MUSIC VIDEOS INTRO
One of my favourite music videos is Rihanna feat. Mikky Ekky - Stay.
What images do they use?
The images used are of Rihanna naked in a bath tub, and Mike Ekky who’s also featured, sitting at the end of a bath tub. The images used throughout the video aren’t over the top, and are kept very simple.
How do the images link to the song?
The images used in the video represent vulnerability as she is naked in the bath, which also links back to the song; as the song is based on wanting someone you love to stay with you because you need them, which also supports the dependency and vulnerability demonstrated.
How does it promote the band/singer?
Rihanna is a well-known artist, and is mostly known for her seductive and sexual songs and videos. However this particular video and song subverted from her normal sexual persona, which is what made it very popular as it showed a side to Rihanna that we very rarely get to see.
How does it get you to remember the song?
The video helps me remember the song, and it’s very simplistic which is a clear comparison with the message of the song itself.
STOP MOTION INTRO
STOP MOTION INTRO
Hip Hop Music Video Conventions
The Roots - What They Do
Dead Prez - Hip Hop
1) Which conventions of rap music videos are shown in The Roots video?
The Roots followed conventions of rap music videos; the video consisted of video girls that were half naked dancing which showed a lot of ‘ass’ shots. The video also showed them living a luxurious lifestyle, by showing nice cars, mansions, bottles of champagne and partying; which is typical in a hip hop music video. Their costumes also portrayed the usual rapper, the rapper’s clothing were extra baggy and dark. The shots they also used followed the regular rap music video; they used low angle shots of a group of men, which gave the impression of them being aggressive and intimidating.
2) How does the The Roots video parody these conventions?
However the message of the song is based on the conventions illustrated in the video; the song refers to how the principles of true hip hop have been forsaken, and that it’s no longer about the music and talent, but it’s become all about the money and the finer things in life.
3) What type of transitions are used by the editor? What effect do they have?
The video doesn’t really use a range of transitions, mostly fades and dissolves are used. This gives the video a more dreamlike/fantasy effect, having this particular effect could reflect the message of the song/video, showing the lavish lifestyle could possibly make the audience feel as if they’re in some sort of fantasy.
4) How does the structure of the edit reflect typical rap video conventions? You might need to watch other rap videos to answer this question.
The structure of the edit manages to reflect the rap video conventions, as it shows the rapper himself, then his crew; it then shows girls dancing or a party going. The structure of the editing also reflects the rapper’s lifestyle, by showing the setting e.g house, cars, jewellery, alcohol and being surrounded by women.
The structure of the edit manages to reflect the rap video conventions, as it shows the rapper himself, then his crew; it then shows girls dancing or a party going. The structure of the editing also reflects the rapper’s lifestyle, by showing the setting e.g house, cars, jewellery, alcohol and being surrounded by women.
5) Compare the transitions and length of takes in the Dead Prez video to those in the Roots video
There was a major difference between the length of the shots for both videos; The Roots shots were much longer than the Dead Prez’s, the shots in the video lasted for a maxium of 15seconds the majority of the time. Whereas Dead Prez’s shot lengths only lasted a couple of seconds; the shot lengths were mainly based on the transitions that were used in the videos. The Roots’ video ran a lot more smoothly than Dead Prez’s as it consisted of dissolves and fades, whereas on the other hand Dead Prez used a lot of cuts and jump cuts. Therefore the length of The Roots’ video is 4:27 and Dead Prez 3:40.
6) Compare how titles are used in the two videos, and their effect on the viewer.
The titles in both of the videos are used differently; The Roots titles appear on screen every couple of shots, in clear white and bold text, which makes it easy for the view to see and understand since it’s related to the shot. Whereas Dead Prez’s title appears in a number of different ways, it appears on different shots, posters that people hold up in the audience and is shown on picture frames. Having the titles shown in a number of ways makes it effective to the viewer as it’s shown in different format and it manages to capture them as they’re likely to pay more attention.
7) Which video do you think is more effective in rejecting stereotypical rap conventions, and why?
Both videos tend to use different and similar concepts to follow hip hop conventions, which they manage to reject in their own way; however Dead Prez didn’t really reject stereotypical conventions the video was mostly based on gaining equality, which is why I believe The Roots video was more effective in rejecting the stereotypical rap conventions. This is because they made it obvious that they were doing so with the parody in the video they used with the text, despite the fact that they actually had the conventions in the video. Using the text and the message of the song itself made the rejection effective since they managed to challenge stereotypical conventions virtually.
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