J Cole - Who Dat (Music Video Analysis)

CinematographyJ.Cole's 'Who Dat' music video looks very basic and simple to re create. However, the music video consists of numerous shots such as panning and tracking, high angle shots, long and mid shots, etc. The music video begins with an establishing shot showing the environment that J.Cole is surrounded by. This shows the audience the relationship between the artist and the scenery behind him. A panning shot is used when the camera tilts down towards J.Cole and begins to track him. The purpose of this panning shot is to take our attention off of the buildings and scenery in the background and focus on the subject which is more important in the music video which is the artist, J.Cole. The tracking shot then begins and we see J.Cole walking into a different scenery. A tracking shot is used to connect the audience and the artist and this makes the audience feel more involved with the artist as he progresses through different scenery. Tracking and panning shots are also combined to make the audience feel more involved as they feel as if they are walking with J.Cole but they also feel as if they can see what J.Cole is seeing, which almost brings out the five senses. I denote long shots within the music video and these long shots capture the artists body language, facial expressions and performance but also captures the background, the people and the environment around him. I also denote mid shots which are pretty much used in most of the video to J.Cole's body language. I also denote low angle shots which connotes J.Cole's dominance and inferiority within the video. From these low angle shots, it is clear who the main subject is and the low angle shots make him stand out from the other people in the background following him.

Mis En Scene



The music video is shot in different locations of a large area in America. Music videos are not really shot in neighborhoods or rural areas so this music video is successful in the sense that it is unique and might make the audience want to continue watching it. J.Cole's costume stands out from the other performers costumes as Apart from the first couple shots where the group of performers in the background are wearing their own daily clothes, there is another group of performers who are all wearing similar cheer leading costumes where as J.Cole is wearing every day clothes. This makes J.Cole stand out from the rest of the performers and the audience are able to see that he is our main focus. The clothes that J.Cole are wearing also allows the audience to relate to his style more. There is no artificial lighting in the music video so we can say that the lighting is high key and natural which allows the colours to stand out more. This might make it more appealing to the audience as the film isn't bleak, making it more visually exciting to watch. J.Cole's performance really helps to liven up the music video as he is very expressive. This is  clearly shown through his body language. In this music video, J.Cole encourages the audience to sing along to the catchy song through his performance. The props in the music video were also used well to relate to his lyrics e.g. at 0.38, J.Cole walks past a large group of televisions piled up on top of each other and ironically, J.Cole says 'Now I'm on television'. Also at 2.02, a fire ignites when J.Cole mentions the word 'hot'.
The props and lyrics combined really help the audience to create an image in their head. The props also visually appeal to the audience as it creates a feeling of entertainment and fun.
 

Kanye West x Rihanna - All Of The Lights (Music Video Analysis)

Cinematography

In Kanye West and Rihanna's 'All Of The Lights' music video, I denote various camera shots, ranging from establishing shots to show the scenery to shots which express emotions and feeling within the artists and all of these shots help to make the video successful.  There are a lot of mid shots and extreme close ups when Kanye West when he is performing and the majority of his actions when performing relate to the lyrics from the song. These mid shots allow us to see his body language in relation to the lyrics from the song and are most suitable for his performance at this point as he is not showing intense emotions so a close up shot is not needed. e.g. 2 minutes and 38 seconds into the video, Kanye West is performing but in this performance he is using his body language to portray himself as an artist, not to portray deep emotion in relation to the lyrics. Also at 2.44, there is a mid shot of Rihanna dancing and swaying. This shot helps her to portray her as an artist and shows her personality as we are seeing her body language through the mid shot. However, the close up shots display the detail within the artists. When the close up shot is on Kanye West, the audience are less focused on his body language and are more focused on his facial expressions and some intricate activity with his hands. At 3.05, I denote a slight high angle with the close up shot which connotes his deep and sad emotions, creative a feeling of inferiority. These close up shots show facial expressions which relate more to the lyrics within the video. There is one point where Kanye West is holding his head and at this point, he says 'I hold my head'. This shows that his performance and facial expressions relate to the lyrics in the song which emphasizes his anger or frustration. I also denote at the very beginning an establishing shot of the area which gives the audience an understanding of where the music video is shot and the environment the performers are in.

Mis En Scene

In relation to the mis en scene in the music video, there props were very limited. Apart from the costumes worn by the performers and artists and the police cars, this music video subverted to my expectations of a good music video because I would've expected props like guitars, drum kits or other props which would've helped to tell a narrative. The production design at the beginning of the music video is dominantly set in the streets in winter hence the snow. The build up at the beginning is set during the day time so the lighting is very high key and natural, creating a feeling of serenity and tranquility. However, this feeling changes slightly as the music video progresses when the lighting becomes more low key and artificial which conforms to the expectations of this music video as the song has a deep emotional meaning behind it. The performance of the artists contribute to the success of this music video as they make it visually pleasing for the audience to watch. Because they are directly looking at the camera, it feels as if they are directly expressing their emotions to the audience, creating a connection between the artist and the audience which allows the audience to relate to the meaning behind the song.

Editing

Most of Kanye Wests music video consists of high quality effects and editing techniques from fast paced cuts between scenes to luminescent and vivid colourful fonts enhanced by flashing lights. The various colourful fonts appear when the chorus is being sung, which makes it visually appealing for the audience and very catchy as the fonts are visually displayed for the audience to sing along to. Match on action is also used to show the strong continuity of the young girls actions as she walks through the door. Match on action creates a visual bridge which distracts the audience from noticing the cut or noticing any slight continuity error between the two shot. At the beginning of the music video, the shots are simultaneously cut to the beat of the song e.g. in between the first 19 and 20 seconds of the music video, there is a jump cut of the girl opening the door to the girl walking away from the door and it is in sync with the song. This makes the music video seen more neat and appealing and if the audience are nodding to the song, everything is kept in sync so there is no confusion.