Our Chosen Song and Lyrics

The song we have chosen is "Na-NaNa-Na" by Nelly. The song was released in 2004 in the rappers album "Sweat". The album debuted at number two on the US Billboard Chart.

Jazze Pha:
Ladies and gentlemen! Ladies and gentlemen
This, is truly an event
Nelly Nel, Jazze Phizzle, Jazz Phiza-fel
(Na-nana-na, nana, nana, nana) Woooo-eee!
(Na-nana-na, nana, nana, nana) Woo, woo, woo, oh boy!
(Na-nana-na, nana, nana, nana) Oh boy! Ohhh!
Hey, hey hey hey hey hey hey

Chorus:
Well uh-huh, well uh-huh girl I'm parked outside
And you know that it's sittin on chrome, chrome (uh-huh)
Hey, I'm just lookin for a pretty young thang
that uh, I can take home (take home)
Can we leave hurr (yeah) can we leave hurr (yeah)
Can we leave hurr (yeah) can we leave hurr - shorty can we
leave hurr (yeah) can we leave hurr (yeah)
Can we leave hurr (yeah) can we leave hurr (yeah)

Nelly:
I'm a denver nugget type of fellow I push the Carmello
Yellow on yellow flooded the band and the bezel
Hear me now! Oh, no, did you see the hero?
I took the Phantom to the Opera, same Phantom through the ghetto
Can we leave hurr? Shorty need to make up her mind
I seen them niggaz over there, but they ain't takin my shine
Got 7 niggaz tryin to be me, out here breakin they spine
But they got 7 different levels for they make it to mine
I want you both shorty (oh) go get it crunk shorty (oh)
I see your A-T-L stamp and go' head and stomp shorty (oh)
I got that shake now, and don't be scared now
Cause we can come from the kitchen up to that bed now
Shit it ain't nuttin to a boss, I heat you like air off
It ain't nuttin, they ain't cuttin, they frontin, that's they loss
Cause the, 'Tics is good, and the van is paid off
And I done got so damn cocky I took that Band-Aid off

Chorus:
Well uh-huh, well uh-huh girl I'm parked outside
And you know that it's sittin on chrome, chrome (uh-huh)
Hey, I'm just lookin for a pretty young thang
that uh, I can take home (take home)
Can we leave hurr (yeah) can we leave hurr (yeah)
Can we leave hurr (yeah) can we leave hurr - shorty can we
leave hurr (yeah) can we leave hurr (yeah)
Can we leave hurr (yeah) can we leave hurr (yeah)

Nelly:
Uhhhhhhhh, picture perfect, I paint a perfect picture
Third album, same focus, my intent is to get richer
I'm with my dirty Jazze Phizzle, he yieldin that instrumental
Youse a cold-ass nigga on the track (SHO' NUFF!)
Man - I'm tired of poppin these bottles, tired of fuckin these models
I'm tired of these menage-a nights - yeah right (PSYCH!)
I was built for it, I got hip for it
I even got a little swagger in my limp for it
I done had, sex in the city plus sex in the country
You know - sex in the zoo di-rectly behind the monkeys
Hold up! Don't get me wrong, I'm lookin for Ms. Right
But tonight ain't the time, I'm lookin for right now
It's two-thousand-fo', I'm in a new home
Threw out the Bentley bought a Double R TO GET SOME GONE
It's like I'm holdin on to permanent mistletoe, I think you been sittin low
I got a driver dirty, he come when the whistle blow

Chorus:
Well uh-huh, well uh-huh girl I'm parked outside
And you know that it's sittin on chrome, chrome (uh-huh)
Hey, I'm just lookin for a pretty young thang
that uh, I can take home (take home)
Can we leave hurr (yeah) can we leave hurr (yeah)
Can we leave hurr (yeah) can we leave hurr - shorty can we
leave hurr (yeah) can we leave hurr (yeah)
Can we leave hurr (yeah) can we leave hurr (yeah)

