more, clear to the audience adding to the urban gloomy theme.

Camera Angles

They use close ups in the beginning of his face which is extremely affective in showing the performers emotion, they also use camera editing techniques by fading from a black screen into his close up, he also wear a black hoody jumpers, which merges in with the back ground which gives an visual picture of an camouflage which extremely affective when introducing the performer.

They also use a mid-shot which is good as it shows top half of the bodies of the characters in the frame, and there was three characters however, 2 of them were wearing mask which I believe was effective in keeping the audience engaged with video and also put a comical effect on the dark tone although it did come across rather creepy.

 They also use a long shot, which allows the audience to see the rest of artist who are dressed up in eccentric costumes which correlates with the theme well, by using a long shot allows the audience to grasp the creepy tone portrayed by the artist.

 The reason I used the video as one my stimulus is due to the attention to low lighting, this is a close up shot which shows the character face, the reason I believe this shot is significant is due to the dark layer in the background allowing the artist face to glow which adds more emphasise to the main character. The artist also avoids looking directly at the camera, this is due to him not feeling part of society and even though he builds a connection by doing a close up he lacks eye contact which allows him to project he’s natural identity of being a outcast in society

This medium close up, allows the audience to  form a connection with his audience, the audience who listen to this music, may smoke and this also adds to the urban tone as it creates a mist in front his face, secondly smoking is linked to decreasing stress, so this also portrays him releaseing an outburst of his inner though through the action of smoking.  

This medium shot is also a focus pull as the camera, directly shoots on the character, while blurring the surroundings like this shot as the representation of his environment is portrays minimal however still has an significant t effect on the shot, as the rough fences and tent in the background, costumes links to his urban theme

 

The long shot of the house is shown through a cut in action as they, project this house, this long shot is also key as its strengthens the theme of the song, it’s a haunted house and due to the lack of lights represents a shell, which could also be the representation of the character and how he see’s himself in society.

Audience 

The audience is a niche audience who are into alternative rap. I believe they will heavily support their artist. I believe the audience are in the teens late 20’s most probably from geographic areas where they’re maybe drugs or gangs around as they may relate better to the music as they may have similar feelings. Secondly I believe this video will branch out to a wider audience due to professionalism of the camera shots and various other elements such as the mise en scene, which distinguish the video from others, as the costumes of the character made it a remarkable video. This video follows the basic conventions of an alternative hip-hop video as they create visual abstract through the artist abstract concepts of society. This video is similar to my groups idea hence the reason I choose to a analytical review on this video, which strengthen my thoughts into creating and alternative hip hop music video.

Case Study No.2 - Tyler The Creator - Yonkers

Media

Video- Tyler The Creator - Yonkers

Producers- Wolf Haley                                                                                                                          

Filmed by - Luis Panch Perez

Synopsis

Tyler the creator stands out from other videos due to the black and white theme incorporated with the creepy tone, aggressive lyrics and suicidal imagery. The video is of Tyler creator rapping about his life circumstances in and over dramatic manor.

Theme

The theme of this song is rather creepy and the use of features such as blurring the camera, and close ups add to the disturbed tone created from Tyler. They also rely on mise en scene features to maintain the disturbing tone throughout the video. It’s a performed based performance however, it does contain narrative elements such as when he’s rapping to the audience as he creates imagery of us being his therapist by Tyler looking through the camera lenses to give the impression of him talking us the audience.

They represent Tyler the creator as being, weird, abusive, eccentric and aggressive, he comes across anti-social and, of one whom does not care about the laws and constraints in society. His lyrical content in Yonkers also shows he’s very opinionated and believes in free speech as he’s offends other rappers during his song. This is shown by the camera angles, editing, and mise en scene and does appeal to his niche audience in the hip/hop sector of alternative hip hop.

 

Camera angles

They use a variety of camera editing techniques, below I discus the ones I believe were the most effective.

