First Filming Session

On the 7th of october, we began filming for our music video, following all the preparation and planning that we had done. We went to the top of hulme bridge, to film traffic from both sides as in our plan we had arranged a scene at this location. We aim to speed up the traffic for added effect and use it as a back drop for when the protagonist (Dominic) is singing. We then came back to college and began editing out initial scene using Adobe Final Cut Pro. In tuesday's and today's lesson we decided that we would complete the scenes we wanted inside the green room. Firstly we placed 3 cameras in their alternative positions and placed a grey/white backdrop behind the protagonist. We felt this would help us, as if later on if we wanted to use Chroma key which gives us the ability to put the protagonist in front of a location that was filmed at a latter date this would be possible. We used the three different cameras to alternate the shots as we cut to the beat. We also dimmed the lights for added effect. Lip-synching was also vitally important and we managed to film the whole song in the green room. Lip-synching and performance is often the "the meat" of the typical music video, as it used to promote and the artist and his album to the music world. It is often seen as the integral part of the video, and poor performance would give a negative perception of the artist and "spoil" their reputation. Although the whole song will not involve the footage we filmed in the green room, we felt that we would alternate with the protagonist, narrating the story and acting at the same time. It is important to film the whole song in the green room as a back-up incase we find any gaps to fill in our timeline.

Detailed Analysis of Snoop Dogg - Vato

We decided to do a detailed analysis of "Snoop Dogg - Vato" to assist us with the preparation and production of our music video. The video begins with Snoop Dogg narrating the story with a panning shot and then moves to him using a voice over whilst also being the main protagonist. As he speaking, in the story he is approached by 4 men in full black clothing, black caps and we are unable to see there faces. This is a typical stereotype for gangsters as they are seen around the world to wear black clothing and are in groups. A handheld camera is used to add effect and is taken from various angles and combined to create the feeling of a real life situation. A new man slowly driving past in his car is introduced into video and he is sitting back in his seat relaxed, with 1 hand on the steering wheel and the other hand on the passenger seat. This possibly implies that he is a friend or knows who the protagonist is. The next shot is a point of view shot of the second actor and intends to show him driving right past.

As the protagonist opens the trunk the “gangsters” run away and the beat kicks in and Snoop Dogg starts to rap and continue the story. This indicates that he possibly displayed a gun which was in the trunk and this is what caused the 4 men to run. The protagonist refers to the men as “ lil’ G’s ” showing that he just thinks of them as “wannabe gangsters”. Whilst the men run for their lives as soon as they see danger, the protagonist coolly walks down the street without breaking a sweat. A close up of his face clearly showing his ear studs is followed by a upper body shot of him spinning his medallion whilst he is also wearing a watch and rings. This is another association given to gangsters as they are almost always shown to be wearing bling.

The next scene is showing Snoop Dogg catching up with one of the guys and attacking him, which causes him to fall. This is all a bit theatrical as he was only walking whilst the man was running yet he has already been chased down, this could be symbolizing the power of Snoop Dogg. There is then a crosscut between the violence of the protagonist and the 2^nd actor, taking his eyes away from the road and turning around to look at the protagonist whilst frowning. This could be emphasizing the possible disapproval of the violence shown towards the man.

The second actor is then shown to be meeting with friends of his whilst they are playing a game. His presence disrupts their game, which could be showing a sense of respect for him and he starts to narrate the story so far. A number of shots from different angles portrays him as the focus of the camera as he begins to rap and the protagonist also utters a few words in agreement. Although he was just in the camera for a few seconds, the protagonist clearly shows his confidence by coming up to camera. As the 2^nd actor brings the story up to date a parody is used to mock a real gunshot as it is exaggerated in a cartoon like manner. As the man is hit, there is a very quick stop motion image of him with his hands up and falling to imply that he has been hit. A close up of the protagonists is then shown as he is talking to the man saying, “ run, duck… ”. His face shows complete calmness and no distress although after having just shot a man. This could be showing the possibility that this is not the first time this has happened.

As he moves on to the next man, he is shown to be again walking with the added effect of slow motion using transitional effects whilst the other man is running. This displays the contrasting moods between the 2 with the man showing a sense of anxiety whilst calm and emotionless whilst also having a intimidating presence. Again chasing the man down and shooting him he moves onto the next one and catches him whilst the video is in slow motion again and shoots him. This scene implies the criminal activities of the protagonist that he could kill people with such ease and without any difficulty.

