The first song I
chose is “Take Care" which is the second studio album by Canadian recording artist Drake, released November 15, 2011, on Young Money Entertainment and Cash Money Records. The music video was published on Youtube on April 23rd 2012 by DrakeVEVO. This song is from a hip-hop genre and it has a relaxed production that incorporates R&B.
The music video includes simplistic art with Drake and Rihanna's characters in an intimate relationship, with other scenes featuring animals such as a bull, blue jay and tropical fish and various outdoor landscapes portraying the ups and downs of a relationship. The song expands on the low-tempo, rich and darl sonic aesthetic. Drake is portrayed as being mellow whereas Rihanna is shown to be passive and docile. The theme of the song is conflicted feelings towards fame. Drake's lyrics on Take Care address failed romances, missed connections, relationship with friends and family.
The music video includes simplistic art with Drake and Rihanna's characters in an intimate relationship, with other scenes featuring animals such as a bull, blue jay and tropical fish and various outdoor landscapes portraying the ups and downs of a relationship. The song expands on the low-tempo, rich and darl sonic aesthetic. Drake is portrayed as being mellow whereas Rihanna is shown to be passive and docile. The theme of the song is conflicted feelings towards fame. Drake's lyrics on Take Care address failed romances, missed connections, relationship with friends and family.
"Take Care" is about two people, one of them has been hurt in the
past, and the other is helping them to love again. Rihanna says, "If you
let me, here's what I'll do, I'll take care of you." The song is about
building trust again, and being brave enough to put your heart out on the line
again after you've been hurt. Drake plays the role of the one helping the girl
in the song. I think the first verse is quite straightforward. He accepts her
past and that she is very guarded. He also acknowledges that his past isn't
very bright either and hopes that she'll let him in. He sees in her that she is
very caught up in the past and that she "can't sleep thinking that he lies
still" in other words, she knows that whatever this person has done to
hurt her he is doing again to another person. I like the last part of the
second verse, I think it's going back to her previous relationship and talking
about how her friends all encouraged her believing she was "following
[her] heart" but they were looking at the relationship the wrong way and
should have been honest and told her "something to save [her]".
There are various camera angles used in the music video. Many close-ups have been used to show the facial expressions of Drake, Rihanna and animals to show a focus of attention on the character's feelings. Some long shots of sceneries of mountains have also been included which connote peace. A lot of tracking in has been used to draw the viewer into a closer; more intense relationship with the subject also moving away tends to create emotional distance.
There has been both high and low key lighting used in contrast to the mood which is being represented in the video. Backlighting has been used tocreate a halo effect on Rihanna’s hair connoting that she is innocent and pure. There are various cuts used in the video with a fast cutting rate which builds momentum. Cutaway has been used to show the animals and then Drake and Rihanna, this has been done to show the relationship between both. Slow motion has been used to emphasize dramatic moments in the song.
The target audience is teenagers as the song is new and current and is popular among teenagers hence they are encouraged to purchase the album. Drake's attire matches what a teenager would wear, this would be helpful to attract teenagers to watch the music video. Teenagers would be able to relate to the lyrics as Drake raps about failed romances, relationships with friends and family with a fast beat. From the music video I like the concept of using metaphors such as animals to represent emotions and ups and downs of a relationship. I would like to use metaphors when shooting my music video as I believe it gives the song more meaning. As many of Rihanna's shots are taken in the studio I would like to cop this in my music video, having most of Nicki Minaj's shots in the studio. Using the studio would enable me to create the focus on Nicki's facial expressions and will also allow me to adjust the lighting where needed. Filming in a studio would not be difficult for me as the college has a studio which I would be able to book and use during college hours or outside college hours. With the use of studio I will be able to use a green screen and add in various background shots into the music video therefore showing different locations when in fact they are all taken in the studio. This would save me time as I will not be having to travel to different locations for filming, this would be both beneficial for me and the actors.
Here is a link to the music video below:
There are various camera angles used in the music video. Many close-ups have been used to show the facial expressions of Drake, Rihanna and animals to show a focus of attention on the character's feelings. Some long shots of sceneries of mountains have also been included which connote peace. A lot of tracking in has been used to draw the viewer into a closer; more intense relationship with the subject also moving away tends to create emotional distance.
