My Video Analysis By Calvin Morgan

Name of Video: The Motto – Drake ft Lil Wayne & Tyga

Introduction: I am analysing Drake’s song “The Motto” its falls under the hip hop genre. Drake is a Canadian artist. The song “The Motto” was a bonus track on Drake’s second album “Take Care”. The music video featuring Lil Wayne & Tyga was filmed in Northern California. The video was officially released on February 10^th 2012; the track itself was a commercial success in the US selling over 2 million copies. The video is a performance based video with the typical genre conventions of a hip hop video,. The potential target audience for the video/song ranged from 12 year olds all the way up to 40 year olds. This track hit Number 1 in the US charts; this was Drake’s twelfth Number 1.

Main Body: I will now analyse “The Motto” video by using the four micro areas.

 Camera, Editing, Sound & Mise en Scene, also Goodwins theory.

In any music video the four micro areas are extremely important components to a successful or not so successful music video.

The camera work in Drake’s video “The Motto” the camera is very much focused on each artist in great detail. As the video starts there is a low angle shot looking up at the artist Drake driving a car, the use of a low angle shot straight away suggests the superiority of the artist as he drives his convertible with the roof down and with one hand on the steering wheel showing a sense of swagger and style that the artist possesses. The use of close ups can also show the assets of the artist, the jewellery, watches and well recognised brands and clothing that is used enhances him as an artist and is a particular convention of hip hop videos. As it is a performance based video there is a lot of focus initially on Drake rapping, close ups and mid shots are used on the artist. The camera shots vary from longer shots to establish the exotic location picked for this video in Northern California to shorter shorts as each cut is successfully cut to the beat. This editing technique is extremely clear to see and can be used to engage the audience. The use of fast cuts makes the transition from each part of the video slower and helps to capture the audience’s attention.  There is also a distinct change in the lighting from light to dark and then back again, this is to show the life of each rapper from the morning to the evening then back to morning suggesting the they live a tough life that is relentless non-stop, this use of lighting enhances each rapper as the focus remains on them.

There is a strong link between the music and visuals, the music is parallel to the visuals the beat of the song is successfully cut in sync with the visuals of the video. The use of this editing technique helps to create continuity and attracts the target audience in terms of the video being visually satisfying and interesting to watch. This video also uses intertextual reference at the beginning of the video late rapper Mac Dre’s mother Wanda Salvatto makes an appearance in dedication of the rapper who sadly passed away on November 4^th 2004.  Wanda is thanking Drake (Aubrey) for his support during this time.

Finally the genre characteristics used in this video are typical of the hip hop genre, the use of gold chains, expensive watches, big baseball jackets, snapbacks and finally expensive cars enhance the artists to make them look superior and although there are no women being portrayed in a voyeuristic way in the actual video there is constant reference to woman in the lyrics used for the song. This suggests that women are attracted to these artists through their sense of style & their wealth.

To Conclude

In conducting this textual analysis it is evident that camerawork, editing, sound and mise en scene all played a major part in this video. The constant camera focus being on each artist shows their superiority and importance during the video, uses of close ups to show their emotion. The editing being cut in sync of the beat to make the video visually satisfying and give it a rhythm. The obvious sound of the song, the beat and each rapper singing their lyrics help towards a successful song  & finally the mise en scene, the use of expensive props, the exotic location& what you see within the frame of each shot to define each artist as a success.

In Drakes video “The Motto” it is a typical hip hop music video that uses typical convention of this genre. The song was a success in the US hitting number 1 but also the UK making appearances on UK television music channels.  All three artists that feature in this video (Drake, Lil Wayne & Tyga) are International artists and so all three of them being on this song adds to the quality and helps to attract a wider range of people.  It is important when making a video to a song, you link it to the lyrics, make it visually satisfying but also use particular genre conventions and characteristics to help and this was all used in Drakes video “The Motto”.