Will Abbott

Tyler, The Creator is an American Rapper from Los Angeles known for co-founding the Odd Future collective and being a music video director. Over his career he has released four studio albums Bastard (2009), Goblin (2011), Wolf (2013) and Cherry Bomb (2015) all of them being successful earning numerous awards and nominations. Tyler’s dark style of rapping is unique but often criticised due to lyrical content that has been described as disturbing.

She (Featuring Frank Ocean) was an EP released on Tyler’s second studio album Goblin (2011) with the music video following on the 3rd of June 2011 on the OFWGKTA YouTube channel. Tyler himself produced the track with himself and Frank Ocean co-writing together, additionally Tyler directed the music video himself. The music video was noted to contain black-humour with a satirical tongue and cheek delivery.

 

Through analysing She it is blatant that the music video follows a horror/fantasy genre story line created by Tyler, The Creator. In which a story line between a teenage boy and girl falling in love poses as the music video for the song. Initially the story line begins with a neighbourhood gang member meeting the teenage girl as she moves into her new suburban house. Following this he spends the night with her and then has to hide from her father who comes home. Next up we are introduced to the Goblin character within the story line who breaks in to her house, spies on the teenage girl during her sleep and the proceeds to leave a message on her wardrobe.

 

Afterwards the frame cuts to reveal Goblin and his friends waiting at the lake for her and friends only to be surprised by the cops who then arrest them all and take them to the teenage girl’s house to face her angry dad. At this point the story line takes a turn and Goblin is introduced to the girl and they both seem make amends with one another. Ending the music video both Goblin and the teenage girl wave towards the television screen in which appears in the following frame to reveal the teenage girl watching television on her own only for the camera to tilt upwards and reveal Goblin peering down on her leaving a chilling feel to the viewers of the music video.

 

Sound

When analysing the sound other than Tyler, The Creator rapping it is noticeable that plenty of sound effects are used during the course of the music video. For example at the start of the music video non-diegetic sounds such as birds chiming and bells ringing which are specifically put in place in order to reveal the suburban setting in which the music video is set in. Furthermore as the song plays after the introduction further sound effects are added to enhance the dramatic feel in which the music video poses to create. For example the sound of thunder clapping is added into the music video to further the edgy and dramatic mood when the gangster notices something.

 

Throughout the rest of the song further sound effects are added to develop the surrounding sceneries such as running water during the lake scene and police sirens during the cop car and policing scenes. Additionally sound effects are also used at the end of the music video during the transition into the television show as the background audience laughter and clapping in the background to matches the frame perfectly.

 

Editing

The editing within She doesn’t tend to flow with the structure of the song but rather favour the story line encapsulated within the music video. For example the cut transitions used between frames within the video don’t tend to match the change of the beat or the flow of the vocals/rapping but rather the development of the story line over the course of the video. However numerous effects are used within the video such as a fade to white used in the lake scene to differentiate Goblins fantasy to the actual scenario occurring. By using the fade to white transition within the video it portrays a sense of ambiguity due to the fact that it interprets more than result that could possibly occur within the music video.

Another editing technique used within the video was a split screen demonstrating the dialogue between the police and the gangster. By using this technique it allows the conversation between the two characters to be viewed in one frame together rather than having lots of cut transitions separating every frame between each character every few seconds.

 

In terms of the editing pace of the music video it is rather slow in comparison to others, most probably due to the fact that the actual BPM of the song is rather slow. Therefore the editing would be preferred to be slow then fast as it matches the flow of the song properly. Additionally by having a slow pace of editing it allows the story line within the music video to be easily followed by the viewer as the frame rate will be less and longer too.

 

Mise En Scene

Through analysing the mise en scene of She it provides that the music video was set in multiple locations all varying. For example the first setting is based in a LA suburban street scenery in the daytime, then as the story line within the music video moves on more locations are introduced such as the girly pink bedroom, “police station”, Suburban Park and also the lake setting. By using a range of settings within the music video it allows the story line to have more room to develop and expand over the course of the song.

 

In terms of the costumes featured throughout the music video a various range are used due to the numerous characters within the story line. For example the gang member at the start is dressed in a typical gang uniform consisting of a bandana, cargo trousers and Timberland boots. Whilst the girl is dressed in a grey t-shirt and pink shorts. Both of these costumes fit the typical stereotypes of these characters and what they should be wearing. Additionally other costumes include police uniforms on the policeman, a hoodie and balaclava for Goblin and a Far Eastern costume consisting of a cooli hat, silk shirt and silk trousers. Additionally to further the costume of the gang member he is given a gun as a prop to further carry the typical stereo type.

 

In terms of lighting a lot of it is artificial with a few bits of natural lighting during the daytime and thunderstorm scenes. This is due to the fact that a majority of the music video is shot during the night time therefore the main sources of light are from things such as room lights/lamps, car headlights/police lights and floodlights set up around the area.

 

Camera Shots, Angles & Movement

Throughout the She music video a wide range of camera shots, angles, movement and techniques are used to create effect and add emphasis towards the music video. For example at the very start of the music video the camera uses an establishing shot to reveal the suburban location and then zooms into the NILBOG street sign to further distinguish the setting of the music video. Shortly afterwards the camera tracks along the road to the end of the road and tilts downwards to reveal the gang members playing dice games in the street. In terms of the cameras activity during the first interaction between the gang member and the girl an over the shoulder shot is used to capture the gang member looking over at the girl as she is moving into the neighbourhood. This is then followed with a medium shot of the girl turning around and smiling at the on looking gang member.

 

Further techniques used during the music video includes movement such as a pan at a low angle going across the garden following goblin as he staggers out of the girls house and runs out through the garden. By using a pan to follow Goblin it allows the surrounding scenery to be revealed to the audience/viewer. Additionally more uses of camera movement during the music video include an upwards tilt used towards the end of the music video to reveal Goblin standing above and looking down at the girl below on the sofa. By using the tilt to slowly reveal Goblin it enhances the dramatic feel by using the element of surprise to reveal something that was seen to be unexpected. Furthermore at the end of the music video the camera zooms out of the frame to reveal the music video as a television show in which the girl is watching, again adding another element of surprise towards the music video.

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