Extreme Close ups & close ups –

They use extreme close up as this is an extreme version of the close up mainly used to show features the human eye will struggle to see. An extreme close-up of a face, for instance, when they zoomed into to Tyler eyes and they were dark black which gives the video and artificial look and adds to disturbing tone. They also use normal close ups such as when his nose bleeds, the close up was used to highlight the fake blood (Mise en scene), as this adds to the creepy tone.

Medium shot-

They also use medium shots such as when Tyler was bent over being sick, this shot is a basic shot however, due to Tyler being in black and the background being white it added and extra layer of visual imagery to the scene by exaggerating the medium shot as his actions came across to the audience even more clear, which was of him being sick. This intensified the scene adding to the creepy tone.

They also used a medium shot when Tyler is about to hang himself this was because they were not allowed to show a person fully hanging himself. Although they were still able to create tension though showing a medium shot of the rope hanging round his head and, then his feet dangling which was a powerful scene as the visual imagery was disturbing but still managed to fit in well with the dynamics of the video as, the whole concept was that he felt distance from others.

Editing

They also relied heavily on editing, they used a slow editing cut rate because, it was all in the same scene, they did not branch out to different scenes because, he gave the impression that he was talking to his therapist, so they kept it in an enclosed environment as this would portray his feeling to the audience. However, during the video there is one instance of an fast cutting speed which is in synch with the music, they use this fast cutting rate to change Tyler’s eyes which gives the effect of him becoming demonic as he eyes are dark black which is un human like which gives the impression to the audience, that’s he is no longer himself, and has come possessed.

One of the main features throughout the video, I believe was lenses (Perspective control lenses, tilt shift lens), this is when they changed the lenses and gave the video a blurred outlook, this gave the impression of him being intoxicated. Also the Mise en scene was prolific throughout this video in continuing the dark tone, for example when they used the drip of blood to fall out of his nose, showed signs of early symptoms of him being in pain, which was reflective to the end, where they use a stall an rope in a medium shot which suggest to the audience that he was going to hang himself.

 Target Audience

The target audience Tyler creator targeted is for young 16 + individuals who are interested in alternative hip hop and stereotypically known as being open minded and are into skate boarding also being who likely pottery as he’s very articulate in his rap as he often use metaphors and is able to create visual juxtaposition through he’s rhymes.

What ideas could I take?

·         Perspective control lenses, tilt shift lens, this contrasted well with a black and white theme

·         The ability to create a performance based video, which narrative structure and clear story line

·         The editing techniques, using a slow editing speed correlates well with alternative rap videos I’ve realised during my case studies.

Case Study No.1 Kanye West - Black Skinhead

Media

Video- Kanye West - Black Skinhead (Blkkk SkkkN Head) Official Video

Producers- Nick Knight, Kanye West

Filmed- New York, NY – July 22, 2013 – Donda creative house & Founded NY Kanye west

The reason I chose Kanye west as one of my stimulus to analyse was because, I know in other videos he implements varies techniques in order to portray controversial messages to his audience such as ‘New Slaves. ‘Where he sets a theme which relates with his lyrical content, he also devises a performance based video where he breaks down the metaphors and gives the audience a visual aspect using various camera and editing techniques.

Synopsis

Black Skin head stands out from other videos as he incorporates animated features and realistic imagery of black people, which is often avoided in many rap videos. The song is a rap music video about the challenges and progression he’s made from everyday life from his perspective.

 Theme

The theme of this song is rather dark & demonic and he uses various features such as the beginning, where he has three black people wearing the ‘Ku Klux Klan’ outfit in black although, historically is known for being worn by white superiors, the outfit was one which connotes and abuse of power in America during the slave period, so this is immediately sets a dark tone and creates a visual juxtaposition, which can appeal to the audience. This then followed by a mid shot, of black people in cuffs and chains with the diegetic sound of dogs barking in the background, which adds to the connotation of slavery suggest in the previous part of the video. There also use Kanye west as a visual juxtaposition as he is being portrayed as the black skin head which is created through the various technical elements such the animated version of Kanye with a bold head, and also the aggression skinheads are stereotypical known to have is portrayed through his diegetic sound, and also the harsh drum instrumentals in the song further correlates to the audience by giving the impression he’s  reversing the  previous power the skin head obtained  and is projecting himself as an omnipotent character.

