Analysing Existing Media Artefacts - Video

Logic - Young Sinatra III

The video I am analysing is for the song Young Sinatra III by Logic. The video was directed by GRVTY. The video for the song uses quite a lot of characteristics that are found in many other videos of that genre. These include the use of medium close ups of the artist rapping directly to the camera, and the use of fast paced shots that fit with the tempo of the music/lyrics.
The visuals in the video do not illustrate the lyrics of the song, however they are used to amplify the lyrics and make them more affective. For example, the artist uses strong hand/arm gestures and body movement to show his passion for the lyrics. Also the artist raps directly to the camera for almost the entire video which helps to keep the audience focused on the lyrics and keeps them engaged with the artist.

At the beginning of the video when there is no lyrics and the music is slower, the shot is shown in slow motion and then once the artist starts to rap and the music picks up, the shot comes out of slow motion. This use of slow motion effects helps to show the change in pace for the music. The shots occasionally cut to the beat of the song but they mostly either cut between lines or cut halfway through a line. This might have been done because cutting to the beat would have made the shots too fast paced and possibly quite boring because the beat stays the same throughout the song. The shots change very quickly which can make the video quite confusing to watch. The instrumental parts of the song are shown in the video through the use of shots that are the opposite to when he artist is rapping. Over the shoulder shots and shots of the artist from angles that aren't the front are used which are different to the shots of the artist facing the camera directly. The shots during the instrumentals are also slower paced and use a lot of the slow motion filter again which helps to mirror the pace of the music.

The main images of the artist used are medium close ups and close up shots and visuals of the artist doing hand gestures that show the artist as a person who is passionate about his lyrics and wants to emphasise the lyrics to the audience. These motifs are common throughout the artists other videos.

The video does not sexually display any people in the video which challenges a popular convention throughout rap music videos. Most rap music videos use sexualised images of women in order to attract the audience to the video and song. This video challenges this convention because it is not trying to attract the same audience. This video is trying to attract fans of a more modern style of rap music aimed at younger people around the ages of 15-25.

Intertextuality has been used clearly in this video because it uses a lot of features are common throughout other videos of this genre. Shots where the camera is moving around are very common in rap videos in comparison to stationary shots,especially when the artist is rapping directly to the camera. The grafitied walls/alleys used for the main setting of the video are also used frequently in other rap videos as they are a good symbol of rebellion or expression which are very common themes in rap. The costume of the artist consists of black coloured hoodies and jackets which are very common in other rap videos by Logic and also other rap artists from 90s who would also rap about themes like rebellion and expression.

The video is made up of all performance based shots which is common throughout other videos in the genre. This is done to keep the viewers engaged with the song and the lyrics rather than using a concept or narrative video which could lead to the viewers losing attention from the song itself.

There are a lot of features of this video that I would like to use for my video. The mid shots of the artist from the from the front rapping directly to the camera work really well for this genre of music. I also think that the pacing of the shots fits the music really well which gives me a very good idea of the length of shots that I would need to do. The setting is also very fitting for the video because it is quite a basic setting yet it is very representative of the lyrics and the genre.

To summarise this video, it is clear that this video does not challenge many of the conventions of a typical rap music video. It is a very basic video that doesn't use many complex shots and the video does not relate to the lyrics in many ways. However, it a very effective video for getting the audience to engage with the lyrics and creating an image for the artist.