Video analysis

1. The Streets – Don’t mug yourself This song was released on the 8th July 2003 and was a great success. The band are known for making music that was new and unique and got given the genre UK Hip Hop. The video is very down to earth and follows the story of the morning after a night out and how he should now act towards a girl he met that night. I chose this video to analyze as a large contrast between the previous female artists and now a male performer. This video as well as the others has the artist themselves featuring and singing in the video. With the female artists I have looked at they perform in bits and pieces throughout the video where as with this video the artist performs continuously on screen throughout the duration of the song; This could suggest male dominance especially with the meaning of the song itself which basically is saying for the man to take control of what is going on in a relationship and not to let the women dominate. To achieve this the framing of the majority of shots have the artist centered in the screen but it doesn’t focus all attention on them, the background is currently changing to everyday scenes are scenarios, this helps the audience relate to the video thus enjoy it more. The video starts by entering a cafeteria described as a ‘Greasy Spoon cafeteria” which is associated with working class people. A crab shot is used to follow the singer through the café whilst singing into the camera, the whole song is as if the guy in the video is talking to you the audience like you’re a friend making it quite personal, this is done in many ways, for instance having a close up shot of his head talking directly to the camera. This shot is especially effective as the actor has his head turned as if he’s turned his head to speak to you in the club he’s in. A Few shots later it talks about having a full english breakfast which is again widley accocaited with the working class. Friendship is also a key theme throughout this video showing the comradeship between two friends. This is shown by them sharing time together in the café, Sitting down having a cup of tea in one of their apartments, going to the pub together and having a drink and playing darts with each other. Generally the working class are thought to have a good sense of community and looking after one another, this is clear through the friendship of the two guys but becomes more apparent when the people from the whole pub start commenting and reciting the lyric “Hold it down boy your heads getting blurred, I know you can stop thinking of her, by all means you can vibe with this girl just don’t mug yourself that’s all don’t mug yourself” Which in other words is saying we care about your well being and we want you to go and have fun just doesn’t get hurt in the process. With this video the what is being said in the lyrics often tends to relate to what’s on screen, an example of this would be when he says “Get my phone out, ‘bout to give this girl a shout” and it shows him getting out his phone and again with “Girl brings two plates of full English over” Drinking cups of tea, which is a typical British thing to do, also this is showing the two friends together, companionship is a common trait when conveying the working class. Going down the local pub for a drink is again anther example of the bonding between the two friends. The scene is set in the local pub most people in there know each other and are friendly with the pub landlord, the dimly lit lighting helps give a sense of warmth and kindness, this trend is continued when displaying the other people in the pub. Being in these locations it shows that the lead character does not consider himself to be better than anyone else there and hasn’t let the fame of being a pop star get to him and influence his everyday activities, this is also done with the lack of high tech video effects but more a down to earth video. To keep the personal feel going between the people in the pub a lot of close up shots are used to get the audience up close and personal with the people, the close up shot is often used to help the viewer feel more comfortable with the people on screen.