Research and Planning

After considering numerous options, we decided to do a Kanye West song. And in our video we will convey the dominant character which Kanye West is known to be. Kanye West is known as an alpha male who believes he is the best rapper in the world and a quite controversial figure. Which is why the song we chose was a clear favourite within our options. Not because of the controversy he has caused over the years but because in most of his videos, Kanye West never ceases to surprise the audience and has always got something flashy in his videos.


A perfect example of Kanye West's dominance is shown in the music video for the song 'Power' which he describes himself as a "moving painting". The video itself is very detailed and has a lot of imagery all mainly showing how Kanye being the protagonist has so much power and dominance and will simply break any rule and not be told what to do by anyone.There isn't much use of a variety of camera shots but the whole video is a single take which is zooming out to reveal more and uncover the rest of the contents on the screen. Because the whole video is one take, there is no cutting. But 38 seconds into the video a robe is dropped on the beat and another character is revealed and this shows that although the video is one take important bits of action are performed on the beat.

The mise en scene for this video represents the protagonist as a god of some kind which is shown by the way he is positioned right in the middle of the screen in a stationary stance. And we will do that in our video by letting the locations,camera and choice of costume have a visual impact and show the concept of the video to the audience without them having to be told the concept. A perfect example of the costume saying so much is in the 'Power' video. The protagonist is wearing a huge necklace which looks like an ancient pendant and this straight away illustrates royalty and he is the focal point in the video which shows how he is the one with authority in the video.

The narrative of the video involves amplification which basically means the idea of 'power' is taken from the lyrics but interpreted in a new way. This is because the video is in the style of a classical painting. There is no performance or lip syncing but the characters in the video are all significant in the production and the audience can realize that by just watching the video.

Although we have taken inspiration from this production, it is not really a traditional music video and in our production we will be producing a traditional music video.

Kanye West - POWER

Initial Planning Meeting

In our first planning meeting, My group (Michael, Malcolm & Derrick) decided to do a video to the song ''Can't tell me nothing'' by Kanye West. We have discussed a few concepts to which we can base the music video upon, however we are yet to decide which idea to use for the project. But we do have one clear favourite which will show the lyrics actually being portrayed.

We have considered certain locations and props that we can feature within the project i.e we have spoke about using the rooftops of certain buildings to capture the urban location of Manchester and use this as our establishing shot. The establishing shot will emphasize the concept that we are most likley to go along with because it gives a sense of domination and being on top of the world.

Roles In Production:

Derrick Afriye will play the main role of the rapper and therfore will be the central figure in the music video and will be supported by Michael Baluwa.

The camera work will be done by Malcolm Knight and Michael Baluwa.

Treatment Of Video: Diamonds from Sierra Leone

The Diamonds from Sierra Leone video begins with a series of cuts and subtitles which give brief insight into the conncept. The opening scene shows a point of view shot with the camera zooming in to the cave and this involves the audience as they are about to take part in the story being told which gives a sense that the audience is being made to step in the shoes of the artist. The first time we see the protagonist a low angle point of view shot is used with a shallow depth of field which shows two things, firstly how the protagonist is the emphasis of the video and secondly the low angle shot indicates a sense of him being superior. Unlike most hip hop music videos, not only does this song have a different muscic video, but the sound itself is not like ordinary hip hop tracks. This track does not have as much synthesis but it does have a heavy base. The video itself is unique in terms of props, most hip hop videos are usually colourful to attract and relate with the target audience whereas this video in contrast does not give a feeling of pleasure and enjoyment.


The video is highly symbolic and has religious elements mainly the location. When we see the crucifix at one point a low angle shot is used once again shows superiority and gives a sense of divinity. In our video we will also be filming in a church to also show conversation between man and God.

The video is black and white and this is to show that there is a story being told and this shows a strong concept to be understood. The protagonist is dressed in a long black coat and this gives all the attention because not only do the camera shots show him as the focal point but also the costume shows him as a man who has mystery and has a big part in the concept.In terms of perfomance, there is a lot of body language used to illustrate how much emphasis the artist is putting in his performance to tell the story and really make sure that the target audience can relate well with the concept whilst observing the protagonist's abilty to not only rap but also act out and use his body to emphasize the lyrics.
This video is effective and has inspired our project because it has a unique location and frequently shows a story being told to the audience.



Kanye West - Diamonds From Sierra Leone

Music Video Treatment

The Music Video

The Title of the song is Can't tell Me Nothing by Kanye West

Duration

The length of will be 3 minutes 18 seconds long.

