Music video case study 2

Music Video Case Study 22pac – Dear Mama (February 21 1995)

Synopsis The video is narrative based and tells a story about Tupac’s

mum and how she raised him, it re-enacts parts of his life in which his mum helped him and the whole video is a love letter to his mum. The video is told form her perspective, as she goes through her old family photos and remembers these events while the music and the lyrics tell the story.

Themes The main themes of the video are love and thankfulness, as

well as introspection, as the video shows how Tupac became the person he is today. The video shows how his mother helped him and another theme is how troubled his past was as the video shows him being arrested and being in a gang.

Representation The artist is shown throughout the video mostly played by

actors as it shows him as a child and teenager. Clips from other music videos are used to show Tupac as an adult and show his successful career. Tupac is not represented in a positive light as he is shown in prison, stealing, and crying as a child. This highlights the problems he had in life and shows how his mother worked hard and helped him overcome which is the overall message of the video. Tupac’s mum is also not perfect as it shows her doing drugs and in jail showing how her life was not easy too, however she is still represented positively as she overcame this.

Camera Depth of field shots are used

for scenes of his past to show his memories, close ups are used to convey emotions which are themes of the video.

Dutch angles are often used to show discomfort of the scenes when showing parts of Tupac’s troubled past.

The camera moves slowly in order which fits the tone and the music in the video as well as showing the emotion of the scenes in the video for longer.

Editing Many cross fades are used and blurry dissolves show the

flashbacks of his past, as well as match the slow camera moves. Some cuts are matched to the slow beat of the music, cross cutting is used to show similar stories which relate to each other, the mother’s problem with drugs and Tupac in a gang, highlighting the theme of them needing each other and his mum overcoming troubles to raise her son.

Mise-en-scene Low key lighting is used to

show dark shadows which show sadness, a lot of the flashbacks are in blue, to show sadness and violence.

Brown and orange are also prominent colours to show the emotion of the scene as well as the environment, the contrast also shows different characters

We see the characters past was not very rich and this can be seen through the clothing and the set design of the house

Sound There is no lip synching in the video it tells a story, and the

music is non diegetic. The only dialogue we hear is in the beginning from Tupac’s mother which sets up the theme of the video as a flashback shows her pregnant in jail. There is no diegetic sound in the video as the story is told through visuals and the lyrics of the song.

Target Audience The audience is clearly people from poor socio economic

backgrounds, or people who used to have a troubled past. This appeals to not only teenagers but adults who would have experienced it. There music itself is more accessible than traditional rap with less profanity, but has adult themes. People can relate to this type of story so the audience is broader than other rap songs by Tupac or other artists. The emotional value of the video’s story resonates with people which would get them to buy it, especially when this was made in the mid 90s when songs weren't available everywhere online.

Ideas/Inspiration Telling a story visually interests me and my own music video

could incorporate visual storytelling effectively. The colours used here to tell the story is also an element I would like to use.

The depth of field shots with shallow and deep focus are also very visually interesting and I would want to use those filming techniques in my own work.

The unique way the music is used, rather than lip synching it tells the story through the lyrics. This is a different idea which could make my own video more unique.