The video portrays Tyler the Creator's unique style through distinctive black and white shots. It cuts between scenes of Tyler rapping and his friends engaging in rebellious activities like graffiti and skateboarding. The video reinforces the idea that teenagers can't be controlled and want to express their freedom. It also shows Tyler remaining calm when confronted with a gun, reinforcing stereotypes about black Americans. Through its gritty black and white cinematography and scenes of law-breaking, the video captures Tyler's message of freedom and disregard for social norms.
1. Tyler the creator - French
The artist is known for his unique style and type of songs, this is portrayed in this
video as it is produced in black and white and has very distinctive way of appearing
to the viewers, this is shown right from the start where he is right in front of the
camera with a close up of his making funny faces whilst miming the words to the
song. The video then cuts to different shots of his friends doing various activities
such as riding a skateboard into a tree and a girl having a fight with a boy, these are
all reinforced with the lyrics that correlate to the music. The video also shows a lot of
other events such as a boy doing graffiti which is illegal and is not tolerated
anywhere, these all reinforce the idea the youth today are up to no good and like
being rebels to receive attention and they are out of control. The whole of the video
is dominates by the close up of the main rapper 'Tyler the creator' with his friends in
the background being normal and acting how they usually would such as dancing
and doing odd actions, this represents the freedom and reinforces the idea that
teenagers can't be controlled but have the choice to do whatever they like. The
video is shot in America where the artist is from, it is a gritty location which is
portrayed with the black & white effect which gives it a sense of realness. The main
character is not even frightened when another guy approaches his with a gun, but
continues to carry on rapping and hands all his items starting from his hoodie to the
wallet in his pocket in a calm sort of motion. This reinforces the stereotypical view
that the common black man in America is ruthless and will kill if they are not allowed
to steal from you which is a very uneducated view. The video also has a lot of boys
wearing hoodies and have caps on, this could be to hide their identity which is a
very popular observation as they are could be mischievous or because it is a new
fashion trend to be original. One bit is where they are skateboarding down a street,
this is a very key part as it shows a lot of their personality. We are using scooters to
match this to represent freedom and the kid personality within us wanting to be
released and unleashed. This is a hard concept to film but the mid shot they use has
a wide pan so you can see what is happening, we will also use that shot. the cuts
and framing matches the timing of the music, this helps to keep a flow and
consistency when watching the video making the audience still tuned in to what is
going on. Some of the events are deemed to be socially unacceptable such as
vandalising and kicking a trolley, this is what they do to express their feelings and
braking the barrier of the norm which is a hard concept to get across in a video but
they do it exceptionally well by keeping it short and precise. The start of the video
also can be compared to the other video as it has a heartbeat undertone building
suspense at the start, this gets the audience ready and in anticipation to see what
will be shown. The camera work switches to a steady close-up to a shaky uneven
mid shot of people do various actions and activities, this helps to identify when
something 'weird' is going to happen and when it will be calm in comparison. his t-
shirt that he is wearing quotes 'Fuck it' which is a perfect match to what happens in
the video, this creates a connection as most of the activities shown are with a 'Fuck
it' thought behind it such as jumping out a moving car and burning a piece of paper.
We will use elements of this video in our one because it has a lot of freedom and
means anything is possible, as long as you edit it well.