Audience

The target audience for our video is males aged between 14 and above. This is because the song does have some explicit lyrics which we will mute and the message being portrayed in the song isn't really something that young people should look to emulate. Kanye West's fan base is mainly males who are in their teenage years and this is shown by his controversial choice of album art and iconography in his music videos as well as his behaviour and attitude with the latest being at the MTV VMA awards in 2009 when he interrputed Taylor Swift's celebration speech. The hip hop genre is also one where sensetive topics are usually publicly stated.

Resume

The brief outline of the song is basically the performer will be telling a story of certain events that have occured in his life and how he is defies the odds. For example the opening lyrics "I had a dream I could buy my way to heaven..." will be interpretated in a church and we will have the performer performing in a church to relate well with the lyrics being sang. The song is also about showing one's superiority and an example of this is the lyrics, "Class started two hours ago...oh am I late?!" and this will be performed in a sarcastic manner which will show no remorse on the performer's part. We will continue to show the hip hop conventions of dominance and shwoing off material wealth throughout the video. The audience can expect to see a well performed music video in a variety of locations with a natural flow throughout.


Suggested Elements

Performance: We will have the performer not just miming the lyrics but actually rapping when filming. This will avoid any off-beat lip syncing and will also add to the professionalism. The professionalism will also be enhanced by the way we will have the lyrics relate well with the on screen action. The performer will also have to add some attitide to the peformance to make it look natural.

Costumes: Our choice of costume will be influenced by Kanye West himself and hip hop as a genre itself. One of the lyrics mentions super brand Louis Vitton and we will have a Louis Vitton scarf when that part of the song is being performed to once again make the video look more professional instead of a parody. The main dress code throughout the performance will be casual and what would be expected in any hip hop music video.

SFX: We will not really have any sound effects in the video but we will have some video transitions whe editing the vided to give it an alternative hip hop music video.

Locations: We will choose our locations parallel to the song lyrics. For example some of the lyrics that have religious reference will be performed in the chapel. We will also be using a wall with graffiti and this will relate well with our genre and give an urban look.

Recording Days: We will not take a long time to film the video because we are going to have one take in all locations and then see what needs re-doing. By doing one take we are aware that the perfomance will need to be on point and this will also allow us to capture footage quicly and start editing. The print based items will be done outside lesson time because to produce effective print based items alot of time will need to be put in. We will also need time to have a photo shoot so we have enough images to use for the print based items.

Song Lyrics

Kanye West Cant Tell Me Nothing

La la la la

Wait 'til I get my money right

I had a dream I could buy my way to heaven

When I awoke I spent that on a necklace

I told God I'd be back in a second

Man, it's so hard not to act reckless

To whom much is given much is tested

Get arrested guess until he get the message

I feel the pressure, under more scrutiny

And what I do? Act more stupidly

Bought more jewelry, more Louis V

My momma couldn't get through to me

The drama, people suing me

I'm on TV talkin' like it's just you and me

I'm just saying how I feel, man

I ain't one of the Cosby's, I ain't go to Hill, man

I guess the money should have changed him

I guess I should have forgot where I came from

La la la la

Wait 'til I get my money right

La la la la

Then you can't tell me nothing, right?

Excuse me? Was you saying something?

Uh uh, you can't tell me nothing

You can't tell me nothing

Uh uh, you can't tell me nothing

Let up the suicide doors

This is my life homey, you decide yours

I know that Jesus died for us

But I couldn't tell you who the side was

So I parallel double park that mother*** sideways

Old folks talking 'bout back in my day

But homey this is my day, class started two hours ago

Oh, am I late?

No, I already graduated

And you can live through anything if Magic made it

They say I talk with so much emphasis

Ooh, they so sensitive

Don't ever fix your lips like collagen

And then say something where you gonna end up apologin'

Let me know if it's a problem man

Aight man, holla then

La la la la

Wait 'til I get my money right

La la la la

Then you can't tell me nothing, right?

Excuse me? Was you saying something?

Uh uh, you can't tell me nothing

You can't tell me nothing

Uh uh, you can't tell me nothing

Let the champagne splash

Let that man get cash

Let that man get passed

He don't even stop to get gas

If he can move through the rumors

He can drive off of fumes 'cause

How he move in a room full of no's?

How he stay faithful in a room full of ***?

Must be the Pharaohs, he in tune with his soul

So when he buried in a tomb full of gold

Treasure, what's your pleasure?

