Music Promo Analysis & Evaluation 1

 1. There is a relationship between the lyrics and visuals, with the visuals illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the lyrics.

The song Underdog by Hus is about him getting through life without caring what others think about him and he want's too succeed by also being the best person he can be. The lyrics 'I can never stop chasing my dreams because progression is my obsession' shows how much he wants to focus on doing well with his career and being able to do the stuff he wants to do in life. From reading the lyrics, I can sense the tone is quite chill and relaxed as the style is rap so some words at the end of sentences rhyme with other words. With it being at Hus wanting to succeed in life, it can be motivational to listen too as other people want to be like that as well. The 'look' of the music video does suit the themes because the themes are progression and ambition, so in the music video we see the artist Hus rapping passionately because the lyrics mean a lot to him and want's the audience to know what he wants in life for example 'I cant wait till the day I can give my mum 10K'. 

Technically, there isn't a narrative to this music video as the artist Hus is performing in it. We wanted the artist Hus to sing to his lyrics so it comes across to the audience how important they are too him and so it is like he is telling them directly how much he want's to succeed in life which fits in with the theme ambition and progression. At some points in the video, Hus shows an action that relates to the lyrics he is saying. For example, at one point Hus say's 'Where's my crown?' while pointing with both hands to the top of his head where a crown would go. This indicates to the audience that the lyrics and the music video have direct relationship together as they are both in-sync as the actions express what the lyrics means. 

2. There is a relationship between the music and visuals, with the visual illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the lyrics.

While watching the music video Underdog, I can clearly see the editing is in time with the music and singing because the artist Hus moves his lips to the words in the correct time. I made sure when I edited the footage that it was in time because I wanted it too look as professional as possible. I would say the music video is easy going. What I mean by easy going is that is easy to follow and watch the music video as not too much happens as it's just Hus performing. Although, the audience does get to see some of the fun side too Hus as some footage is of him messing around. I think this compliments the video and the lyrics because he is still taken as a serious artist but also as a fun person which will make the audience like him. All of this sets the tone of the music video to being serious but also fun and calming. This is reflected in the music video by seeing Hus pulling funny faces to the camera as he is a fun person. 

I think it isn't contradictory as the music is quite calm to listen too because I see it as a song you would listen too whilst on a journey or walking as you can properly listen to the lyrics during those times. But comparing the lyrics too the music video, the relationship between them is very strong ass they are both calm and enjoyable to wat h and listen too. I think they are both calm because Hus raps the song in a gentle voice and the visuals from the music video aren't too much too take in for the eye as in with the editing aspect. 

3. Genres are complex and diverse in terms of music video style and iconography.

The genre of the song Underdog is rap. With this type of music, the codes and conventions/expectation from the audience will be that they want too see the artist in the music video. This is because most music video's of the genre rap, will be having the artist lip syncing throughout it whilst having fun or doing something dangerous to make it more exciting to watch. The audience expects too see a lot of colours edited within the music video just because it makes it visually pleasing to the eye for them to watch as a lot of music videos of this genre does this. This can be by just making the colours more vibrant or changing the colour of the sky, sea, clouds etc. For example, the artist Lil Uzi Vert is a rapper and he did a music video to his song XO Tour Lli3 which had visuals of different coloured sky's and bath water. This is very eye catching to the audience which is why it inspired for me to do it. With my music video I changed the colour of the sky in a number of different shots. 

I researched other artists of the genre rap, and discovered that the mise-en-scene in them are all very similar. For example, most of them would be filmed outside with the sky in the background a lot and with the artists in almost every shot. Also, they use a lot of the same props like cars, gadgets and jewellery too show how wealthy they are. I noticed in a lot of the music videos the camera angles and movement are the same. Close-ups and mid-shots are used a lot through out rap music video's because the artist is performing in them most of the time. Low angle's are also common in these types of video's as it gives off the impression to the audience that the artist/performer is high up in the world as it shows them looking down to the camera as though they are important and successful. I found the music video

Under The Sun by Dreamville use a lot of low-camera angles which I took and used for my music video. 

4. Record companies will demand a lot of close-ups of their star/performers.

The artist Hus from my music video is represented as serious but also fun at the same time. The audience see's Hus as a serious artist because in the music video Underdog, Hus is performing to camera lip syncing to the lyrics. Him doing this shows how passionate he is about the words he is rapping which implies to the audience how much he want's to become successful in his career as he is taking it seriously. The micro-elements used help to make the artist come across as serious because of the use of the camera work and costumes. With the camera angle, I explained before that I used low-angle shots to show the artist is powerful and high up in the world as it makes him look down to the camera. This goes the same with the costumes as what he wears does make him look successful because he wears expensive jewellery and designer clothes. 

The fun side of Hus is shown in small clips dotted throughout the music video. This is shown through the performance Hus does. At some points Hus dances randomly as though he is not being filmed which lets the audience feel they know how he is off camera. He also laughs and smiles during some clips because he can't keep a straight face for too long. Essentially those type of clips are bloopers but I left them in too show Hus has a laugh which lets the audience connect to him more as they see what he is really like as a person and will also make them like him more.

5.  Voyeurism

Some clips of the music video does show a voyeuristic nature to the audience. These clips are those that show the artist having fun but without realising he is being filmed. For example he dances to the music as though he doesn't care what anyone think which relates to the song because it's about him succeeding and not caring what others think. This is voyeurism because the audience can see what Hus is really like off camera which isn't often shown in music videos. A stronger connection from the audience to Hus is made by this because they feel like they know him more in a good way which is good for his representation. 

Another time voyeurism is taken place, is when the artist is chilling in his chair with his hood up and feet up on the table. This represents a voyeuristic nature because it allows the audience too see Hus in a relaxed mood with no care in the world due to the way he is sat. It isn't often for artists to be seen like this because their jobs are very busy and can be stressful so Hus is relaxing in this shot too show that it can be tiring and so he just want's too relax sometimes and take a break from the world. This sends a message to the audience that it isn't bad to relax and focus on yourself sometimes as self-care is very important physically and mentally. This represents Hus in a good way because he is caring about himself and others by sending out am important message which a lot of artists do as it makes their representation on themselves good.

6. There are likely to be intertextual references to other music videos, TV shows, books, movies, games etc. 

While watching the music video Underdog I created, I feel as though I am connected to the artist Hus as he performs in it while expressing his feelings/emotions. He feels very passionate about his music as he writes his own songs so his thoughts are shared with the audience. No other media is referred in the video because it's unique with how personal it is to the artist. I've seen this treatment done before with many rappers because rappers express their feelings and thoughts in their music videos. One rapper that comes to mind with this treatment is Drake. His music video to the song Over shows him performing to the song passionately with expressing the lyrics strongly. I felt this was similar to my music video as both Hus and Drake are great rappers with a lot too say to their audience.