lyrics analysis

Lyrics analysis
This song is sung by Haydon and wretch 32, wretch 32 is a predominantly grime artist whereas Haydon is an RnB artist. The main performer of the song is wretch 32, he is discussing his relationship in this song. Wretch 32 has made many songs about his love life; this is one of his more famous ones. He is an unsigned artist who is relatively well known in the Grime scene.
The opening verse of the lyrics of the song, reaffirm that this is a love song, as the Haydon singer says “Me and you”. This shows that this singer is talking about a relationship with a girl, as very few if any grime songs are based on homosexual relationships. We then here wretch 32 explain that he will not leave his girl, this represents him as caring which I think our group will have to take into consideration when thinking of how we will represent the main male performer. Wretch 32 then describes the reasons as to why his girlfriend likes him, e.g. he says,”with my smile she can’t stay mad at me”. This represents the artist as confident and comfortable with himself, this is a stereotypical representation of grime and hip hop artists. This alpha male representation is something our group will try to mediate in our music video. The fact that wretch then says “my egos a problem, were working around”, shows that he is aware of his over confidence and need to please, which is unconventional representation of a grime artist, giving our group a option to make the main performer less conventional. The mentioning of another male suggests that there may be a love triangle involved, which is a theme that we may also be able to incorporate into our music video.
In the next verse wretch wretch 32 shows that he is committed to his relationship, as he mentions the idea of marriage in the lyric, “i can put a ring around your finger”, this is also an unconventional representation of a grime/ hip hop artist as they are normally represented as disrespectful towards women. The chorus then plays where we hear the singer Haydon, expressing his care for his partner. He says, “you, words can’t describe”, this a quite stereotypical representation of an rnB singer as these type of lyrics are commonly seen in RnB music videos.
In the next verse we hear the artist wretch 32 acting like a alpha male once again, as he shows his supposed authority over his girlfriend. He says, “She knows what the rules allow”, here wretch 32 is claiming that there are certain rules which his girlfriend must abide by, making him look like the more superior in the relationship. The representations of wretch 32 we see in this verse reflect the stereotypical representation of grime artist in music videos. We are also given this impression of wretch 32 in the following lyrics where he says “money ain’t a Thing”, here he shows off that he is reasonably wealthy. This is commonly done by grime and Hip Hop artist, two very similar genres, as this is a genre in which artists are very money motivated and like to show their wealth and success.
In the next verse we here wretch 32 assert his affection for his girl, he says, “she makes me smile on a rainy day”. This lyric once again represents wretch 32 as a caring and affectionate person, especially towards his girlfriend. Here wretch 32 is not being represented as a stereotypical grime artist as grime artist tend to be portrayed as “tough guys” , who are not very emotional. We also her from wretch 32 in this verse that he in the past was with a lot of girls but has matured and changed his ways, he says, “ girls come and go, I’m tired of the campaign”. This lyric shows that wretch 32 is trying to settle down and commit to one girl.
In the next verse we hear Haydon proclaim his affection for his own girlfriend, just as wretch 32 had done previously. This is a conventional representation of RnB artists and something the audiences would expect. He says, “all I need is your touch”, which shows that Haydon is very passionate. The song ends with wretch repeating “all i need is you baby”, this ending is similar to the opening of the song in that it makes it clear that the songs main theme is love.
Overall, we can say that this song is represents the main artist both conventionally and unconventionally considering the genre of the song. There are some verse where the artist, wretch 32 is represented as caring and affectionate, which is not a stereotypical representation of grime artists. However, there are also verses where wretch 32 is represented as a macho alpha male and the more superior in the relationship. The two different sides to wretch 32 identified in the lyrics shows that in our music video we can have some creative freedom considering the fact that it is a grime song. Our group will also consider making the artist less stereotypical considering the lyrics are allowing us to, also this will help us to make our music video more original.

Narrative theories

Tzvetan todorov- equilibruim


All stories start in a state of equilibruim, which is then disrupted, setting in a motion of chain events. The resolution of the story is the creation of a new/different equilibruim.





Equilibruim>Disruption>Resolution/ Re-equilibruim


This narrative structure can be found in most Hollywood films.





Vladimir Prop

• Propp was essentially interested in the narrative of folk tales. He identified a theory about folk tales being similar in many areas.



• They were about the same basic struggles and they appeared to have "stock characters".



• He identified a theory about characters and actions as narrative functions; they provide structure for the texts.



• The Hero- a character that seeks something



• The Villian- who opposes or actively blocks the hero's quest



• The Donor- Who provides an object with majical properties



• The Dispatcher- who sends the hero on his/her quest via a message


• The false hero- who disrupts the hero's success by making false claim


• The Helper- who aids the hero.


• The Princess- acts as the reward for the hero and the object of the villains plot


• Her father- who acts to reward the hero for his effort

These characters appear in many mainstream Hollywood films.

Claude Levi -strauss: Binary Oppositions

Meanings, include narrative, depend on binary oppositions - he explores these in terms of underlying typical themes rather than events. Conflict helps to drive the narrative.

Man vs Woman, Young vs Old, hero vs villian, West vs East, Good vs Bad.

questions for Vox pox

1) What do you think will and wont work with this song?

2) What do you expect to see in a music video of this genre?

3) Which music TV channels would you expect to see this music video on?

4) Why do you watch music videos?

5) What themes or narrative's do you expect too see in a music video?