Life is a, uh, dependin' how you dress her

So if the Devil wear Prada, Adam, Eve wear Nada

I'm in between but way more fresher

With way less effort

'Cause when you try hard is when you die hard

Y'all homies lookin' like, why God?

When they reminisce over you, my God

La la la la

Wait 'til I get my money right

La la la la

Then you can't tell me nothing, right?

Excuse me? Was you saying something?

Uh uh, you can't tell me nothing

You can't tell me nothing

Uh uh, you can't tell me nothing

La la la la

Wait 'til I get my money right

La la la la

Then you can't tell me nothing, right?

Here are the lyrics of the track we will be making the video to. Obviously as some of the lyrics are explicit we will take that into consideration and omit the lyrics which have any foul language. The performer will be performing the lyrics and we will shoot the concept. For example when the performer is talking about his dream involving God we will film in a church.

Magazine Outlet

For our magazine outlet we decided to look at similar magazines that promote hip hop music. One particular magazine is called RWD. It is a free magazine that is usually distributed in retail shops. The target audience for the magazine is hip hop, RnB and Grime fans from all ages. The magazie also advertises the latest clothes and shoes in fashion for their target audience, interview the biggest artists in the world for the genres and also covers sport.

To attract the audience, the magazine covers usually have bright colours with large images of the artists which are easily recognisable.

Above are some pages from the RWD magazine which show the latest clothing ranges and an interview with an uprising group.

Here is a page from the magazine promoting the new album by the artist called Giggs. The album has been published as a whole page on its own and the bright colours attract the target audience. Here the protagonist is portrayed as a super hero whcih once again links to our story telling theme of power and domincance. This also is quite animatic which is a way of relating well with the target audience to give them something entertaining and eye catching.

Album Art

For our album cover we looked at various covers that suit well with our genre of hip-hop. For exmaple the Jay-Z album named 'American Gangster' makes a huge statement with the dressing quite similar to the costume that Kanye West has in the Diamonds from Sierra Leone video. Once again the protagonist is the central figure and here the dressing makes him look like a boss and the lighting is not so bright which once again adds to the statement being made.






Another album cover that does show the attention that the protagonist has is the album called 'The Massacre' by Kanye West's rival 50 Cent. This cover does represent the typical hip-hop album. Once again the sense of superiority is given by the athletic figure that the rapper has. The choice of font also relates well with the genre because it shows how urban the album is.

Shot List

This was the first draft of our potential shot lists. We then had another meeting in which we decided to make alterations. For example in the finished video we decided not to use a police station.

4 Seconds Establishing Shot of a rooftop and buildings.

3 Seconds of a Close Up of the performer on the rooftop.

4 Seconds Long Shot of the police station as the star of the video is performing.

2 Seconds Extreme Close Up of the performer's face in the church.

3 Seconds Over the shoulder Shot as the performer is engaging in a conversation.

5 Seconds Medium Shot of the star performing in the graveyard.

3 seconds Extreme Long Shot of the star in a graveyard.

3 seconds High Angle Shot of the star performing.

3 Low Angle Shot of the star outside the police station.

3 seconds Long Shot on the rooftop.

3 seconds Point of View shot of performer having a conversation.

Kanye West Biography

Kanye Omari West (born June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and Janet Jackson. His style of production originally used pitched-up vocal samples from soul songs incorporated with his own drums and instruments. However, subsequent productions saw him broadening his musical palette and expressing influences encompassing '70s R&B, baroque pop, trip hop, arena rock, folk, alternative, electronica, synth-pop, and classical music.
West released his debut album The College Dropout in 2004, his second album Late Registration in 2005, his third album Graduation in 2007, and his fourth album 808s & Heartbreak in 2008. His four albums have received numerous awards, including a cumulative twelve Grammys,and critical acclaim. All have been very commercially successful, with 808s & Heartbreak becoming his third consecutive #1 album in the U.S. upon release. West also runs his own record label GOOD Music, home to artists such John Legend, Common and Kid Cudi.West's mascot and trademark is "Dropout Bear," a teddy bear which has appeared on the covers of four of his five albums as well as various single covers and music videos. About.com ranked Kanye West #8 on their "Top 50 Hip-Hop Producers" list. On May 16, 2008, Kanye West was crowned by MTV as the year's #1 "Hottest MC in the Game."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanye_West

Location

Here are some images of some of the locations were the production will take place. We thought about the concept of our video and decided to use locations that will have huge visual impact and will relate well with the video.