As he resumes rapping he displays a slight regret of the shootings although it is not significant, and is then picked up by a friend. The protagonist is then shown running which for the first time in the implies a sense of urgency to escape the scene of the crime although he is then shown smiling with his friend in the car. In his lyrics he then says he is going to visit his mother, however police are seen patrolling outside his house, possibly hinting that any sign of criminal activity and the protagonist is the initial suspect, which further shows his role as a gangster. Other youths “gangsters”, are then shown running with the added effect of a handheld camera, while the protagonist is just shown relaxed and chilled out with his back to a wall.

Following this the second actor is shown again narrating the story to another one of his friends from the start through his rapping. A clip of the two actors is now seen as they are rapping together, and when the theatrical gunshot is heard. The words are shown literally coming out of the protagonist’s mouth letter by letter and enlarging as they come out. The protagonist is now shown in a dark room and then a man behind a glass window appears. This could mean he has been arrested and is now in jail, and for one of the first times in the video the protagonist’s eyes show a sense of fear. However almost straight away after this, he is seen with a group of vast amount of black people both male and female, which could be attempting to show he is part of a gang or has a lot of friends with connections. The other actor is then shown standing opposite, similarly to the protagonist, but the people standing with him are of white or Mexican descent. There is then a low angle shot showing both actors with their gangs and a war or fight looks inevitable. But the two actors then shake hands as if they are friends. They then for the first time begin rapping and dancing together in the same scene with their respective groups.

The scene once again reverts to the original scene of the protagonist being surrounded by the men and opening the trunk. The use of images is used again in the chorus referring to the theatrical gunshot, and the protagonist is seen smoking a Cuban cigar, which again is a stereotype of a gangster, as it is believed they lead lush lifestyles and are rich. A new member is then seen with the protagonist hinting that in real life he may be a part of his “crew”, or is a friend of his. The prison scene is then resumed as the soundtrack of the song ends, and a shot reverse shot and a close up of the protagonist and the police officer is shown. The two characters exchange a couple of words and an over-the-shoulder shot is shown to great effect as the protagonist gets up. The video then fades out to black and leaves us at a cliffhanger.

Through the analysis we have written and through elaborating between us we understood that the video is both a narrative and performance video and there is no disjuncture is involved, as throughout the video the video is seen acting in the scene and immediately after this is seen rapping at a different location. The scenes occurring in the video are also relevant to the lyrics due to the fact that as the story unfolds, we become more involved with the video. The performance of the actors is also incredibly important, as when they are narrating, their lip-syncing must be perfect and a variety of different shots are used. As previously mentioned the editing of the video involves very quick cuts, which is not unusual for videos in the Hip-hop/Gangster Rap industry

Lyrics

[Verse 1]

I woke up out dat coma, 2000 and 1
Bout the same time Dre dropped 2000 and 1
Three years later the album is done
Aftermath presents: N**** Witta Attitude Volume 1
Rap critics politicin
Wanna know the outcome!
Ready to die, Reasonable Doubt and Doggystyle in one
I feel like Pac, after the Snoop Dogg trial was done
Dre behind the G-Series and All Eyez On Me
I watched the death of a dynasty!
So I told Vibe Magazine
Workin' with Dr.Dre was a "DREAM!"
I had visions of makin' a classic
Then my wall turned black,like I was starin outa Stevie Wonders glasses
It's kinda hard to imagine,like Kanye West
Comin back from a fatal accident, to beat makin' and rappin'
But, we da future
Whitney Houston told me that, it's gon take mo' than a bullet in the heart to hold me back

[Hook]
Blushin' in this 40 ounce
Lettin the ink from my pen bleed
Cuz Marthin Luther King had a "DREAM!"
Aaliyah had a "DREAM!"
Left Eye had a "DREAM!"
So I reached out to Kanye and "brough you all my dreeam!"

[Sample playin "It's cuz I love you!"]