They represent Kanye west as being angry and aggressive and they do this by syncing the instrumental with animated version of himself dancing around in a tribal manor. The music also changes tempo which creates a powerful presence which adds to the dark demonic tone.

Camera angles

They use a variety of camera editing techniques, below I discus the ones I believe were the most effective.

Close ups –

At the beginning of the music video, three people are dressed in the Ku Klux Klan outfits and they shoot close ups of their faces. They then use animated features to enlarge the triangles from their outfits to fade into the next segment, which is three aggressive dogs. They also use a close up and rely on editing techniques such as darken the back ground and bringing emphasis on their viscous eyes.

Medium shot-

They also have a medium shot of the slaves, as they show the top half’s of their bodies. They then begun to zoom in, this shot is effective as it allows them to create a visual description. Although he portrays anger which is generated through using historical imagery which is reflective of what has happened in the past. He’s able to show to the audience that he is still calm and collective as the lyrics ‘Think I'm possessed, it's an omen keep it 300, like the Romans’ 300 in roman numerals is ccc, which stands for cool calm and collected and the audience which is teens dominantly teens will be watching the videos will understand the subliminal messages portrayed.

Long Shots –

During the end of the video, they zoomed out into a long shot, this was effectives as it gave the impression he was walking into darkness which relates to the dark tone he projects through the video. They then produced another longshot with dogs in the background, however the dogs where edited with luminous eyes which gave the impression they were staring at the audience and looked aggressive which linked to the representation of Kanye’s character.

They also shot a bird’s eye view of Kanye in which the camera was looking down on him which usually gives the audience a view of the scenery around the character to help set the tone. However, in this case it was dark which suggested Kanye was lost and showed the representation of the character to be confused, angry, and lost which links to the element of anger portrayed through other segments of the video.

Special Effects, Mise en scene & editing techniques

The props they used in this video are minimal compared to other musical videos, they relied more on special effect such as flashing lights to cause tension, and also having a fast editing speed in numerous occasions allowed them to exaggerate lyrical content.

 They also had an animated version of Kanye west with a luminous gold chain which gave him an essence of power and they also used a low angle which was looking up to him in certain sections, this made him look superior to the audience.

The mise en scene worked well with the special effect as they made character with  rather disturbing costumes, they also kept a black and white theme throughout with both added to the demonic tone.

Target Audience

The target audience I believe is primarily for 16 +   males who are into hip hop however, I believe it’s for a dual audience and can also be viewed by people who admire many genres of music as this music shows a change as it diverse from other hip hop videos, as the influence of black America is portrayed through various scenes.

The ideas I will take from this video is how they expressed emotions and feeling which is hard to do through rap music. They do not use clear story lines, although in this video I believe they projected there messages and created scene which drawed in  an audience through incorporating harsh scenes with elements of dark imagery which worked well with the black and white theme.

What ideas could I take?

·         The ability to create a performance based video, which narrative structure and clear story line

·         The fast editing speed, which is a great way of building tension or excitement on a track with a fast instrumental

 

Lyrical content

Lately in lesson we have been analysing our musical content and have been sharing our information amongst our groups, thinking of ways in which we can find a medium between us and converge our ideas in order to translate our ideas successfully.

We do this by highlighting elements of the lyrics section by section and try to create a narrative structure so it allows our video to make sense and not be completely filled with metaphorical concepts which the audience may not be able to relate to.

Inspiration

Whilst I was at looking through music videos . I came across ' Rejjie Snow - "Lost in Empathy"  I liked the camera editing skills used to portray the lyrical content, and I also liked the scenery in the background and how it contrast with his red outfits and makes him stand out. These techniques really allows them to portray there abstract concepts to the audience.