6) How do you think a male performer in this music video should presented?

7) Do you like to see some effects in a music video and what kind?

production skills

Camera techniques

• Framing:- where people, props etc. are placed within the frame (the composition)


• Angles:- high angle / birds eye view (filmed from above)


• Aerial shot (filmed from a helicopter)


• Low angle/ worms eye view (filmed from blow)


• Movement- pan/ panning (camera moves on pivot lef, right)


• Tilt - camera moves up or down on its pivot (pan up/ down)


• Track / tracking shot -(camera attached to moving object to follow the action)


• Zoom - camera moves in on an object / moves out from the object


• Short take- shot lasts for a short time


• long take -camera lingers on the frame

Editing: cutting and splicing the footag to create the finished text.

Editing techniques

• Quick cuts:- shot moves rapidly from one frame / shot to the next


• fade:- one shot fades away to black and the next shot fades in


• Dissolve:- one shot fades out as the next shot simultanously fades in


• Wipe:- a shot is literally wipped off the screen by another


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  Slow motion:- a sequence is slowed down


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  Fast motion:- a sequence is sped up


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  Stop motion:- a series of still shots or drawings etc. are taken with a still camera and mixed into a moving image programme to create a digital animation sequence

Feedback

Mase, your textual analysis pieces are detailed and intelligent - well done. You have also included research into the key theoretical perspectives. You now need to provide evidence of planning work e.g. initial ideas and evidence of storyboarding.

production log

So far i have completed the textual analysis, quantative research, further research and found a song. I am now along with my group hoping to find a actor for our music video who is over 21 and looks mature enough for our RNB, soul music video. We are also looking to complete our storyboard and analysis of song lyrics together. Our group has also delagated tasks to one another to help complete all our research and planning.

Post modernism analysis

Post-Modernism textual analysis
Lady gaga- “paparazzi”
The music video “paparazzi” is performed by Lady Gaga and directed by Jonas Akerlund. The music video is relatively new having officially been released in July 2009. The music video is both narrative and performance based; the narrative is based around the Lady Gaga’s rise to fame and relationship with her boyfriend. The video has many post-modernist features such as Homage/pastiche, intertextuality, binary divisions and references to popular culture.

The music video begins with close ups of flowers and then a cut to a LA mansion. The LA mansion may remind some audiences of those in the TV series Sunset Boulevard (1950); this is an example of intertexual reference. This may give some viewers pleasure if they are able to understand this intertextual reference; it also represents lady Gaga as a creative artist. The close up of flowers in the opening scenes connote innocence and purity, this may be the way that Lady Gaga is trying to portray herself at the start of the music video. There is also an opening title sequence in this music video at the start; this is an unconventional feature of a Pop/Dance music video. The opening title sequence is a feature of classic Hollywood music videos which maybe a hint to audiences that this music video contains a narrative, this is also an example of pastiche. Next we see a mid shot of a flower with lady Gaga written next to it, this further reinforces that Lady Gaga may be trying represent herself as pure and innocent.

Next there is a cut to the main bedroom of the Hollywood mansion, where we see Lady gaga and her boyfriend making love. There is still no music being played which is unconventional of Pop/ Dance music videos but expected in Post Modernist music videos as these videos are more reliant on style and not the content of the music video. Lady Gaga and her boyfriend move to the balcony where her boyfriend pushes her off. This shows that the narrative of the music video is going to revolve around Lady Gaga and her boyfriend’s relationship.

We then cut to the next example of homage, this time of Alfred Hitchcock’s film “vertigo”. Homage is commonly used in this music video for the audience’s pleasure as those who can understand them will appreciate the music video more. Next there is a cut to the first scene where music is being played in, this scenes shows a lady Gaga pull up in a limo in front of her house. Here we finally see a conventional feature of Pop/Dance music videos, which is back up dancers. This scene leads on to the first piece of binary division in the music video, which is lady Gaga’s robot costume making her look half human and half machine. It could also be argued that intertexuality is being used in this scene as Lady gaga looks similar in this scene to the fembot character in, “Metropolis”. Some auduience may gain pleasure from this scene especially if they are fans of this well known film.

The next scene is of lady gaga and female back up dancers, in this scene lady Gaga is showing off her dancing talents. Her costume in this scene is very unusual which may interest those who are into fashion, as Lady Gaga to some may be seen as a fashion icon. Here costume in the next scene is very interesting as she is wearing minie mouse costume and glasses. Here Lady Gaga is making reference to popular culture and maybe declaring her intentions of becoming an icon like Minie mouse. Referencing to popular culture is a stereotypical feature of postmodernist music videos.

Next we see another Post modernist feature of this music video which is blurring of fiction and reality. This occurs in the next scene where the audience are lead to believe that Lady Gaga is getting arrested for the murderer of her boyfriend, which is fiction. The reality which is shown in the next scene is the media attention and press (newspaper headlines shown in video) she gets as a celebrity. The music video ends in a stereotypical Hollywood film style, with the words “the end”.

Overall, we can say that this is music video makes use of many post modernist features which provide audiences who can understand them pleasure. The blurring of fiction and reality may also provide some viewers a form of escapism from everyday life, as they are drawn into someone elses life forgetting about theirs for a while. However, those who are unable to understand the use of homage and intertextuality in this video due to age are left to enjoy the music, dancing and fashion costumes. For this reason I believe this video does very well in attracting large audiences from a range of ages and interests.