SC: Roll Deep Video Analysis

Product Analysis

Music video: Good Times (song) - by Roll Deep ft. Jodie Connor
Roll Deep are a group of young hip-hop/rap artists who often come together to write ‘feel good’ songs. This ‘feel good’ attitude can be seen through out the video which depicts the group having a good night out. Through mise-en-scene, sound, editing and cinematography the video represents the group itself and the culture they are a part of. This music video is a very traditional one and includes almost all of the common music video conventions such as a direct relationship between the lyrics, visuals and music and a voyeuristic view of the female body for example.

Cinematography
The first shot is a close up of the time to tell the audience that it is a Saturday night and set the mood and theme for the rest of the video. After this are a series of close-ups (in a voyeuristic manner) of the lead female singer, the close up allowing the audience to see the happy and joyful emotion on her face. We can see an immediate relationship between the upbeat music and lyrics along with the visuals on screen through this close-up as well. These are two traditional conventions of music videos only a few seconds into the song shown to the audience through cinematography. Cinematography is then used through out the rest of the video using close-ups to emphasise the representations created by mise-en-scene such as champagne glasses and balloons. As well as this there are a few canted angles in the video to represent the chaos of a fun night out. The cinematography used also picks up and emphasises another common convention of music videos whereby the performer on screen “breaks the 4th wall” and sings directly into the camera as if singing to the audience. The video uses close-ups when the performer is doing this to show it more obviously.

Sound
There is no dialogue or intro to the video and the sound is simply the track itself. However, the lyrics themselves fit the visuals on screen and repeat what we are seeing on screen with an upbeat style and quick pace which fits the stereotypical themes of a music video.

Editing
The editing is fast paced and in time with the visuals on screen. This is a common video convention with the camera angle of scene often changing on each beat of the rhythm and this video does the same in many parts. The editing also splits the screen on a few occasions showing the same shot but across different screens (as seen below). This adds a bit of confusion to the audience and represents the feeling of being drunk and symbolising a good night out.

Mise-en-scene
The mise-en-scene plays the biggest part in representing the theme and idea of the song. The happy attitude is shown through balloons (the most obvious symbol of happiness used in film) and champagne which represents two things; both alcohol and wealth. Telling the audience that they plan to have both a good night out and get drunk as well as showing they plan to spend a lot of money. The costumes used also represents the happy feeling, all the stars are dressed up for a night out and in a voyeuristic manner, the female singer in particular, a common convention of music videos. The sets are also important, matching with the lyrics when talking of nights out in clubs and dancing on the dance floor.