This is America Music Video Ananysis

 

The song ‘This is America’ by Childish Gambino (Donald Glover) is about the issues in America, for example gun control, racism and how America uses entertainment to distract people from the real issues going on. Both these points are further amplified in the music video. It covers a lot of semiotics and controversial topics.

Firstly we see a man sitting on a chair with a guitar then moments later he comes back into shot for a sudden shock from the lighthearted guitar player to a man with a bag over his head. Childish Gambino dances while walking towards him then shoots him in the head right before the first lyric ‘This is America’. 

Afterwards, the gun is handed to a man and wrapped in a red cloth and handled with care, and taken off the frame in-front of Dominic while the victim is just dragged off the frame in the background of him dancing. This difference in level of care and focus represents the gun problem in America and how the weapons are given more care than the victims. This is also representing how quickly America moves on from the victims of shootings as the person was being dragged off behind Glover without him looking back, showing that he had already moved on. The same care for the gun is also shown in the second shooting where it is carried off in a red cloth again. 

A symbolism that is not as clear is the choice of costume that Childish Gambino is wearing. He is shown wearing nothing on his top half, which could show his position of vulnerability. The trousers he is wearing are very symbolic for the issues that the video is representing. He is wearing typical trousers worn in the confederate uniform. Confederates in America fought to keep slaves in the slave trade and not being freed. Therefore the costume could be referring to 1865 union forces and the slave trade, Gambino being an African-American man himself the trousers are most likely being worn to make a point about racism in America and how it is still a prominent issue.

The two gold chains he is wearing also have a lot of symbolism as they are representing bondage and enslavement of African Americans. It may also represent the genre of the song and reflect the rap/hiphop aspect of it or the obsession with consumerism that the song talks about.

The first time we see childish Gambino he is standing amongst lots of white beams inside the building, he is standing with his arms by his side, almost as if he is trying to blend in. The fact that all of the beams are white could represent how much of a white-washed society most of America is and that he doesn’t feel like he fits in.

The video amplifies the issue presented in the lyrics ‘We just want the money, money just for you’ and ‘girl you got me dancing, dance and shake the frame’. The lyrics are talking about the issue of consumerism in America and how it us just used as a distraction from the issues, and also how obsessed people are with money and parties. The video is showing the distraction from the bigger issues as there are always people dancing in the centre of the frame and the problems are presented through symbolism in the background. ‘Dance and shake the frame’ is telling us that the issues are blurred by ‘shaking the frame’ and therefore the issues are being ignored and not resolved.

An example of the symbolism of issues in the background is the horseman galloping past in the background while Dominic and other dancers are in main focus. The horse and the man are thought to be a reference to the new testament and the horseman in the apocalypse. It is is referencing the quote ‘Death rides on a pale horse with hell falling behind’. The horse is white which is the same as is represented in New Testament. This therefore is implying that America is in apocalypse and nobody is realising as everyone is focused on entertainment and consumerism and are being distracted. 

The facial expressions and dance moves are very light hearted and happy which reflects how the music starts as a gospel cheerful song. The song then suddenly switches, also presented with the technical aspect of the sound effects of guns as the audience is shocked. The gospel music is meant to get the audience into a false sense of security then the abrupt change is like a wake up call to get them to realise they need to open their eyes to the issues going on. 

Another technical aspect used is the camera work. The camera is being tracked and following Dominic. This is showing him as the main star which is rejecting Dyer’s star theory. He is always in the centre of the frame and being followed by the camera movement so therefore is the centre of attention. The video also presents Dyer’s star theory by showing Dominic presenting all the issues he does as this is building his ideology to the audience. 

Intertextuality is also used in this music video as we are given a reference to things such as the shooting in Georgia in 2015 when Childish Gambino is shown shooting the gospel singers in the church. This has a lot of meaning as in this shooting the man was white and in the video the police are not chasing him or trying to catch him indicating the corrupt system and white privilege. 

Feedback on Album Artwork

 Today I was given feedback from the class on my album artwork this is what they said:

• Was it clear if you artwork was for a band or an artist? - Yes, as there was one person on the front, the name of the artist doesn't sound like a band it sounds like a singular artist. 

Was your genre clear? What key conventions did you use that were successful? - Yes, hiphop/rap. The font presented it very well, as it looks like graffiti, and like it has been scratched. His face is hidden a bit, you cant see his eyes which presents the hiphop/rap genre more

• What worked well overall?  - The font, the style, the way I blended the fonts into the picture, the amount of detail in the photo and the editing

• What could you have improved? - Move the parental advisory sticker to the left hand side as this is usually where it is.
  