Nelly:
(Na-nana-na) I'm smoother than you know
(Na-nana-na) Cadillac do's and bank rolls
(Na-nana-na) I simply go places you can't go
Ain't see me in no Linc', but you know that derrty in Brougham
I be on my (grind-na-grind-na-grind-na-grind)
With my money on my (mind-my-mind-my-mind-my-mind)
Plus I'm still in my (prime-my-prime-my-prime-my-prime)
And we be smokin that (la-lala-lala-lala)

Chorus:
Well uh-huh, well uh-huh girl I'm parked outside
And you know that it's sittin on chrome, chrome (uh-huh)
Hey, I'm just lookin for a pretty young thang
that uh, I can take home (take home)
Can we leave hurr (yeah) can we leave hurr (yeah)
Can we leave hurr (yeah) can we leave hurr - shorty can we
leave hurr (yeah) can we leave hurr (yeah)
Can we leave hurr (yeah) can we leave hurr (yeah)

(Na-nana-na, nana, nana, nana)
*repeat to fade*

Our Chosen Idea

The idea we have chosen for our music video is the Child Gangster idea. This seems like a really good idea bacause of all the hip hop themed music videos i have seen, none of them have a child as a main focus.
Though some do make references to children in the gangster genre conventions they do not have a whole storyline based around them.

So, we asked William Crooks, Andrews little brother, to be our main character. He agreed instanly to this propsal. We than asked his Mother if she could give us consent (as he is only 10 years old) she also agrred it was alright as long as we keep him safe under our supervision.

We then realised that we would need to use a "flashy" car as a representation of the good life. Andrews' Mother then told us that she will let us use her new Audi A4 for some of our shots when she is not using it.

We will also be needing baggy clothes for William to wear, he said that it would be alright to wear my clothes as they are bigger than his and it would save us money to use the resoources we already have instead of buying new ones.

So, upto now we have many of our main character, many clothes for him to wear and a car. We will now be looking into locations for our video to be filmed in and characters to be involved as extras.

Preperation

I forgot to mention in the earlier post that i have some baseball caps, which are iconic of the hip hop genre which i will be wearing and lending some to William.

Ideas Of Our Narrative

I am working with a friend, Andrew Crooks, and between us we came up with some ideas for our music video.

Our first idea consisted of a poker theme. By having the main character playing a game of poker we would be showing the aspects of wealth and confidence. After many thoughts we realised that this concept would not work as well as we thought due to the lyrics and we would not have the opportunity to express the Hip-Hop/ RnB genre.

Another idea we had was based around a training regime with the main character at home or in a gym training. When the main character begins training many extras come in a he breaks out into a performance, this desicion does not seem like a good idea because we could not find the right location for the performace part of the shoot.

We also came up with the idea of a music video showing the main character recording the track in a production booth. This seems like a good idea because of all the fellow Media student we have asked non of them have the same idea, so it would be a unique idea and it would really work well with the track we have chosen.

The final idea was concieved by Me and Andrew to have a child playing the role of a gangstger. Our main character will be shown to be living the life of a well successful superstar rap singer. So we will be using many of the conventions used in Hip Hop music videos.

Analysis Of A Music Video 3

This is the music video for 'I Tried' by Bone Thugs N Harmony (Ft. Akon). The song itself is about the struggle and troubles faced by the artists on their journey to fame.

The video starts with a shot of what appears to be an old, 'beaten up' basketball court that is covered in snow. From this shot we can clearly see that the place is abandoned because nobody can be seen and there are no foot prints in the snow either. The place does look very rough and dangerous, however, in the centre of the frame the sun is shining very brightly and could represent hope in this rough looking neighbourhood.

There are a few more shots to set the diagesis, all containing snow, there is also a pan across a metal fence. In juxtaposition with the snow it shows that the place in which the video is set is very cold. It could also represent the way the artists have been brought up - cold, treated unfairly. Some of the walls used in this opening sequence are graffitied up to support my opinion that it is a rough area. We hear the artists being introduced "Bone Thugs, Akon".

