Similar Videos/Texts

Similar Videos/Texts task

For this task i have been asked to include music videos and texts that i have taken inspiration from for my ideas for my music video. 

Kendrick Lamar: "Alright"

The music video for "Alright" by Kendrick Lamar is something that will greatly inspire us for our music video. The video was widely well received and was awarded best music video of 2015 by Pitchfork. The cinematography used sets an excellent example for us when we create our music video. The scenic shots used glamorize the everyday places everyone sees, which we can re-master ourselves to make any filming location look fit for our music video. There are still subtle elements of hip-hop throughout the video, which our video would need to take into account in order to keep with the conventions of the genre. We also wish to take the black and white style and coloring from this music video for our own. As we are using a Kendrick Lamar song for our video, it will keep with the theme of his music and fit with the song well. We can take ideas from the use of black and white in the video, and learn how to use them in our own.

Kendrick Lamar: "For Free?"

The interlude on the album "To Pimp A Butterfly" by Kendrick Lamar called "For Free?" has been given a music video. The song features a scene towards the end where Kendrick starts rapping faster and the pace of the editing becomes much quicker to match the pace of the song. There are cutaways to different objects and places in the scene and the colors of the lighting changes quickly. This makes the spoken words in the song appear more dramatic and the video match up with the songs fast pace. This technique can be used for our music video if the song has a pace change and the video can match up to the song so the audience are more immersed in the video.

Kendrick Lamar: "God Is Gangsta"

This is the music video for Kendrick Lamar named "God Is Gangsta" is a combination two songs, starting with the song "U" and playing the interlude "For Sale?" at 3:45. The performance given by Kendrick in the first half of the video is an aspect that we must include in our music video, as performances can make or break a music video. One part of the our music video may need a very emotive performance and with the camera being close up in some shots, the performance must be as convincing as possible for the video to look professional. An emotive performance by our actors will also link better to the lyrics as the song for our music videos tone shifts and relies on a good actor to bring the song to life.

Kendrick Lamar: "Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe" 

The reason for the excessive use of Kendrick Lamar music videos as use for inspiration  is because there are many elements of his music videos which can be taken for ideas in our own music video, and as it is also for a song by Kendrick, it is better if it suites the themes displayed in his other videos. For the video "Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe" there are uses of the slow motion feature that makes the regular, cut away shots last longer, but at the same time, they are made more cinematic. The long pauses for slow motion shots can also be used when the pace of the song is slow and the video needs to run parallel with it to blend together.

Vince Staples: "Norf Norf"

In the music video for "Norf Norf" by Vince Staples, the use of editing during the time frame 2:13 till 2:38 is an effective editing technique that places in cuts at specific points. For example, at the sound of the bass or snare, the shot will change into a cutaway and focus on something else. This technique can be used to match the music with the video and make feel as if time was put into the video in order to achieve this effect. It is more immersive for the audience as their eyes are moved along with the music as the songs drum beat is heard by the ears and dictates a scene change viewed with the audiences eyes. The black and white coloration also gives us insight to what works for our music video as we are doing the same thing in making it black and white.

A$AP Rocky: "L$D"

The use of transitions used in the music video for A$AP Rocky's "L$D" are very creative and bring the audience to new locations seamlessly, making the music video have a pleasing flow and interesting transitions. For example, the camera rotates and tilts up at 0:44 on the video, pointing at the dark sky, the next scene then has Rocky walk away from being close up to the camera with his dark jacket. This makes the audience not see the cutting from scene to scene as it is disguised by the next shot in the scene being the same as the last one. We can replicate this in our filming to make it more interesting, and to disguise cuts in our editing.

Drake: Jet Magazine

This image on the cover of Jet fashion magazine has been used by me as inspiration for my music video. The black and white colouration of the front is a clear influence to the fact our film is going to be in black and white. The edit with the absence of colour gives a more artistic appearance to the cover and gives a greater importance to lighting in the text. The fact Drake is a well known rapper also influences me in my work as it portrays that the rap genre is already aware of editing techniques such as removing the colour in texts. Finally, the outfit worn by Drake is quite common within the Hip-Hop genre, as hoodies are worn by rappers very frequently. This has influenced me to incorporate it into my main characters costume.