We will be filming on a rooftop in town. This will give the production an urban look and adds a unique look to the production.

The car park roof which we will be filming at.

We will also be filming in Hulme, Old Birley Street on the graffiti area and this relates well with our chosen genre of hip hop. This also makes the production look edgy.

We will also be filming in Loreto College for our classroom scene so that we have an actual classroom which adds realism and professionalism.

Costume

Within the hip-hop genre one thing that is always talke about is the musician's choice of outfit. We looked at some artists especially Kanye West to get a sense of his dress code.Here we see a quite colourful and simple dress code from the rapper whilst performign and we decided to do the same thing by having our performer dressed simple to suit the hip-hop genre. This shows the urban edge and stood out with our choice of song because the beat was quite strong so we had to give the performer a quite intimidating look but also something that is recognizable within the hip-hop genre.

Once again we see another interesting choice of costume from Kanye West and this may look quite odd and this is what Kanye West does best, he breaks the conventions of hip-hop which state that the rapper has to have an urban look but he always wants to bring something new which is one of the things that people like about him because he can pull anything off at any given time. We took inspiration from Kanye West because he has so much to offer so we had a lot to choose from in terms of dress code because no one can determine what he will wear at times.

Covers and Inspiration

Here are some covers that Kanye West has used for some of his previous albums.

For the single we chose to do, the cover doesn't really show much imagery but the central piece really stands out. The neon glow effect really makes the face of the creature stand out. We have taken inspiration from this cover because we are going to use effects to produce an interesting but simple album cover. The cover is also colorful which attracts the target audience because of the great use of color. We will also produce an album cover which is unique and attractive.

This other album cover once again shows the simplicity of Kanye West's work and its like a cartoon which shows him as a teddy bear. This is interesting because in his music videos he is always this dominant figure but he shows these two different sides of him.

This album cover is the one that has inspired us the most. The font used gives a sense of elegance which is also showed by the gold color. The use of lower case is also interesting because it relates well to this childish side of Kanye West. And we also see the teddy bear here in a church which is similar to what we are going to do with our cover by having the artist dressed casual and standing in a unique location. The title of the album 'Late Registration' is linked to one of the lyrics in our song which shows the performer arriving late for class but still having the audacity to reinforce his status as the

CD Cover and Magazine

Front cover

Here is the front cover of our CD. We took inspiration from the Jay-Z 'American Gangster' album cover in the sense that the performer is the central figure in the image. We also emulated Kanye West's 'Late Graduation' album but made a few changes to our cover. We had the performer stand outside a church rather than on the inside and this gives the cover an elegant look.

Back Cover

For the back cover we kept the religious theme flowing by using the same chuch as the background. Our choice of font has a military look which relates well with the outfit that the performer is wearing and although the religious theme adds sincerity, the outfit choice and font style were chosen to keep the superiority that is shown by today's hip hop artists visibly evident.

Inside Cover1

For the inside covers we kept the religious theme. We also did a photo shoot of the
performer in the church which we felt would have been better than taking a screen grab from the finished version of the video itself. We also took a variety of shots with the camera and decided to use this one with the artist surrounded by angels because it looks like something that would be done by a professional hip hop artist.

Inside cover 2

We arranged time after filming to have a photo shoot in the church location which we used when filming the video. With the second inside cover it looks like there is a story being told and the over shoulder shot involves the audience by also getting them to look at the statue.

Magazine Advert
When designing our magazine advert, we looked at one used to advertise the Foo Fighters album. Although the genres are completely different we liked the colour use and this is why we used a warm colour as the layout. This is also what Kanye West does, he doesn't always follow the conventions of hip-hop, he never stops surprising the media and his own fans and no matter what he pulls off he will always appeal to his fans. We also liked that idea and looked at a different genre when designing our poster.We also used a large font that stands out because of the bold outline and the black edges to show how the album is a headline. We also included the album itself and that adds professionalism.

An image of the Foo Fighters album advertisement.

Evaluation

Question 1:

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?