[Verse 2]
I had dreams of f*****' an R'n'B bitch like Mya
When I saw dat a** on a front of that King
Read the article in a magazine
She loved gangsters, loved nasty things
So I'm the glass house havin' nasty dreams!
Good girls neva' give it up
But anything is possible ,if 50 f***** Vivica
Hurdled life's obstacles,found my way through the maze
Then joy turned to pain like, Frankie Beverly and Maze
Used to dream about bein' Unsigned Hype
Till I was crushed my Dave Mase, almost let my pen fall asleep on a page
Daydreamin' yesterday
Dozin' on offback stage
I tought I saw Eazy talkin' to Jam Master Jay
So I walked over heard Jam Master say
It's a hardknock life, then you pass away
They say sleep is the cousin' of death
So my eyes wide open cuz a dream is kin to ya last breath

[Hook]
Blushin' in this 40 ounce
Lettin' the ink from my pen bleed
Cuz Marthin Luther King had a "DREAM!"
Aalyah had a "DREAM!"
Left Eye had a "DREAM!"
So I reached out to Kanye and "brought you all my dream!"

[Sample playin "It's cuz I love you!"]

[Verse 3]
The Dream of Huey Newton, that's what I'm livin' through
The Dream of Eric Wright, that's what I'm givin' you!
Who walk through the Whitehouse without a business suit?
Compton had Jerry Curl drippin' on Ronald Reagans shoes
Gave Mike Lim my demo came here to pay my dues
Started of with Whoo Kid then I started blazin' Clue
It was all a Dream like BIG said it be
Don't sleep on me homie I bring nightmares to reality
Rap Phenomenon defyin' the rulez of gravity
Studied all the classic start revisin my strategy
Cuz Marshall Mathers made it
Curtis Jackson made it
Head in the clouds wonderin where the hell Marvin Gaye went?
How do I say this, I'm livin' for my son but I can't figure out, why I'm at my temple with this gun
Wake up to a Jesus Piece like a Catholic Nun
The War to be a rap legend has just begun

[Hook]
Blushin' in this 40 ounce
Lettin' the ink from my pen bleed
Cuz Marthin Luther King had a "DREAM!"
Aalyah had a "DREAM!"
Left Eye had a "DREAM!"
So I reached out to Kanye and "you are my dreeam!"

[Sample playin "It's cuz I love you!

In the music video there were a few expletives but this is common in this type of music genre ( hip hop). We decided to do a radio edit where we would mute these expletives so that it would be suitable to play during the daytime. We had agreed to film a music video in the hip hop industry but struggled to find a song that didnt have offensive language. In the lyrics the word N**** is used which was a word that was commonly used as a racist term for people of african origin. This word is still used today as a offensive remark but is also used by many black people to show togetherness in their communities.

Hook Act

"Lettin' the ink from My pen bleed"

SET : White backdrop and a Table and chair in front.

COSTUME : Preferably a white shirt or a gray hoodie together with a red cap to enhance the shot and give it more definition.

ACT : Rapper sitting on a chair attempting to write on a piece of white paper but at the last moment realizes his pen is "bleeding".

"Cuz Martin Luther had a dream, Aliyah had a Dream, Left Eye had a dream"

SET : Urban area, a brick grungy wall as the background.

COSTUME : Black shirt or hoddie or a black leather Jacket with some form of obvious jewelry.

ACT : Rapper at the left side of the screen in front of a graffitied wall with the picture of

Martin Luther King sliding into the shot from the left of the screen

" So I reached out to Kanye and and brought you all My dreams"

SET : Isolated Area

COSTUME : White/Cream Suit

ACT : Rapper on a vehicle reaching for the clouds

We intend not to repeat this sequence because we want to avoid any repetition. So we came up with a different sequence for the same section of the song. There are two people in the shot at the same time and behind them is a plain white back drop to brighten the shot and give it a soft soul look. Added effects include a continuous cross fade between the two characters. We used 3 cameras and positioned in different places so we could have different shots we could refer to and save us time instead of recording the full song in the same location but at different angles which would be a hassle. A lot of planning went into the lighting, because we were filming part of the shot in the dark we had to take control of the shadows most of the time we had to position the light set so the shadows wont be in view of the camera, all this to give a professional touch to the shot.

Planning Process Of Video Production

During the planning process for our video production we have had many discussions about how our video should start, what will happen through out the video and how the video will end. The first idea we came up with for the start of the video was that the main character dies from being fatally shot and goes into a dream. However we decided that this would possibly be too long to fit into the start of the video. The idea that we came up with next was that the main character will be sat in his house playing on his game console but then falls asleep. We then started elaborating on this idea by the character going into a dream after falling asleep and then waking up in the dream on his bedroom floor. This is the idea we decided that we should use. When we began talking about the middle section of the video we found that is would be easier if we decided on how the video would end and then link that back to the middle section. We came up with the idea that the main character would open up a door and a extremely bright light appears then the screen would go white and he would return back to reality.