Music Video Analysis: Chris Brown, Look At Me Now

Chris Brown, American singer and occasional rapper debuted hip hop genre music video for, 'Look at me now', March 9, 2011. Directed by Colin Tilley, the song and video features American rappers Lil Wayne and Busta Rhymes. The video was shot in Los Angeles, California February 16 2011. Along side it's producers Afrojack, Diplo and Free School the artists' co-wrote the song. I will be analysing the music video using the four key micro-elements; mise-en-scene, camera, editing and soundtrack.
The music video can be viewed here: Chris Brown, Look at me now.

Mise-en-scene:
The mise-en-scene can split into a number of different sections including; props, costumes and location.The entire music video is set in an abandoned graffitied car park, this signifies the relationship the artists' have with the streets, as the majority of the time they are denoted around a crowd of people wearing bagging clothing, it connotes a sense of 'crew' or 'gang', this is a common hegemonic reading of a rapper and hip pop genre artist. Another common convention of a hip pop genre that is conformed in Chris Brown's, 'Look at me now' music video is the ideology the music video has an homemade feel to the lack of quality in the shots and lack of location change. Additionally, the location can be signified as showing the artist's roots and where he first started his long journey to his success, this compares the two extremes of his life, conformed in the title of the song, 'Look at me now' where his denoted rapping and singing about how far his life as come due to his music. Throughout the duration of the music video, all the shots are filmed in night and darkness, this connotes to the ideology of gangs, as they are stereotypically linked to night, along with violence an danger. This also signified illegal events could be occurring as the night time is connoted as the time for crime as less people are around. 

The lighting of the music video is primarily low key desaturated lighting, connotes an old school and outdated effect through the lack of quality in the production, this conforms previous ideology Chris Brown representing his roots where he first started music. The de-saturated lighting throughout every shot, has a tint of yellow, the colour yellow signifies and symbolises joy, happiness, and energy, this connotes how Chris Brown isn't only talking about his financial or fame success but his mental health and physical health state, subverting the common stereotypical lyrical song for hip pop. The costumes of the artists, throughout their costume changes, they are wearing bold bright colours allowing them to stand out, connoting their significance and separates them from the crowd. Therefore the artists' conforms Richard Star's, paradox of the star theory, where the artists are both ordinary and extraordinary. Ordinary in the sense of they could be mistaken for another ordinary person in the music video, however extraordinary as they are given the spot light and the ability to high budget produce their music. The baggy clothing, conforms to the old school feel to the music video, clothing connotes a 90s style, signifies and conforming stereotypical codes and conventions of a hip pop genre in the 90s.

The use of the sci-fi piece of technology for enlargement is denoted in Chris Brown's hands, signifying the ideology that Chris is the future for this generation and he is foreshadowing that he is going to do new big things. Throughout the music video the female character roles are side-lined, one girl denoted dancing provocatively dancing surrounded by males, this is a hegemonic reading of females in a hip pop genre music video, and conforms Laura Mulvey's theory of the Male Glaze theory and how women's roles are sidelined. The use of the flash cars and designer brands, conform the hip pop genre as it is a common convention in hip pop music videos, by showcasing these items their connotes their financial status and their materialistic value.

Camerawork:
In which the movement, shot, or/and angle of a scene is filmed they can cast polysemic views for their target  audiences to encode. The shake of the camera, as the artist and his backing dancers dance, signify the power and impact the artist creates, connoting his own sense of importance to the world. The pan shot, is when the camera moves from one aspect of the scene to another in the same shot, a pan down from the artist to the connoted fans/crew is denoted, this is a common convention in a hip hop music video as unlike other genres (such as pop) where a narrative (linear or non-linear) is denoted, hip pop artist's showcase their lifestyle and perform. A long shot of the dance routine, where the artist is denoted in the centre, brings the eye and the audience's attention to him, connoting him as the main leader of the group. This attitude is iconography in hip pop artists, for example, hip pop artist, Kanye West, is well known, for his vain attitude and behaviours, recently stating, 'I made Taylor Swift famous' and plans for running for president in 2020. During this long shot the previous ideology of artist's performing in hip pop music video's is conformed, through showcasing his dancing abilities Chris Brown is idolised by his target audience, ultimately resulting in a bigger mass demographic and more publicity/fame.