Our video was influenced in several ways by some artists within the hip hop genre. Kanye West was the major influence which is why we decided to base our production on his song. Kanye West is known to have massive iconography in his videos and album art. Iconography is a major element in hip hop and we followed this example by having religious elements in our video. For instance the video itself the song lyrics reference religion and we had the performer performing these lyrics in a church. A perfect example of iconography used in hip hop is shown in the music video for the song 'Ghetto Gospel' by the late Tupac Shakur featuring Sir Elton John. Religion is referenced in the song and the lyrics also feature communication between God and man. Two minutes and thirty seconds in the video we see the main character standing on a rooftop looking up in the heavens and posing with his arms stretched out. We did a similar thing in our video by having the performer pose in a similar stance on a rooftop. Although many believe the conventions of a hip hop video should all focus on sowing off prized possessions thus showing superiority, which is usually shown in the dress code and jewelry, we did follow these basic conventions but we mainly followed the Kanye West colorful theme which we see on his Graduation album. This is shown in the way we had the characters in the video dressed in bright clothes in some scenes and this is enhances the video by giving it a unique look. Hip-hop videos may also have green screen effects to give them an elegant look but we decided no to use the green screen and not to be flashy like most hip hop videos but instead have an original look.








Question 2


How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

We are going to ensure the music video, the CD Cover and Magazine advert compliment each other by keeping the religious element throughout. A simple way of ensuring that the CD cover compliments the video is shown when we have some of the lyrics from the song placed onto the inside cover.This compliments the video because we will reference some of the lyrics that we have filmed in interesting locations.For example the lyric "I had a dream I could buy my way to heaven" was filmed in a church so we will have an image of the artist sitting in a church and also an Academy Engraved LET font which looks ancient and this relates well with the church location.The video itself has visual impact and we want to maintain that impact by producing print based items that really stand out. We will also have a large image of the performer which is usually done in hip hop marketing because the main objective in hip hop marketing is to really relate well with the target audience and produce a unique album cover which is going to be easily spotted when its on the shelves in leading stores.

Question 3

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

We had really positive feedback from the audience when we showcased the video to the class. One group said the following in terms of their overall response to the video, " A really good video. Performance relates strongly to tone of song. Fast paced cuts keep the video interesting." This was really positive for us because we felt we achieved what we wanted especially the performer because in our initial planning we emphasized how much we were really going to have a strong performance in our video and the fact that the performance related well with the tone of the song links well with one of the key things that hip hop performers are known for which is dominance and the nerve to really give it a hundred percent when its time to face the camera and produce interesting music videos. The same group stated what they felt were the strengths of the video: lip syncing which also, variety of shots and locations, the cut rates and jump cuts. The choice of location was something we considered really carefully because we looked at some famous hip hop videos and they all seem to have great use of color and location. For example the video for the song 'Touch It' by Busta Rhymes is a good example of color to stand out and attract the audience. The one area that the group felt we could have improved from their feedback was in the classroom scene, when the rapper performs the lyrics "Oh am I late?". The feedback we got was that we could have had the performer open the door with a negative attitude towards the teacher. This was constructive for us because it would have really shown the intent of the performer to get one over the teacher. The audience also praised the editing of our video and gave detailed feedback, '' Cut rate is applied perfectly, each line of the song is given its own significance, the color and filters help vary the scenes. And almost 'force' the viewer into paying attention.'' We really felt that this feedback was uplifting because we were aiming to produce an eye catching music video which is something Kanye West is known to do every now and then. We also wanted to have something that would keep the audience interested throughout the video and the fact that the feedback we received says that the variety caused by the filters and color use shows we have produced a video that keeps the audience interested and waiting for whats next in the video. Our video was then videwed by another group from our class and this was their respnse to the video, " The video flows extremely well, all scenes and shots were well thought out. They fit together perfectley and with the use of so many locations it shows that alot of effort went into the planning stages. The look of the video is nice, its not too dark or too light, the lighting and filming suits the location. I like the fact that its not too heavy on the effects it fits in well with the theme of the song. Also where the effects are used does not look out of place and are executed expertley."This once again gives a sense of reward to us as both sets of feedback pretty much give praise to the video by showing how they like the overall look of the video. When we asked them about the 3 particular strenghts of the video they said they liked the locations because there were a lot of scenes in a variety of different places. They also liked the performance and they said it doesn't look forced and flows naturally. They also liked the use of shots and scenes that relate to the song they specified the classroom and church scenes by stating that they show a lot of creativity and provide the viewer with a clear link between the song and music. This also reinforces our point of attracting the audience by producing a piece that sticks in their mind. The one area that they said we could have improved was having the supporting character perform but they did say it was a minor suggestion. The audience gave a detailed analyisis of our camera work, they said in theri feedback "Alot of shots are framed perfectley, the rule of thirds was maintained well throughout. Theres a range of different camera shots, from high angle to mid-shots, to wide shots, with the variety of shots it keeps the viewer interested throughout. The filming was smooth, there was no shaky camera work. The rule of thirds was something we learnt in AS and we remembered it when we were filming which is why we did a number of takes to give us lots of footage to edit and to also decide which one looked better and really maintained the rule of thirds.

