How do your products use or challenge conventions and how do they represent social groups or issues?

ARTIST PROMOTION

ARTIST PROMOTION

In hip/hop music video, the artist is often put in first place where they appear lip syncing often from a low angle to give them importance. Here, I followed my artist genre where the only music video where she doesn’t appear is “si j’etais un homme” the song that I chose. The artist in her music video doesn’t appear because she is transmitting a message through a contemporary dance. In my case, I chose to use irony, for example the scene with the water running into the sink is to show how men can be shameless and careless such as peeing anywhere they can. To share the message, I also used many close-ups that can be sexual. The reason I decided to break these conventions is because I understood the fact that she is not appearing in her music video as if she was letting space to the meaning of the song, she wasn’t putting herself first but the song, in contrast of conventional hip/hop music videos.

Women being objectified/Male being main attention of power

Women being objectified/Male being main attention of power

Hip/hop singer are often accompanied by women during their music video, for example in 50 cents music videos in a amount of 1 minute there are a least 4 women just standing irrelevantly next to him to make him look attractive. This suggest that women are irrelevant and meaningless as he laugh away each within a second. My artist is singing an hip/hop song denouncing men’s attitudes towards women, she is breaking conventions already by singing those lyrics in this genre. My music video uses sexual shot to provoke people and get their attention because in nowadays if you want to have a voice you need to use methods that attract people. I’m using the fact women are objectified to use against the ones judging. I’m giving importance to women in Hip/Hop this is my reason for not using a male character. I don’t believe that women are more superior but in the case the use of a male character wouldn’t have fit the topic in concerned because in nowadays exaggerating is a way of getting people attention.

Crowd dancing on the song

Crowd dancing on the song

Having a crowd dancing on the song and making them appear as if they like it and are having fun helps increasing the chances an audience will like the song. I decided not to follow this conventions as in contrast to conventional hip/hop song, the lyrics aren’t about having fun and money so I used a single character not have this crowd effect that the audience might get and to represent all the women that are alone facing an aggressive person even when they talk about it and we tell them to wait. She is facing the world and reality,

this also explains why most of my shots are in

front of a simple wall facing the camera.

Showing off sport clothes

Showing off sport clothes

Hip/hop songs often show off their clothes which are often basketball t-shirts. I didn’t focus a lot on costumes of my protagonist only when necessary when she needed to represent a specific character such as a teenager, a mother, or any other women. The costumes/props which are given more importance is for representation because this music video is for everyone not only women but also girls and boys/men. The more daring scenes are important to be seen because hiding it it’s not a solution but talking is. They are there to make people talk.

Showing off money

Again the artist is put in front by showing off all the money he has using expensive cars and jewelry. When I used a chain as a prop I used to provoke the audience. As most of my shots they all relate to the lyrics in the same timing. In the song the singer “if I buy you a chain, you would be my dog”, from what I understood she is referring to men buying jewelry to women for them to do what they want.

Showing off money

Close-ups used to promote the artist

Close-ups used to promote the artist

Close-ups in hip-hop music video are used to establish the artist, to show their “power” or their importance because they appear on all the frames. This is a convention that I followed in a way because I kept the numerous close-ups but not to promote the artist but things that our society ignore.