Textual Analysis Jay-Z 99 "problems"

We studied this music video in class when reviewing a range of Mark Romanek’s past work, and we came across some good use of camerawork and lighting which we would like to involve similarly in our “A punk” video.

Mes en scene:
The lyrics of the song portray a very specific genre of music, rap. Obviously the style of song is very different to our choice of music, however the use of space with his settings interested us to influence this in our music video. Romanek has taken great care of referring jay-z’s lyrics to the setting therefore sets the narrative of this music piece in New York City, which the lyrics refer to, a stereotypical gangster lifestyle. To address their status in jay-z’s well known hit “99 problems”, Romanek makes good use of props by this idea of gun use and money which is what we connote with a gangster. You can also get an idea of this lifestyle by the policeman who stops jay-z in his “pimped out” car with money in his boot which shows the audience the idea of drug dealing which also is connoted by gangsters. Jay-z is also portrayed as this gangster who is known globally as successful through his talent and has out beat his past life which we see when his name and face is on a televised pin bored in central park. From this video we have been inspired by the use of great detail of setting use as it does make that bigger difference when you can clearly see that time and effort has been done to get the best shots, therefore Romanek’s work has been inspiring, even though it’s a different genre song.

Editing and Lighting:
through out the music video Romanek has kept it black and white which is very effective especially in this style of music, because it can be used to refer to the idea of comparison of black and white culture which it is in some ways in this video. It also can be done to make the video edgy and also to make parts stand out, such as shadows. This helps with the choice of lighting too as Romanek has used a mixture of low key lighting high key lighting to create a particular appearance to the audience’s interest. Low key lighting is visible in parts of the video when danger is suggested for example; when the police stop jay-z in the car in a mysterious setting of blocks (flats) and metal staircases with “garbage bins” a stereotypical New York City setting. The low key lighting helps connote danger and crime.

Camerawork:
Romanek uses a lot of tilt shots so that the camera appears to be low and looking up at the big idle Jay-z himself, this gives jay-z as an artist power and status towards the audience. Tilt shots are very effective therefore could be fun to play around with in our media piece. Romanek also uses a great amount of close ups which is for obvious reasons by giving the audience clear shots of the star “Jay-z” this relates to one of Goodwin’s 6 of the record labels honor of the artist.