The document analyzes and annotates 10 stills/images from a music video for compliance with and deviations from conventions of the hip-hop/rap genre. Key conventions used include the artist's clothing, stance, and urban location in one shot, as well as dancing scenes. Some deviations are also noted, such as using the same locations throughout, more subtle displays of wealth, and shots that make the artist seem less dominant.

1. TA S K : S E L E C T 1 0 S T I L L S / I M A G E S F R O M Y O U R
M U S I C V I D E OS A N D T HE T W O A N C I L L A RY
TA S K S . A N N O TAT E E A C H O N E O F T H E M I N
P H O T O S H O P O R P O W E R P O I N T T O I N D I C AT E
W H I C H C O N V E N T I O N S Y O U H AV E U S E D AT
W H I C H P O I N T.
ALEXANDRIA HASLER.

2. Our music video follows the Hip-Hop/Rap genre and this is illustrated very
quickly in the sequence. 20 seconds into the video, the establishing shot
fades into the shot shown above. This shows the conventions of the Hip-
Hop/Rap genre by what he is wearing, how he is holding himself and also
by the Urban location that he stands before. His hat is worn back to front
which is quite common to see with similar artists. His stance is also quite
low and relaxed which again is a common feature. The background, I think
stands out as I’ve never seen a music video in such a unique yet understated
location.

3. Dancing, as expected is also a
feature in our video. However,
instead of the focus being solely on
the artist, with women dancing
around him like conventional Hip-
Hop/Rap videos, the dancers
involved are doing their own thing,
they are not used in the same shot
as the star, but used in their own
shot and simply add to the effect
shown.
Along with the two female
dancers, the star even did a
breakdancing routine. This goes
against typical Rap videos as
the star usually just stands there.
However we are showing in our
video that the star has more
talents than just rapping.

4. Our video also features the same sort of location throughout, although the actual
setting does change as the footage was filmed in two different car parks and also a
shopping centre. I think that this challenges the normal forms and conventions of
typical Rap products as the artists are normally shown in a variety of locations to
show off what they have (houses, cars etc). The fact that we have used a very Urban
location does use the generic conventions of a Rap video however does challenge
the conventions as we have taken the Urban location to the extreme.

5. Another strong feature in our video is the artists outfit changes, something that was
mentioned as a good point in our audience feedback. The focus on the shoes and hats
creates an identity for the star and also subconsciously gives the audience an opinion
of how they think the star would be in real life. This is something that is shown all the
time in real Hip-Hop/Rap videos as the stars feel the need to show off their style and
wealth. However in real rap videos the artists would do this to the extreme (expensive
jewellery, designer clothing, etc). Our artist is a lot more subtle, making him seem
more personable to the audience.

6. The artist is shown throughout the majority of the video to maintain eye contact
with the camera. This is used to help the audience to connect with the star. This is
commonly used in the rap genre as the artists feel they need eye contact to look
superior and even domineering. However, our song is not an aggressive rap song
so such harsh eye contact is not necessary. The shot shown below is one that
would very rarely, maybe never, be used in a generic rap video. This is purely
down to the camera angle, the fact that the camera is looking down on the artist
makes him seem less important. I think that it works here though as the rest of the
video is all about him, so can make the audience feel more equal.

7. The split screening idea is something that we got from an indie video. So is challenging
the normal forms and conventions of a real rap video as it is something that hadn’t been
done before. However, in our video it proved very effective as it allowed us to highlight
key features of the star and location. In the screen shot shown above, the main video
continues on the right and on the left there are two smaller shots, one of the back of the
artists head, showing off his hat, and the other of the city scape location in which the
video was filmed. This looked successful as it allowed the narrative of the video to
seem deeper without the artist actually saying or doing anything extraordinary.

8. We also showed the artist alongside a rap companion, this is sometimes shown in rap
videos if the artist is part of a rap group. The way that the artist seems to interact with the
other young man shown makes him seem more friendly and approachable to the
audience, which is not commonly featured in real rap videos as they’re meant to seem
more dominating and almost aggressive.

9. I think that our digipak does use the normal conventions and forms of real rap artists
however develops them and makes them more engaging and interesting. We decided
to use the artists’ tattoos as a theme and utilise this for our front and back cover. This
I think looks very effective and professional and is exactly what you’d expect to see
for a rap artists’ digipak. The inside of the digipak however is very different, the
colours are more bright and it looks much more light hearted which again is
drastically different to your average rap artists’ digipak. This again makes the artist a
bit more personable which ultimately matches the song which our video was created
for as it is a very light hearted song.

10. Our magazine advert I think is exactly what a real rap
artist would have. It is very simple and only shows the
details which are actually needed. The image shown is
also very iconic so would catch peoples eyes straight
away. The font used is also the same as the one used
for the digipak which I don’t think would normally be
done in real rap artists’ magazine adverts.