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