After the establishment of the diagesis we see close ups of the members of Bone Thugs N Harmony, the editing transitions are done in sync with the music. A street sign labelled E.99 and another labelled ST. CLAIR from these signs we know that the video is set in America. We also see a shot of Layzie Bone standing in front of a landmark which says Cleveland, the writing on the monument is shown in focus whereas the artist is out of focus, this is done so the audience can understand exactly where the video is based. Cleveland is also the place that most of the members form Bone Thugs were brought up and raised. So it seems as if they are going back to their childhood and perhaps reminisce what used to be.

Analysis Of A Music Video 2

The second video I have chosen to analyse is "Ruff Ryders Anthem" by DMX. I purposefully posted the clean version of the video due to the explicit lyrics that may offend people.

The main reason I chose to analyse this video is because of the baggy clothes that are worn by the rapper and the actors.

The opening shot is of two people on white motorbikes, on a city street, they are both wearing white T-Shirts. The use of the white colour shows that they are successful. the biker in the front is doing a wheelie to show that he is cool, the white T-Shirt he is wearing has an "R" logo on it, which can be recognised by fans as the Ruff Ryders logo.

The next shot has lots of people on motorbikes and quad bikes, most of these people are, again, wearing white T-Shirts branded with "Ruff Ryders" or the iconic "R" logo.

A few shots later the s people are shown training with weights outside, it almost seems as if they are in a prison, this could be to represent how they are used to the life in prison and have turned it into a lifestyle outside of prison. The fact that they are all male could also back this up.

At 1.22 of the video, we see the Ruff Ryders all stood around, scattered around the rapper DMX. The camera shot is a low angle shot to show the power of the Ruff Ryders in the music industry. DMX is standing on top of a wall, the wall conotates the strength and dominance he has over the Ruff Ryders,he is also higher than everybody else and this shows that he is the highest ranked person in this "crew". DMX is centre framed and all eyes are attracted towards his direction.

The Pit bull Dogs are in nearly all of DMX's videos, this is an icon of the rapper. In all of DMX's videos he barks like a dog and refers to the people he dislikes as cats. The Pit bull, closest to the camera, in the shot at 2.15 seems to be really aggressive while tearing apart a tyre. This aggressiveness could show that DMX himself is really aggressive and dangerous and likes things to be done his way.

Analysis Of A Music Video 1

The first video I am going to analyse is "We Made It" by Busta Rhymes, featuring Linkin Park.
The opening shot seems as if it has been shot from a helicopter, the location looks as if it is New York, we can recognise the location due to the high rise buildings and wide streets. The opening shot establishes the location.
The shot after is a medium close - up of a Louis Vuitton logo which is a big/expensive brand and would represent wealth. The camera slowly pans upwards to reveal a watch with diamonds on the face of it, again backing up the representation of wealth.
The shots are in a shot/reverse shot pattern for a while and the audience can see the non - diegetic writing that informs us who the artists are in the song/music video. During this Shot/Reverse Shot routine the artists are shown to the audience.
The location that is used for the introduction of Linkin Park looks like some sort of abandoned warehouse. On the other hand, the location used to introduce Busta Rhymes looks like a glamorous hotel room. This could show the contrast of the lives lived by people of different races many years back (the trashed up abandoned warehouse) to how they are living now (nice apartments).

After the introduction shots, another shot/reverse shot pattern appears showing the singers in the locations they were in. Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda is playing the piano and Chester Bennington sing the opening line of the song. The first verse of the song is sang by Busta Rhymes who is still in his apartment/room. The shot is a close up with the rapper positioned in the right side of the screen. The left side is empty and dark, this could have been done to connotate the emptiness in his early life and that he still remembers how bad it was.

"We Made It" was inspired by the problems faced by the Rapper T.I The the RnB/Hip - hop singer Akon. The song reflects on how far people of different races have come, from the lifestyle they had started with. The song also reflect on how Bust Rhymes' career had taken off. "See, how a Ni**a survived the worst but my life is glorious." this quote from the song tells the audience that Busta has been through lots of discrimination and is now at the best stages of his life.