There has been both high and low key lighting used in contrast to the mood which is being represented in the video. Backlighting has been used tocreate a halo effect on Rihanna’s hair connoting that she is innocent and pure. There are various cuts used in the video with a fast cutting rate which builds momentum. Cutaway has been used to show the animals and then Drake and Rihanna, this has been done to show the relationship between both. Slow motion has been used to emphasize dramatic moments in the song.
The target audience is teenagers as the song is new and current and is popular among teenagers hence they are encouraged to purchase the album. Drake's attire matches what a teenager would wear, this would be helpful to attract teenagers to watch the music video. Teenagers would be able to relate to the lyrics as Drake raps about failed romances, relationships with friends and family with a fast beat. From the music video I like the concept of using metaphors such as animals to represent emotions and ups and downs of a relationship. I would like to use metaphors when shooting my music video as I believe it gives the song more meaning. As many of Rihanna's shots are taken in the studio I would like to cop this in my music video, having most of Nicki Minaj's shots in the studio. Using the studio would enable me to create the focus on Nicki's facial expressions and will also allow me to adjust the lighting where needed. Filming in a studio would not be difficult for me as the college has a studio which I would be able to book and use during college hours or outside college hours. With the use of studio I will be able to use a green screen and add in various background shots into the music video therefore showing different locations when in fact they are all taken in the studio. This would save me time as I will not be having to travel to different locations for filming, this would be both beneficial for me and the actors.
Here is a link to the music video below:
Lil Wayne - 6 Foot 7 Foot ft. Cory Gunz
The second song I have chosen is "6 Foot 7 Foot" is a song by American rapper Lil Wayne featuring label mate, Cory Gunz. It was offically released on iTunes on December 16, 2010. The song genre is both Rap and Southern Hip-hop. The music video was published on Youtube by LilWayneVEVO on March 10th 2011. The video (directed by Hype Williams) was inspired by the film Inception, with Lil Wayne and the Young Money Crew portraying several scenarios from the film and creating numerous scenes which show many of the metaphors and similies Wayne says in the song. The song finds Wayne spitting about his charisma, his Young Money cohorts, and his sexual conquests.
Based on the contents of the lyrics and the general expressive theme where the author is supposed to be running "the game", an opinion cited and support by the author himself, the Inception tribute seems wildly out of place but persists throughout the artistic piece. “So misunderstood, but what's a World without enigma?”By this, Lil Wayne is asking the audience what is life in this world without a challenge. As enigma is a puzzle and his music is the enigma because most people have to think and put his pieces together to know what the bigger picture is.
Wayne goes on to say “two bitches at the same time, synchronized swimmers” “bitches” is US rap for women. By this sentence Wayne is boasting that he has two girlfriends. He goes on to say “got the girl twisted ‘cause she open when you twist her”. There is a pun of twisted meaning 1) To pull, break, or snap by turning and 2) To alter or distort the mental, moral, or emotional character of. By this sentence he means that he is able to chat-up women by being immoral. By “never met the bitch, but I f-ck her like I missed her” Wayne is being derogatory about himself by explaining how shallow he is. He feigned love to get his way with women.
“Life is the bitch, and death is her sister” creates the juxtaposition by contrasting men to be shallow and boastful but women are the universe. I paraphrase:
Women are life.
Death is her sister.
Sleep is her cousin
The camera angles are crucial and many have been used in this music video. The establishing shot is a POV in which Wayne is being slapped; this is an interesting shot as the music video starts off in an unusual way. Low angle shots of Wayne show that he is superior and exaggerating his importance. Various close-up shots have been included to show facial expressions of the people included in the video. Following pan has been used to show Wayne and other members of his group. Lil Wayne attempts to make his view unique as he wears different costumes and also includes some animation. Overall the music video has a lot of high key lighting which puts emphasize on what is being shown on the screen. As the song is of the Rap genre it has a fast cutting rate and many jump cuts have been used deliberately to make a dramatic point. Reaction shots have been used to increase the humor in the song video. Slow motion has been used to emphasize a dramatic point.
