99 Problems music video analysis

We also analysed this video in class from which I found how the genre of a video and its representations require help from visual codes to set the narrative clearly for the audience. This will aid with making a music video which has a clear successful narrative which is an important element for music videos.  
Visual codes
The video clearly shows it has been set in Brooklyn by the iconic shot of its bridge and typical run down ghetto neighbourhood. There are also some signs which help highlight this through typography such as the ‘Brooklyn bridge’ sign. This had been used to signify the artists place of birth and because it is the origin of a lot of historical rap culture. As well as this it is a place strongly associated with violence and crime which relates to rap being a stereotypically crime related genre. In terms of composition, most of the shots place Jay Z in the centre of the frame making him appear to be the centre of attention and more important. Throughout the video a black and white colour scheme is used highlighting how everything he says is simple and as it is (black and white) as well as relating to the grittiness of the setting and theme.

Technical codes                                                                                                 

There is a very common use of low angle shots, particularly on the artist himself which give him a significance of importance and intimidation, following the common generic conventions of rap. Most of the video is shot using a hand held camera connoting the informal and gritty lifestyle of the urban setting. There are also lots of canted angle shots used to show this as well as well as representing anarchy and chaos, which relates to the stereotypical poor quality and gangster way of life. The editing uses mostly a fast pace and follows most of the song’s pace throughout the video following the common generic conventions.
Genre                                                                                                                                                                   The artist’s common genre is hip hop which is presented clearly throughout this video as a genre by the use of objectified women, fast cars and antisocial behaviour.
All of these are expected in the video because they are strong conventions of rap and common in the stereotypical gangster’s lifestyle.

Narrative

Like in most music videos, the clip has been used to reflect what is being said in the lyrics, for example when Jay Z talks about being stopped by the police and feeling like he is being discriminated for his black ethnicity. The link between the lyrics and video help highlight the point the artist is trying to make about the problems the large black community of Brooklyn are said to face. Also the lyrics and video follow the same gangster related theme.

Representation
Ethnicity is the most powerful representation in the video by the combination of an urban, run down environment with mostly black character’s implying black ethnic groups come from a lower class and poorer background. Also the use of visual elements like dog fights, gun crime and prisons are used to put across the stereotypical antisocial behaviour of black people, particularly in the hip-hop world. Gender is vaguely presented as women being objectified which is a common generic convention in rap videos. Women are seen mostly dancing in underwear which is generally associated with them being seen as objects of pleasure. This along with the lyrics saying “but the bitch ain't one” presents men as more dominant because they refer to women impersonally and are seen as owning them.

Audience                                                                                                                                                            Due to the rebellious and male dominated theme the main target audience for this music video would be teenage males who commonly enjoy the rap music genre. They may generally be people from a lower class background because of the low class setting presented throughout the video.
The video has been made so they can relate to it by the use of common occurrences in most lower class urban environments similar to Brooklyn such as dog fights, crime and black majority.

Organisations
The artist is sold mostly to people by his relatable appeal to the fan base and target audience which would be attracted to the hip hop theme the video strongly follows. The video would have been marketed through YouTube advertisement, TV broadcast on channels such as MTV and fan and personal profile pages, like twitter and Facebook, where the artist would promote the video himself to a mass of fans.