A point of view (POV) shot is also used in the beginning of the video, denoting a fluorescent shop sign reading, 'girls girls girls' with two females in the frame with provocative and seductive attire, this connotes that the females are selling sexual activities or their bodies, conforming to Laura Mulvey theory of the male glaze, as the females are being signified as put on show for man to have voyeuristic pleasure. This convention is common in hip pop genre music videos as it prompts power for the males, as the females are forced to feel below them (on screen and off).

A mid shot in a low angle, presents and denotes a person wearing a mask inside a cage, this figure and scene is cross-cutted throughout the music video. The mask restricts his/her's identity dehumalising them, they are further dehumanlised in a shot, where the masked person trapped in the cage, hanging like a monkey, connoting the animalistic behaviour to strip the character of his freedom, identity and humanity. Oppositional view is that the golden reflective surface of the mask, connotes the inhumane figure as the making American Dream where the artist is showcasing the ideology of him achieving his American Dream. Another connotation of the mask, signifies that the lack of identity connotes how anyone can make the American Dream, where it's signified that Chris Brown is trying to motivate and empower his target audience. The extreme low angle, in which Chris Brown (the artist) is denoted, connote him as the one in control and powerful to where the audience feel they need to look up and respect him.

Soundtrack:
The two types of soundtracks found in an extract are; non-diegetic soundtrack, sound that is not heard in the scene, e.g. voice over, and diegetic soundtrack, sound that is from a source in that particular scene. Within the non-diegetic soundtrack, the lyrics denote an increase of his fame, a common hegemonic reading and convention in hip pop. The high pace of the non-diegetic soundtrack is parallel and synchronous to the images, this connotes as reality and normality for the artist and the lifestyle he created for himself. The lyrics consistently refers to 'paper' connoting money and the money his gained, as a subject or theme to the song, money, is a common convention of hip pop genre music video. In the lyrics the line, 'my red flag' occurs commonly, parallel and synchronous as he is denoted showing a piece of red cloth as he raps the line. Red connotes fire and blood, signifying the lifestyle they have and the style of music is in their blood, and is the source of the fire within them. Further connotations of the colour red includes, determination, passion and desire, signified that hip pop the desire drives them to achieving their American Dream, which is the message behind the song. A 'red flag' in 1602 the flag was used by military forces to indicate that they were preparing for battle, connoting how gangs dangerously battle, or oppositional view how the artists' are preparing to battle their obstacles that stand in the way of meeting their goals and dreams.

The diegetic soundtrack of the artist saying, 'lego' acts as symbolism and iconography or a label to the artist, connotes to gain publicity in the media by embedding that image of himself into the audience from a catchy phrase. Another diegetic soundtrack, denoting the spraying of the cans, signifies that his trying to build a 'bad boy' representation and image, this conforms a common stereotype of hip pop artists' and rappers and how their lifestyle and behaviour is denoted on screed and connoted off screen.

Editing:
In the very beginning til 0:22 the the shots acts as an introduction, for the 4:08 minute long video, the typography in the introduces the artists' on the track, 'Busta Rhymes' and 'Lil Wayne' introduction shot, is in the same shot overlapping each other, connoting that the they are not as important and are only featuring this track. Whereas Chris Brown get his own single shot, signifying for the demographic to encode that the music video is mainly Chris Brown's therefore all the target audiences attention should be on him. Cross cutting between two shots, one denoted of the person in the cage to the artist dancing. From this we can denote, the person in the cage is copying the movement of the artist, signifying how the two characters are the same person. The yellowed toned filter is used throughout the duration of the music video, yellow connotes as an attention getter (this is why yellow is used for American taxi's). This connotes how Chris Brown is trying to get his audience's attention onto the image/message his expressing. The face pace jump cuts are parallel to the high energy of the music video and connotes the crazy and bust lifestyle of the artists.