The target audience is fans of the music genre Rap and hip hop and also fans of the film inception as the music video is based on it. From the music video I like the fact that the actions carried out by Wayne are related to what the lyrics are saying, this gives the song more depth. I like the use of metaphors as this gives the song more meaning. I like the notion of the video including elements of humour as it makes the video more entertaining to watch. I would like to add animation as there is some animation in the music video and it worked well. There are various shots used in a matter of seconds, I like how the video uses editing techniques such as fade to keep the flow of the video going. I will also use various editing techniques where applicable to keep the video consistent whilst having multiple shots in a matter of few seconds.
Here is a link to the music video:
Lil Wayne - How to Love
The third song I have chosen is "How to Love" is a song by American rapper Lil Wayne, released as the third single from his ninth studio album, Tha Carter IV. The music video waspublished on 24 Aug 2011 on Youtubeby LilWayneVEVO. The song was released on May 31, 2011 and the genre is R&B.
The video portrays the struggles of a single mother who becomes a stripper then she is diagnosed with HIV. The video then rewinds and shows a different life that the girl could have lived in which she is happy and when she becomes an adult, she is in the same hospital again awaiting a test result and the doctor tells her she is pregnant, she is happy and hugs her mother, thanking her for teaching her "how to love." The song received generally positive reviews from critics, complimenting the low tone and mellow meaning in the lyrics.
Wayne’s performance shots are almost an afterthought. His performance, actually seeing him was secondary to him. He really wanted to communicate what his thought was, what he really felt when he wrote these lyrics, and that was the priority. The concept is more a narrative. It's a story about two paths in someone's life and how one small choice that you make can affect your whole life.
The main target audience for this music video is young girls. Wayne is talking
to young girls that have ever let one too many men into her heart that just
tear a chunk out and leave. This is because the video is about a young girl who
has always questioned her self-worth; she had always been valued based on her
outer beauty and her body. She has learned to measure her worth with her body
and never experienced a man loving her for her inner beauty and who she is on
the inside. Her whole outlook on life had been marred by this so she never
trusted anyone and found herself accustomed to using her sex appeal to get the
things she wanted out of life. She often feels insecure if men looked at her
because how they viewed her appearance determined whether or not they would
deal with her. She both loathed and capitalised on her looks.
To me, this song speaks for a girl who was born into a broken family. With no father present, she developed insecurities because of the emptiness she felt was never filled due to the lack of a father, thus searching for love and acceptance in the wrong places. When he says "Now you're in this corner, trying to put it together - how to love." It's basically the dark story of a stripper who took the wrong route, due to the lack of love and guidance as a child. Therefore, not loving herself or having respect for herself. In the video it's little different, but in general explains the same basic story. At the end it shows her mother falling in love and marrying again, as the little girl watches them kiss. The little girl grows up with a stable home, witnessing the proper way to love from her mother and new found husband, therefore loving herself. It then shows the confidence manifest in her school work, and her falling in love with a good boy. She goes through life much differently rather than being raised in an unstable environment.
Various camera techniques have been used in this video. Many CU and BCU have been used to put attention on the character’s grief and pain that she goes through. Selective focus has been used to divert attention from each character whilst not creating confusion within the story. Costume and make-up is vital as the main character is portrayed in two forms, one of which where she is a stripper and one of which where she is a graduate from University. The costumes given to her are crucial as this is most easily noticeable aspect of mise-en-scene. Editing is also important, motivated cuts have been used when the doctor tells the news to the main character. This has been done to show her facial expressions and feelings towards to the news. The cutting rate also increases when the news has been given to create more emphasis. Low key lighting has been used to create a dark atmosphere as the song has a lot of meaning and is a slow-paced sad song.
From the music video I like how it tells a story throughout the song whilst including lip-syncing. This is what I want to include when creating my music video. The scenes used are natural settings which inspired me to choose rudimentary locations when shooting my music video. This will be ideal as I am on a low budget. Editing plays a huge role in this video as there are a lot of shots filmed in a matter of seconds. I will also have to do this in my video as I want to go back and forth from the characters whilst telling a story. The use of slow motion is effective as it creates more tension and puts more emphasis on the character. I will be using some slow motion when shooting my video as the effect looks good and is not hard to do.
Here is a link to the music video:
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