Alright - Kendrick Lamar
Genre - Hip-Hop/ Rap/ R&B
'Alright' is in my opinion an incredible music video and is one of my favourites. The whole concept of the music video is that there are a lot of bad things happening all over the world, but Kendrick and his music can help to heal and make things better or at least easier to cope with.
This is shown by Kendrick, the protagonist who is seen flying through the sky like superman, acting as a superhero to anyone affected by what's going on in the world, showing people that it's going to be 'Alright' where there is a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals (Goodwin)
The whole music video is shot in black and white which I think is very effective in creating a powerful, emotive short story.
This is a 6:55 music video which includes a prelude. At the beginning of the video, before the music starts, there are clips setting the scene, showing the neighbourhood with skid marks on the road - suggesting there have been car races in the neighbourhood. There are also clips of buildings, graffiti, a black male lying on the floor, helicopters, police, a car up in flames, and things being smashes which all foreshadow a music video about violence and gangs and all the bad things happening in the neighbourhood which are things stereotypically seen in an R&B/ Hip-Hop music video (Goodwin)
We see a gun being fired and then a close up of Kendrick Lamar in a car with his friends listening to music, the camera zooms out and we see that they are actually being carried by four white police officers, this is ironic because white police officers have killed a lot of black people and haven't 'carried them' at all.
We then see Kendrick flying through the sky acting like super hero along with lots of different shots of different locations, suggesting that he's flying in all of these locations. The clips of Kendrick flying have obviously been filmed in a green screen room and then edited into the clips in post-production. The music video is a bit of a special effects extravaganza with Kendrick Lamar flying through the sky (Gow) and is also a performance narrative which helps us to understand that the song is about racism and police brutality. (Lynch)
We also see people in these different locations looking up at Kendrick Lamar smiling to show that him and his music have influenced people.
The overall music video and the lyrics "and we hate po-po, wanna kill us down in the streets for sure" clearly address racism in a unique and expressive way, whilst also being positive about the situation showing that if we all unite and come together, we're going to be alright.
Blue Lights - Jorja Smith
Genre - Contemporary R&B
The first thing we see in this music video is young children drawing a chalk outline of a body which is a very striking first image. It sets the scene for the music video and shows us that the music video is about police brutality and racism. We also see extreme close ups of Jorja Smith singing, and of her mixed race features which combine her white and black roots. This music video is clearly a performance/ narrative piece.
There is a direct relationship between the lyrics and the visuals (Goodwin). When we hear the lyrics "Don't you run when you hear the sirens coming" we see someone running and we also see strobe lights throughout the music video which links to the lyrics "I wanna turn those blue lights into strobe lights"
All of the clips are quite short and blend into eachother very well, something that would have been edited in post-production. These short snappy clips contrast strongly with the mellow music and highlight how quickly it can all change and your life can be taken by the police with a single gunshot.
This music video breaks some codes and conventions of Contemporary R&B because it's all shot in such a dark light, with strobe lights which are traditionally seen in rave music videos.
'Alright' is in my opinion an incredible music video and is one of my favourites. The whole concept of the music video is that there are a lot of bad things happening all over the world, but Kendrick and his music can help to heal and make things better or at least easier to cope with.
This is shown by Kendrick, the protagonist who is seen flying through the sky like superman, acting as a superhero to anyone affected by what's going on in the world, showing people that it's going to be 'Alright' where there is a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals (Goodwin)
The whole music video is shot in black and white which I think is very effective in creating a powerful, emotive short story.
This is a 6:55 music video which includes a prelude. At the beginning of the video, before the music starts, there are clips setting the scene, showing the neighbourhood with skid marks on the road - suggesting there have been car races in the neighbourhood. There are also clips of buildings, graffiti, a black male lying on the floor, helicopters, police, a car up in flames, and things being smashes which all foreshadow a music video about violence and gangs and all the bad things happening in the neighbourhood which are things stereotypically seen in an R&B/ Hip-Hop music video (Goodwin)
We see a gun being fired and then a close up of Kendrick Lamar in a car with his friends listening to music, the camera zooms out and we see that they are actually being carried by four white police officers, this is ironic because white police officers have killed a lot of black people and haven't 'carried them' at all.
We then see Kendrick flying through the sky acting like super hero along with lots of different shots of different locations, suggesting that he's flying in all of these locations. The clips of Kendrick flying have obviously been filmed in a green screen room and then edited into the clips in post-production. The music video is a bit of a special effects extravaganza with Kendrick Lamar flying through the sky (Gow) and is also a performance narrative which helps us to understand that the song is about racism and police brutality. (Lynch)
We also see people in these different locations looking up at Kendrick Lamar smiling to show that him and his music have influenced people.
The overall music video and the lyrics "and we hate po-po, wanna kill us down in the streets for sure" clearly address racism in a unique and expressive way, whilst also being positive about the situation showing that if we all unite and come together, we're going to be alright.
Blue Lights - Jorja Smith
Genre - Contemporary R&B
The first thing we see in this music video is young children drawing a chalk outline of a body which is a very striking first image. It sets the scene for the music video and shows us that the music video is about police brutality and racism. We also see extreme close ups of Jorja Smith singing, and of her mixed race features which combine her white and black roots. This music video is clearly a performance/ narrative piece.
There is a direct relationship between the lyrics and the visuals (Goodwin). When we hear the lyrics "Don't you run when you hear the sirens coming" we see someone running and we also see strobe lights throughout the music video which links to the lyrics "I wanna turn those blue lights into strobe lights"
All of the clips are quite short and blend into eachother very well, something that would have been edited in post-production. These short snappy clips contrast strongly with the mellow music and highlight how quickly it can all change and your life can be taken by the police with a single gunshot.
This music video breaks some codes and conventions of Contemporary R&B because it's all shot in such a dark light, with strobe lights which are traditionally seen in rave music videos.
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