Lupe fiasco - Words I never said analysis

The video responds to the music in a very illustrative way. The title 'words I never said' is about things that are wrong and people should speak up about but don't, this is shown through the image on the bus with the people on the bus being gagged as if they cant speak.

This video isn't a generic rap video as its not all about the money and the lifestyle rappers live. It has more of a meaning, but the video still responds to the music like other rap video's. He talks about the Gaza strip
and then it shows the fighting that is going on in the Gaza strip.


 The video follows quite a clear narrative, people dont speak up when they should about things that are wrong. We see Lupe on the bus talking about the wars thats are wrong which is breaking the norm so is arrested by the police. This follows the narrative that people dont speak up for things that are wrong as he is arrested for breaking the norm which everyone should be expressing their opinions on. He uses irony to show that people dont speak the truth and are afraid to, by being arrested he shows that its so unusual it's almost a crime. Even the police are wearing gas mask's as they're silent about what is happening and not fighting for whats

right and are almost like robots and just follow orders.

The star is presenting a pretty grim picture of what the worlds actually like and is very powerful, he does this through the images that respond to the lyrics of all the fighting and that nobody will speak up about all that is wrong. Lupe prides himself of not being like other rappers from gangs, taking drugs using guns and gettin involved with crime. I grew up in the hood around prostitutes, drug dealers, killers, and gangbangers but I also grew up juxtaposed: On the doorknob outside of our apartment, there was blood from some guy who got shot; but inside, there was National Geographic magazines and encyclopedias and a little library bookshelf situation. And we didn't have cable, so we didn't have the luxury of having our brains washed by MTV. We watched public television – cooking shows and stuff like that." This fits in with the video as it shows he was from an unstable upbringing but managed to get through and believes people should say what they believe and be better people which is whats conveyed from the music video so i believe it fits in with his star image.

The background is dark and uncolourful which fits in with the image of the world being silent and nobody stands out to say what is right. The mise en scene also conveys this message as they're all in dark colours, Lupe is wearing dark colours as he wants to blend in because what he is doing is 'wrong'. This is shown with the way he walks on the bus with his head down and hood up.

The editing is fast with over 60 shots per minute which fits in with the music and most rap videos. The editor uses lots of p.o.v shots to show how Lupe see's the world and how he views people and the things that are going on.

The video is amplifying as it responds to the music and makes the song complete, the lyrics are powerful as they're about real issues but the video adds another layer to the song.

50 cent - Candy Shop analysis

The visuals are quite illustrative and generic of rap music, you see the male gaze throughout the video and the visual of the mansion being shown as the rap artist being flash and rich showing they've made it. It's illustrative and quite literal when it says 'it's a race to see who can get undressed quicker' and then shows him undressed.

Throughout the chorus its focused mainly on 50 cent and then through the verses see's the girls and the mansion.

It follows the narrative of a dream, and how he see's 'candy' as girls and not the sweets. The dream is shown through slow motion shots and slow camera movement, and we later find out he's dreaming about the girl who's serving him. The story isn't complete as it tries to make you imagine as if you were there and what it would be like. The narrative reinforce's his image of being successful and rich, by showing the flash cars and the 'bling'. It also show's off his 'G-unit' brand, showing the trainers, cap and jacket. It also shows him in a big fur coat again giving the persona that he is rich and powerful, and then later with his top off giving us the sense that he is a strong powerful male.

The video also suggests he's powerful through the way he walks into the mansion and can go wherever he likes and do what he wants. He wants the audience to believe he is very seductive by showing himself with loads of different girls who just come up to him.

The cinematography shows lots of point of view shot in the eyes of 50 cent looking at the girls. The shots are mainly slow motion however the editing is fast with over 50 shots per minute.

The  video is amplified as it's not literally about candy, but does represent what he sees as candy so not disjunctive.

Post-production

The editing this year was easier than last as I was familiar with the edit software so I knew what the tools did and how to use it. However getting the lip sync perfect was difficult and took time. It was made easier using the different layers of video's as it meant you could get the shot in the right place before cutting it down and then dragging them all onto video 1 and putting the video together. The razor tool was probably most useful as this meant you could split the shot up and take parts out of it, rather than have to repeatedly cut the shot to the point you want and then if you needed another part of that shot have to drag it down again and cut it all again.

Production

During this task I learnt the importance of having a shot list and storyboard, these are important as it allows you to know what shots need to be filmed and you can tick them off as you do them so you know they have been filmed. Also during the editing of the video having the storyboard made it easier to know which shots go in which order. Next time I would choose the order of the shots more carefully and not necessarily shoot in chronological order.

Digital technology

This year using the camera and edit suite was slightly easier as I was familiar with it from last year. However last year the edit was all done on video1 and just a case of cutting shots and making sure they were in the right place. This year I used video 2 as well, this meant I could get the lip sync right and then cut the bits off the shot that needed to be so it all fit in the correct places before dragging them to video 1 so they were all together.

Research and planning

We did several different types of planning and research, we created shot lists, storyboards and prop lists. This meant we knew exactly what shots needed to be filmed and what meant we could work out what order was best to film them in. It also meant everyone knew exactly what they needed to do. I think the story board was the most useful thing as it meant you had a visual idea of what the shot should look like.

Introduction

Since the start of the year we have done 2 lip sync exercises, one which i did total eclipse of the heart and then we remade the first 46seconds of busted.

shot list....

schedule

Schedule Plan

SHOTS	TIME
-Filming Charlie	TURSDAY
- Close up of the teacher walking - Close up of teachers eyes - Turning off light switch - Writing on the board	THURSDAY
-Filming Matt	FRIDAY
-Filming other band member	FRIDAY
-Filming Animals	FRIDAY

Risk assesment

Health and Safety Risk Assessment

Potential Danger	Potential Outcomes	Action to avoid potential risk
Tripping over tripod legs	Minor or serious injury	Be aware of tripod legs and positioning
Tripping in the dark	Minor  or serious injury	Being vigilant and aware of where props (e.g table legs) are in low lit situations.
Projector light	Eyesight could be damaged	All group members should be aware of projector light and not look directly into the light.

Matt will be in charge of making sure everyone is aware of the dangers throughout the filming process. 

Cast

Busted -
        Pas
        Matt
        Josh
Teacher - Paige
Random girl - Zoe

Props

Books + Folders
School uniform
teacher clothes + high heels
Tennis rackets