Question 4

How did you use media technologies in the construction, research, planning and evaluation stages?

In the construction we used different technologies to enhance the video. We followed the 180 degree rule when we had the performer sitting on the stairs and performing the song and we used a hand held low angle shot whilst panning from left to right. This gave the video an original look by following the performer's movements in a natural manner. The 180 degree rule was something we learnt at AS and we kept the rule throughout the music video production. We also used hand held camera work several scenes including the church scene and an outdoor scene and this keeps that originality flowing throughout. For our album cover we used the Adobe Photoshop software to produce 6 front covers. We didn't have much experience with the software but we managed to learn new skills and come to a conclusion over the cover. The reason designed six at first is because we had to consider some factors. We looked at Kanye West's covers and considered whether or not we wanted to do something similar to what he had previously done or if we wanted to have something unique that suits the hip hop genre. We used a digital camera to take some photographs of the performer in a new outfit which looked more casual standing outside a church. This inspiration was taken from the Kanye West Late Graduation album. This would go on to be our overall look and we changed several fonts throughout our contemplation and this was because we looked at the fonts we had chosen before including the color and style and asked ourselves, ''If this was released an was in a leading music store, would it be attractive an something worth looking at?'' .This lead to us using the software to edit the texture of the font and deciding on an overall style and color which suited the genre and song choice really well. We used Final Cut Pro to edit what we had filmed. We used learnt about marking scenes so that it would be easier to put transitions and effects on the marked scenes. We then used effects so that some of the marked scenes would change along with the beat.We also used the software to add filters and colour change during editing to give the video an urban look.When publishing on the blog, we used took embed codes from some of the videos that were relevant to our research and these videos are the ones we felt were the major influences to our production.

This is the Interview to students, asking them to review the music video. They gave us ideas on how we could have improved it but also what was good about it, E.g. Editing, locations etc.

Music Video Analysis

We looked at the orginal Can't Tell Me Nothing music video by Kanye West and looked at areas to follow or change within our video. One area which we looked at was the camera work. In the orignal video a high angle shot is used when Kanye is performing to the camera, we took an idea similar to that in our video for one of our scenes but then we changed the sequence by using a high angle shot in a church scene. The idea behind us using a high angle shot in a church scene was to give an impression that God was looking down on the performer who was kneeling down. We also looked at the locations used in the original version of the video and there was not a variety of locations so we then analysed the lyrics and then we saw that the lyrics had so much on offer to portray. One other area which we found really interesting to work on was the performance of the star whilst the camera was following his movement. We did the same thing by panning the camera when the performer was moving at the graffiti area. This we found interesting and influential because it shows how the rapper is the central figure and is being followed so that more can be learnt about him and what he is portraying in the video.

The reason we changed the locations was because we were also influenced by major iconography in music videos so we also wanted to add more elements in the video. For example in the opening scene there is religious reference but instead of just performing it in town we will perform it in a church and also use statues of Saint Mary and the Crucifix to name a few

Here is a still from Eminem's Toy Soldiers video which was one of the influences for the graffiti scene in our video. We took this idea but then we used a brighter graffiti area and also filmed during daytime to brighten the video.

From the same video we see some religous element although not in the positive and desirable circumstances. This also influenced our religious theme and iconography by allowing us to link hip hop with religion.

The Kanye West Can't Tell Me Nothing original video:

Here is the complete music video. We took the same ideam from Kanye's original in terms of camera work. We used hand held camera work for some scenes, this was to give the video an original look. One other are we decided to change was the number of characters used in the video. In the original version the rapper is the lone star spear-heading the video. The reason we decided to have another character to support the rapper was because this will strongly emphasize the story telling concept as the rapper is teling the story to someone else. We also added props to enhance the overall look of the video and add realism. For example when the rapper is performing the lyrics, "Wait till I get my money right..." we all decide to bring real money and this also allowed the rapper to flaunt the notes during the performance. We also had a Louis Vitton scarf to add to the professionalism and to relate with the lyrics. We also enhanced the video by including a variety of locations and shots which received high praise from the audience when we showed the video.