Dale Luck Tom Cartwright

Otis by Kanye West and Jay-Z

A2 Media Studies Coursework

Features Genre Characteristics

Observations Examples This is mainly just a performance video Kanye and Jay-Z sing the song into the camera interspersed by shots of them driving a car they mutilate at the beginning
Lyrics The lyrics are essentially all lip At the beginning when Jay-Z lip synced by the two rappers, syncs the other guys voice and even the part of the song that then sings into the camera they aren t actually singing. Sounds so soulful don t you agree

Relationship and Visuals

Between

Every other part of the song Relationship Between Music The pacing of the song perfectly The slow pacing of the video and Visuals matches the pacing of the during the opening actual video The car scenes that aren t too fast or slow, and the rapping parts Artist close-ups and star image The stars are often by Jay-Z saluting the flag whilst lipmotifs themselves in their shots, syncing especially when they re singing, and they re the main focus Kanye walking in front of Jay-Z when he s lip-syncing Reference to the notion of The only idea of looking at The opening looking things is probably the opening where they re cutting the car All the shots of the car and and focusing on the tools them lip-syncing are all as if from a camera, and has the The rest is structured to be like people focusing their attention they re the ones being focused at the camera as well on by others Intertextual references n/a n/a

Video category(/ies)

Illustration

Dale Luck Tom Cartwright

Otis by Kanye West and Jay-Z

A2 Media Studies Coursework

Why did you choose the text you are analysing? It s a nice example of a straight-performance video with a few elements of creativity, and is actually a pretty good song as well. The video is also a good example of how a performance video can keep you interested despite a small number of things actually happening.

In what context did you encounter it? Dale found it whilst reading an article on digital distribution and counter-acting piracy. The album for Watch The Throne was released online exclusively to iTunes 4 days before the release of it s physical side, and it was also released as a Deluxe Edition with exclusive songs. It was one of the few albums in recent years to avoid a leak before it s release, which increased the number of sales.

What influence do you think this context might have had on your interpretation of the text? We think it probably made us appreciate the song and video a lot more, beyond just being something entertaining, but really there isn t much there to interpret and we don t think it changed our view of it that much.

Which conventions of the genre do you recognize in the text? The illustration genre often has the lyrics being a straight performance or having a narrative element to them this has both, with the song being sung to the audience directly by Kanye and Jay-Z on camera, but at the same time showing them driving a car which links to the song where they sing about doing just that (not in the exact same fashion, but it s still basically connected).

To what extent does this text stretch the conventions of its genre? It stretches the conventions of keeping it simple rather than simply being a performance or narrative video it takes some creative interpretation with the setting and use of the lyrics, so in that sense it s actually more like amplification than illustration, and yet does enough sole performance to keep it classed as illustration.

Where and why does the text depart from the conventions of the genre? It takes a creative view of the lyrics rather than just being a straight interpretation they sing about more than just their car, and they do a lot more with it in the lyrics than just riding around for fun, but the video chooses to focus on that and their performance alone.

Dale Luck Tom Cartwright

Otis by Kanye West and Jay-Z

A2 Media Studies Coursework

What sort of audience did you feel that the video was aimed at (and how typical was this of the genre/style of music)? It was probably aimed at people who were already into either the music of Jay-Z or Kanye West, as it sort of plays off the idea that they re already stars, and Jay-Z has certain lines like I guess I got my swagger back which presumes some knowledge of Jay-Z s previous works.

What sort of person does it assume you are? It assumes you re the kind of person that is into Kanye s previous works his music videos and his songs are often known for being very creative rather than the usual video of this kind of music that consists of stuff like being at a party, getting drunk and getting laid.

What assumptions seem to be made about your class, age, gender and ethnicity? It s safe to assume it s aimed more at the male gender, young adults of working class and potentially middle class. The ethnicity isn t really assumed, as this kind of music tends to be enjoyed by a lot of different people. A lot more males than females like this kind of music though, and Kanye s work isn t really something that older people tend to appreciate as much.

What interests does it assume you have? It probably assumes that you re into their previous work, especially Kanye West it has that flair that s very specific to his kind of music while at the same time mixing in the style of Jay-Z as well. It s a pretty fantastic collaboration of the two, but if you weren t into either of them before you probably wouldn t be interested if you heard they collaborated.

What relevance does the text actually have for you? What knowledge does it take for granted?

To what extent do you resemble the ideal reader that the video seeks to position you as? Neither of us represents the ideal reader, as this kind of music isn t the sort that we listen to regularly that s not to say it wasn t enjoyable, but Tom prefers to listen to rock music and Dale prefers to listen to older music and background music.

Dale Luck Tom Cartwright

Otis by Kanye West and Jay-Z

A2 Media Studies Coursework

Are there any notable shifts in the video s (and if so, what do they involve)? There s a notable shift between the style used during the opening where the voice of Otis R edding can be heard and... after that part. The beginning consists mainly of slow paced music and the singing of Otis whilst Jay-Z and Kanye head towards the car to customize it, which is itself in slow motion and the content is also slow paced (e.g. walking and working), whereas after that the music picks up and the content gets faster (e.g. the fast moving car and the two of them singing into the camera) whilst still remaining in slow motion for the vast majority of it.

What responses does the video seem to expect from you? The video expects you to be entertained by the imagery, which you can see from the fact that there s no deep meaning to what s being shown it s just them singing and having fun driving a car and shooting fireworks (?), themselves visibly entertained.

How open to negotiation is your response (are you invited, instructed or coerced to respond in particular ways)? Just like the other music videos, this one has the sole purpose of keeping you entertained, and there s very little else there to focus on. Everything in it is there to engage the viewer and keep it entertaining, from talking to the camera constantly to showing them ecstatically driving the car. There s very little else there, and you d be hard tasked to try and get a different response from this video.

Is there any penalty for not responding in the expected ways? Just like the Professor Green video, if you aren t entertained by this video then you re probably going to be disappointed or bored by the video, but again it s a video that remains visually stimulating throughout and it d be hard to at least not be interested in what it s showing.

To what extent do you find yourself reading against the grain of the text and the genre? Not at all with such a sole focus on entertainment there s very little to aid you in misinterpreting what s happening.

How typical do you think this video is of music videos? It s very common for music videos to be constructed around just keeping you entertained throughout it