Mise-en-scene

The typical mise-en-scene for rap and hip-hop videos is often varied, with only a few common elements. The clothing is often very similar and has 2 main styles, Urban (Flat Peaks, Chains, Baggy Clothes) and Sophisticated (Tailored Suits, Shirts, Waistcoats). The lighting varies based on the narrative or setting of the video. Narratives can often be used in hip hop videos, sometimes relevant, sometimes not. Various settings are used, the most popular are clubs and bars. To gather research into mise-en-scene in our genre, I will analyze 2 highly acclaimed, recent hip hop videos, "Not Afraid" by Eminem and "Forever" by Drake. Both were nominated for 'Best hip Hop Video' at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards.

'Not Afraid' by Eminem



The lighting in this video has 2 main contrasting elements. In one major scene, outside, the lighting is very bright, as if it is based on a summers day, yet the other major scene, inside, is quite dark with only a few dingy lamps for light. This ties in with the overall feel of the song, as it can be perceived in a positive way (outside, bright light) or a negative way (inside, dark). However, later on in the song, Eminem breaks through a wall in the dark scene, allowing light to enter the room. This intertwines with the lyric "I'm breaking out of this cage", giving the song its true moral.

Eminems clothing are primarily black, with no major label present on any of his clothes, except from the Nike logo which can occasionally be seen on close ups of his trainers. This is unlike some rappers, who choose to let the audience see what clothes they wear as a sign of money and success. The fact that Eminem is wearing very plain clothes shows that he does not need an extravagant wardrobe to express who he truly is. The video is set in a busy city, with Eminem walking through and getting lost in a maze of mirrors before escaping back into the street. He then discovers that half the city has been torn away with only a giant crater remaining. He dives into the crater, then begins to fly. This represents him taking a step forward in his own life, a step forward into something would only ruin him, but he still managed to come out the other side better than he was before. This is heavily linked with the lyrics as it is a very personal song.

'Forever' by Drake



The majority of the video is set in a club, with each rapper involved in the song being situated at different parts of the club. Through representation, Drake's audience will believe that this will 'represent the real world' (Rayner) in that Drake does live this exclusive lifestyle. Drake is on a stage, Kanye West on a different stage, Lil Wayne on a sofa and Eminem by a bar. This is quite typical of rap videos as clubs are very popular places for rappers to spend their nights. Pyrotechnics are used in most of the club scenes, representing Drake as a danger to other rappers with his newly founded success.

The lighting is primarily dark, with various stage lights and fire creating the only sense of light. This adds to the darker elements of the song. All the rappers in the video are wearing clothes very typical of modern rappers (Hoodies, Gilets, Sunglasses) yet the same as Eminem, none are wearing heavily branded clothes. Although none of the artists themselves are wearing branding, there are elements of branding promotion in the mise-en-scene. In various shots, we see panning shots of Ciroc Vodka. Artists often get paid, or some sort of free package, for promoting products in their videos as it is brilliant publicity and advertising for the product. This form of advertising is known as 'product placement' and is very common in rap videos. By having an artist include their product in a video, in this case Ciroc Vodka, they are hoping to appeal to the artists audience directly.

Our Video

Richard Dyer said "How we are seen determines how we are treated, how we treat others is based on how we see them. How we see them comes from representaton". With this is mind, I wanted to make sure HB was represented in the best way possible, and a key part of representation in videos is the mise-en-scene.

The narrative in our video will be based on HB's rise to fame. We plan to have him start off in a school getting ready to leave. We will then have him walking through and out of the school whilst miming the words. He will then enter a local park, followed by a middle class estate. He will end up in a club and perform the end of the song. We want the narrative to show HB's transition from schoolboy to rap star, and we think that our proposed plan will do just that. By having HB constantly walking, it's showing that he is unstoppable. We plan to have a few extras in the video, one hugging him as a friend, and some fans begging for his autograph. We think that this will show that the star is multi-dimensional, a rapper and a friend.

The lighting will hopefully be very consistent throughout the video. We are aiming to do the majority of the outdoor filming in one go, so we will be very dependent on the weather. We hope to have realistic lighting in the club scene, with various flashing lights around the stage. For clothing, we hope to follow the common rap and hip hop conventions, with a jacket/hoody, white t-shirt, chain and flat peak. This will automatically establish HB as a rapper before people even hear the music. The jacket we will be using does have a logo on the front, so we will be promoting a brand like various other rappers in videos.