•  The track list was hard to read. So maybe I should change the colour or the font. I also need number them as it is hard to tell what order they are in.
  

Band/artist logos

Logos are symbols or small designs that represent and identify the artist or band and they are printed on things such as the drums of the band, the albums and the merchandise.

 Band or artist logos are very important to the revenue of their music as they will be on all the merch and could become a USP. The logo being on merchandise is very important as it is another source of advertising for the artist as if other people are wearing a t-shit with it on other people will see it and may decide to listen to the music. The selling of the product as well will generate revenue for the the artist. 

It could even turn into a kind of cult where people graffiti the logo or get it tattooed on their neck to represent the band. Therefore people will follow the trend and do this as well. 

There are 8 types of logos:

Abstract mark

 

Mascot Logo

Combination mark

Lettermark

Pictorial mark

Wordmark

Emblem logo

Here is an example of a band logo, it is Nirvana's logo:

This is a combination mark as it consists of both words and a picture. It conveys the genre through the use of colours, font, and the picture. 

The colours present the genre of punk rock as it is predominantly black with a bold yellow colour that also portrays the music as very bold and different, as the colour stands out from the background so it could reflect the band being different from the rest of society.

The picture looks like it represents somebody that is drunk or has taken too many drugs. Therefore representing the genre of punk rock again as this genre and specifically this bands songs are usually talking about drugs and being rebellious so will target the audience that are into this music.

The bold font that is used is poster bodoni compressed. The boldness of the font reflects the music and the band again as standing out and being bold. 

These are the logos I designed for my artist:

Why is album artwork used and how

 Album artwork is very important to a new artist for these reasons:

• It helps to create and maintain the artists image - this links to Dyers star theory and about how the artists image is constructed
• The artwork can sell the product as the people may be attracted to it and therefore want to try out the music

• The picture or artwork can become iconic and a USP (unique selling point) - for example the Beatles
   album cover photo

• Communicates the genre using conventions - so it can attract people who like that genre, as you can tell from a first glance whether it is pop, heavy metal etc. This helps target specific audiences
• Shows the ideology of the band or artist

• Sells the physical music - if people like the artwork they may put it on display etc.

All of these points help a new artist to become more successful and help them sell their albums.

My album cover

 This is the album artwork which I created on photoshop for an artist called 'MIZT'

These are the layer pallets from the process of making this

These are the original photos that I used which I took of my friend Jake:

Key conventions on an DigiPak

What has to be on the DigiPak and why?

All of these conventions help the album to sell and to reach a larger audience. It is very rare that first time artists don't stick to them, however when an artist is very successful they can do what they want with an album cover as it will sell whatever they do. (other than the parental advisory sticker as it is the law they have that if there is explicit language)

Front:

- Name of the band/artist (biggest) - this is the biggest as you are selling the artist not the album and so is the bigger selling point. People will look for the name of the artist rather than the name of the album. 
- Album name - Smaller than the name of the artist as you are selling the artist not the album

- (parental advisory) - if applicable - it is the law that every album that contains swearing of any kind has to have a parental advisory sticker on the back

Back:

- Track list - numbered and in order (font and track name are part of the convention as hey help selling it) The track list would be numbered so the audience know what order the songs they are listening to are in. 

- Legal info - studio that made it and key legal people are always on the back of a cd for copyright legal reasons

- Barcode - this is so that the album can be sold in shops and scanned. 

Music videos for the 'Youtube age'

 Before youtube, music videos only existed on TV, they began on top of the pops and live performances on this, and then as they got more popular MTV was created which is a whole channel just for music videos. 

To be on top of the pops the artists had to be quite well known, and as they were shown in the daytime on TV they were quite restricted as to what they can include, so no nudity, violence etc. 

However they were all quite similar so didn't stand out a lot, whereas to be on MTV the videos had to stand out a lot more. Music videos on top of the pops again had unwritten rules as they were shown during the day time. However they were not just live performances. 

When youtube was made in 2005, the same distribution was available for everyone. So a lot more videos were made, there was no restrictions. However they had to stand out a lot more in order to get lots of views. It  bought equal opportunities to all artists.

The artists fist music video was usually very low budget, however was still selling the artist.

Youtube coming along meant that artists would use the platform to sell the video - and make money from views - rather than selling the song like MTV and Top of the Pops did. 

An example of an artists first music video and them selling their band is JLS - 'Everybody in Love' 

This was the bands first music video and it is shown to be selling the band and the members of the band selling themselves to the audience. They are presented as all being individuals and very trendy therefore appealing to the audience. 

The way they are shown walking in slow motion gives them a sexual magnetism which will attract the target audience. It is selling the bad as very fun as well as being attractive.