Kanye West - Stronger. Deconstruction

Kanye West - Stronger

Length: 4.27
Edits: Approx 192

    The establishing shot for the music video is a outburst of colour from the centre of the shot. This then spreads to cover the screen in white. This outburst of strong colours (red/orange/yellows) grabs the target audiences attention and warns them that something is coming up. The colours used have connotations of fire. This suggests danger within the video which links to the lyrics later on: "N-now th-th-that that don't kill me". The establishing sequence is then a mix of quickly edited shots showing a futuristic machine, controlled by futuristic people with long shots showing the futuristic city of Japan. All of these shots suggest to the audience that the music video is shot in the future. This attracts them to the music video and also keeps them interested as they want to see other elements of the future in the video. The futuristic representation within the video also helps to represent the modernness of the Hip/Hop genre in today's society. The majority of shots in the establishing sequence featuring the machine are low angle shots. This helps to represent the machine as powerful and a potential source of danger. There are many fast edits within the establishing  sequence to keep the fast beat of the song. All of the edits are done n the beat of the music to help the music video flow and to highlight the beat which is a important feature within the Hip/Hop music genre.

    During the first verse of the song Kanye is singing the verse in a location which looks like a alleyway. The target audience may be able to recognise this location as it may be similar to a place where they might hang out. There are many close ups, medium close ups and mid shots of Kanye West singing in this location. These are to highlight his attractive appearance to make him a aspiring figure to the male target audience and attract female target audiences as he is handsome. He is also framed centrally throughout these shots to represent him as important to the audience. There is a jump cut during the lyrics:"You can be my black Kate Moss tonight". The music video cuts to a medium close up of a Asian young woman. She is wearing a lot of make up with her hair done to represent her as attractive. This representation keeps to generic gender representations within the media. She is posed seductively to attract the male target audience. Kanye West is wearing jeans, a white t-shirt with a black print on it and a denim/grey hoodie. All of these clothes are stereotypical of the Hip/Hop style meaning the target audience will be able to identify with Kanye West. His clothing also helps to represent the Hip/Hop Genre. He is wearing white glasses with lines running through them with gaps. This style of glasses is representative of Kanye West as he is associated with this fashion. Glasses of this style are available to buy on his website meaning he is using this music video to advertise both the song and his merchandise.

       During the chorus, the narrative is of Motorbikes speeding through the centre of a modern city. The audience can recognise the location as Japan which in itself is one of the most modern and futuristic countries in the world. There have been lines of colour added to the bikes in post production. This was to help the bikes seem faster than they actually are. By doing this it helps keep the fast tempo of the song. The colours used are also significant. Red/orange and yellow are the colours used in the establishing shot. The colours used have connotations of fire which represents danger. This helps keep the target audience interested in the video. It also helps to build tension within the chorus leading up to a climax. The editing technique of superimposition is used when the bikes are going through a tunnel. A close up of Kanye Wests face is superimposed on the long shot of the bikes. This helps draw the attention back of Kanye West to represent his importance within the music video.  A effect has also been added in post production of adding lines across Kanye Wests face. This makes it look like the audience are seeing him through a TV screen. This adds a sense of mystery to the video which attracts and interests the target audience within the video. The cutting rate of the music video is still high and the cuts are made on the beat of the music to help the music video flow and to represent the beat which is a important part of the Hip/Hop genre.

    At 1.59 in the video there is a interesting mix of shots and jump cuts. It begins with a long shot of Kanye west framed centrally. The pipes around him help to frame him and draw attention to his clothes. He is wearing the same outfit as earlier in the video; jeans, a white t-shirt and a denim hoodie. The target audience can relate to Kanye West when he wears these clothes as it is similar to some of the clothes they might wear. The clothes he is wearing are also very stereotypical of the hip/hop style which helps to represent the hip/hop genre. To the beat of the music there is a jump cut to a close up of Kanye's feet in the futuristic machine. There is a contrast in lighting between the two shots. The shot with the pipes has low key lighting while the shot with the machine is brightly lit. The contrast between the lighting helps to make the music video more visually interesting to the target audience. Another jump cut then happens to the beat of the music back to the original shot. The camera angle is still a long shot but the camera is moving backwards away from him. Another jump cut then occurs to the beat of the music back to the machine. This time it is a close up of Kanye's chest and face going into the machine. He is topless showing off his attractive body. This will make him a aspiring figure to male target audiences and attract female target audiences to the video due to his sex appeal. Another jump cut on the beat to Kanye is the same position singing but this time the camera angle is a extreme long shot.  These jump cuts between the two scenes continue happening with the camera in the pipe location moving further and further back and several parts of the machine being highlighted. The use of these jump cuts and quick edits helps build tension and interest to the music video. The tension is important for the next part of the narrative in the music video.

    During the third repetition of the chorus during the music video the narrative takes a massive unexplained twist featuring a short sequence in a hospital showing what the machine has done to Kanye West. When i first watched this sequence I didn't get it so just like the rest of the target audience would do the music video would be re-watched. This then gets the song "Stronger" into the target audiences head and encourages them to buy it.  In the hospital there is a long shot of Kanye West lying against the wall after breaking out of his room. The remains of the door are seen on the floor at the bottom of the shot which represents Kanye's new supernatural strength. He is framed off centre to the left of the shot. This is to help represent the unstable sense of mind he has in the narrative. This idea is also reinforced by editing techniques of flashing white lights. All of these things encourage the target audience to keep watching to see what happens in the narrative. Throughout this sequence there is a high cutting rate to fit with the tempo of the music and also to give a element of danger.  Another couple of shots which caught my eye in this section starts with a close up of Kanye West. He is wearing a white top and white trousers. The target audience may be able to recognise these clothes as similar to the ones you wear in hospital or stereotypical mental asylum clothes. The colour white however has connotations of innocence and morality suggesting that Kanye is in the right. After the close up you see a long shot of soldiers been blown back by a supernatural force. This may lead to the target audience admiring Kanye for rebelling against authority.

    The closing shot for the video is the high angle of modern city location that has been used throughout the music video.  The high angle shot helps to highlight the futuristic elements within the location which represents this modern futuristic theme that has been running through the video. All of the different colours on the electronic billboards in the shot makes it visually attractive to the target audience and a strong shot to end on.

    This music video "Kanye West - Stronger" keeps to all of the generic conventions of music videos which I have found in my other deconstructions. For example, editing on the beat of the music, lip syncing to highlight the artists ability, a narrative running throughout the video and so on.

    There were some conventions that I found were particular with this genre. There were a lot more edits used in this music video and the cutting rate was particularly fast. This is because of the beat within the hip/hop genre and the fast pace of the music. The music video also felt a lot more modern than the rest of the music videos I have deconstructed. Many new hip/hop songs have a modern feel to their music videos to highlight modern day hip/hop vs the old style of hip/hop in the 1980's.