Ofcom are a organisation that regulates all content released and put onto the media such as music videos, radio shows and TV shows. The regulations set by Ofcom must be followed and met the criteria expected by Ofcom. If the material breaks the regulations, Ofcom could ban the material. One regulation is the "protecting under-eighteens" code which states that "Material that might seriously impair the psychical, mental or moral development of people under the age of eighteen must not be shown. This can be hard hitting on some music genres such as rap as it portrays a life style that Ofcom do not accept as it could have a negative influence on children due to behaviours such as physical violence being glorified in the song lyrics/music videos. This behaviour could be portrayed through lyrics or symbolic objects associated with violence such as guns or drugs.
I have also gathered research findings from online articles that contain key information on why regulations are important. Livestrong.com suggest that rap can have negative influence on younger children and therefore, Ofcom's regulations can protect these children from being exposed to these negative influences. One of the findings this article mentions is from the Florida International University, where they found that the presents of sexual lyrics and images resulted in the viewers more likely to engage in sexually risky behaviour themselves.
Livestrong.com showcase how rap can influence kids behaviours and suggests why Ofcom is a important institution to have
What I have Learnt so far
I have an improved understanding of how Ofcom operates and the regulations that the music industry have to abide by. It's clear that Ofcom are here to protect us from sensitive subject matters and ones that can cause harm to ourselves and others. They also have the power to remove any content deemed unsuitable within a music video such as lyrics or the video itself.
Colour - The colour used for the video were all really bright, vibrant and stand out colours such as orange, blue, red, yellow and pink. This provokes an unusual emotional response (Rick Altman 1999) of a sort of happiness due to the bright colours and what they are associated with. For example, the CGI editing (although unconventional to the rap genre) gives of the idea of "being on a high" which is conventional to the rap genre as it suggests ideas about drug use and taking drugs, all of which are heavily linked to the rap genre and are commonly used conventions.
Costume - The video consists of various different outfits, ranging from army camouflage jackets/trousers to dressing gowns. Also, along with the costumes, props (such as jewelry) are also worn that shows off the flashy and rich life style these rappers live. The army camouflage outfits could also symbolise violence and terror, as it is associated with conflict mainly due to the war against terrorism which is shown a lot through media outlets. However, this can also be seen as a contradiction, and subverts conventions to some extent because the army is about discipline, and expect the highest standards of behaviour, and rapping in a music video is the complete opposite of their expectations. This serves as a deliberate contradiction to provoke the viewers to think they are breaking rules, and this is a common theme in the genre - to be edgy.
Costumes are also used to objectify women such as the red robe and bikini in the video. This suggests connotations of love and lust as well as being showing a lot of skin which is used to get sexual attention from the viewers the achieve pleasure. This is suggested by Laura Mulvey's male gaze theory which suggests women are sexualised to satisfy mens sexual pleasures and desires. As well as this, it also degrades women's statuses and implies a wrong image of women to men, which is another common aspect of the rap genre. These costumes are also directly linked to the lyrics where he says "Bitches bitches bitches" which creates intentional sexual remarks and suggests that women are some sought of sexual slave to men as it lowers there status in the music video. However, women are also dressed in army camouflage, which suggests equality as they are wearing the same as the males. This also gives women power as it suggests they are also capable to inflict fear and power. This can also be seen in McRobbie's theory where she suggests that women are not of lower status if they use their sexuality to their advantage to gain what they want. Men are, however, shown to be of the highest status as they are the only ones who sing/rap during the video and are shown from a lower angle shot presenting them as more powerful and dominant.
Props - Props such as expensive cars (Lamborghini) are shown through out the music video to again show the expensive and luxurious life style commonly associated with this music genre. This also is a contrast to the life that the use to live We also see images of people holding up guns which represents the dangers of this life style and the gang culture that is associated and portrayed in this video. These props are used in videos as gang culture is a huge influence to their life style as well as being a convention to the genre. They also use these weapons to show how hard their life wars and to display some of the struggles they went through in life such as violence and crime and this also suggests that they want to show a contrast to what their past was like compared there present which shows off how much they have achieved.
Editing
The editing used within the music video is fast paced for the majority of it. This type of pace could be used to represent an extreme type of life style that involves danger. This can be assumed as typically, fast paced editing is generally used during action sequences in movies or TV programs which contain violence to some extent. Therefore, when fast paced editing is used, it creates connotations of danger and violence which when used in a music video, it shows off the rap lifestyle as thrilling and intense.
Lyrics
The lyrics used in this song are mainly used to glamorize his life style and the rap music genre. This is very stereotypical of the rap music genre as these types of lyrics are highly associated with the music genre. The lyrics "B****** b****** b******" and f***" is degrading to women and does not represent the modern values of equality and respect.
Camerawork
During the music video, there is a vast variety of shots used throughout the video that show meaning. One shot that is commonly used throughout this video, is the close up shot of the main star. The close up shot helps the institutions create a star image/persona for the artist as it can reveal their actions and emotions better given the viewer an understanding of the artist that the institution wants us to see. This is also part of Andrew Goodwin's theory about the five key aspects of a music video and star image is one of the five. This states that star image is constructed through the music video and we can see evidence of this during the Yamborghini High video.
Narrative
This video follows the circular narrative as it is mainly used for advertising the main star which we can see due to close ups (camera work) used in the video. The ending of the video is at the beginning stage which is also a trait for the circular narrative.
Sound
Sound is the most important part of music. As well as being the sound of the music, in this video they also include sound effects such as car noises. This sound effect has been chosen carefully as it matches the video due to the scenes of cars driving, but also the lyrics as well when they mention Lamborghini. The race car type sounds glamourise the cars and make it more appealing to the stereotypical viewer who likes rap as they tend to want the same luxury's as well.
What I have learnt so far
It appears that micro elements in music videos a key in sending across complex messages to the viewers. Micro elements are a vital aspect when creating and producing a music video as rap music delivers a themes of violence, poverty, luxury and many more. Therefore, each of the elements such as Mise-en-scene, editing and camera work have to work together to create these themes. This is displayed well as editing during this video implies the affect of a "high" and as we know, drugs are a huge convention of the rap genre.