"When it all got started we were steadily just getting reject and it seemed like nothing we could do would ever get us respected" - This is another quote from the song which could be interpreted as how people from other cultures and races did not fit in and therefore did not get the break they needed, to become successful, at the time racism was a big issue in society.

LIIAR Analysis Of Music Videos

Language: The language of music videos is what the product is trying to portray, to the viewer, through the use of Cinematography, Editing, Mise-en-Scene and Sound.
The cinematography uses lots of close ups of the artist/band to create voyeuristic pleasure for the audience.
The editing is in pace with the music, the shot changes with the beat, which makes the video a lot more effective.
The Mise-en-Scene is everything that is shown on screen, it is usually the artist/s that are shown in the foreground for voyeuristic pleasure, the background and props are usually placed to represent the lifestyle of the artist.
The sound in a music video is the background music and the artist's lyrics being sang. the lyrics can, most of the time, tell the audience what the song is about in general.
The language is used through the use of the technical aspects to communicate with the viewer.

Institution: The Record Labels are the companies/institutions that are responsible for signing Artists and releasing their tracks. Record labels produce, distribute and market the Artists and their products music wise. Record labels can be bought out by bigger record lables and usually become more successful.

Ideology: These are the ideas which the media wants to reach out to the audience, after the Haiti earthquake a lot of charity songs had been released which raised awareness to the public to donte and help the victims of such disaters. K'naan realeased a song about the Football World Cup, which let the audience know that Africa has made it into the tournament.

Audience: The audience are the people that consume the media, in this case it is music videos. The audience can be broken down into different groups, from age, gender, sexuality and mostly genre. Different music genres appeal to different types of people.
Music videos can and do appeal to every body all in different ways, for example; Jay Z released a song about black people being discriminated against, "99 Problems" reached out to many people (not just black) and eventually became a successful song.

Representation: This is the way the artist represents their way of living or even the struggle they have been through to get to the professional stage they are in now. Linkin Park collaborated with Busta Rhymes for a song called "We Made It" in which they sing and rap about the "struggle to the top" and how young singers can be as good as them if they had the right guidance.

History of Music Videos

The first ever music video was produced by Warner Brothers in 1930, music videos were called "musical short films", and each lasted approximately 6 minutes. These music videos were in Black and White due to the lack of technology.
Musical short films consisted of a variety of backgrounds and animations and the artist singing in the front.
The first ever music video series was called "Spooney Melodies". Spooney Melodies featured a range of artists vocalists and dancers.

In the 1940s promotional clips were introduced for the "Visual Jukebox" (The Panoram). These promotional clips were usually, approximately, 3 minutes long and were used/played in bars and cafes in big cities such as New York. After WW2 these Panoram videos became extinct due to the introduction of the Television.

The 1960s saw The Beatles release their first feature film to promote "A Hard Days Night" which was one of their upcoming chart hits at the time. A Hard Days Night was a mock documentary film, which had music videos throughout.
A US TV series "The Monkees" which featured the pop group The Monkees also included segments of Music Video to accompany various Monkees songs.

In the 1970s promotional clips became more and more popular, concert footage was being shown on TV to promote national artists and bands to get them recognised internationally.
In 1974, two Australian TV shows had aired, Countdown and Sounds, both of these TV shows, showed music videos all over Australia and even had artists perform on the show to gain popularity for the themselves and the shows.
In the late 1970s, British TV show, Top Of The Pops, began to show music videos.

1981 was a really extravagant year for music video due to MTV, MTV is an American video channel which began the Era of 24 hours-a-day of music videos.
The year of 1983 saw the most successful and influential music video of all time, which was Micheal Jackson's "Thriller" which was nearly 14 minutes long.

Since the year 2005, the Internet has become "Music video friendly" and anybody that has access to the Internet, also has access to any music video of their choice.