Summary- In the Lawrence Lamont-directed clip, j.Cole portrays a house slave on a white plantation who ends up leading an uprising against the owner. He unifies with the field slaves and one of the white women at the home.
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At the beginning of the video we can denote J.cole is in a house. We are then shown an OVS shot, it shows the audience the outside, the white curtains could represent the purity of the outside and the fact he is confined to the inside. Moreover, the young male(J.Cole) is pictured wearing old clothing typically worn in the late 1800’s. During this time period, racial prejudice and slavery was common. However, his clothing is not of a typical work slave and is more fitting with a house keeper, this could portray he is of some intelligence and has had some form of education.
We are then shown an image which denotes white men on horses and black people working. The white men appear to be wearing hats, are wearing full suits and are shown on horses. The fact the white men appear to be higher up within the shot, could illustrate to the audience that fact that the white men think they are of a superior power. There are two white men shown in the image. One is wearing a dark suit covering up his white shirt, he is also carrying a gun and the other is pictured wearing a white shirt with no weapon suggesting his purity. This could connote to the viewer the one is the suit is controlling the black workers, but also shows the one without the suit has more respect for black rights as he doesn't have a weapon.
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The costume within this shot portrays the difference between the three slaves pictures. J.Cole is pictured wearing a old scuffed suit, but the workers are basic gown like clothing, this symbolises his higher status. Within the next scene, we are shown a picture of j.cole, his hand signal is where the eyes are drawn. His hand gesture symbolizes the black civil rights movement. This scene highlights J.Coles education as he is positioned higher than the other workers in the image. Moreover, the workers in the foreground of the image appear to be blurred, almost implying the are irrelevant and J.Cole has the authority in the situation.
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​The first shot shown within the video is an ovs shot of J.cole looking through a window. This shot is of great significance, because it causes you to identify with J.cole and the slave workers from the outset. Moreover, within the video there is another very effective shot type used. This is the long shot, within the video it is used to illustrate the contrast in identity of black and white americans. The shit focuses predominantly on the white men on horses portraying the little importance of the black workers. In-addition, through shot types and shot movement they filmed the slaves action and movements in time with the beat, this is very effective and gives the video and extra dimension. Within the music video the camera cuts between various scenes in a chronological fashion, this is very effective as the music video takes you on a clear story of what is happening.
The video is very much focused on a stage performance and connection between ed sheeran and the girl featured. The setting is of a ball like hall, instantly connoting a sense of love and affection to the audience. The ball like hall has a colour scheme of red and gold, which connote a sense of love, courage and passion. Moreover, the lighting is arranged to follow Ed sheeran and the girl featured show their importance as a whole rather than individual. This could illustrate to the audience they are almost one through their bond. Moreover, when ed sheeran and the girl are dancing they are in time and mirror the beat. This could suggest to the audience the song lyrics are reminiscent of their relationship. Once again connoting love and passion.
Shot types
Within the music video the shot types typically used were medium close ups as they allows the audience to almost be close to their relationship, allowing the audience to almost feel their love. Moreover, when taking into account camera cuts they are very smooth and change the angle of the shot rather than the scene as the whole music video is based in one location. There is one shot used within the music video that caught my eye and i thought was extremely effective. The shot is a BEV shot and shows Ed Sheeran and the girl cuddling on the floor. The shot features the light shade in the top left corner. The light on them however appears to be in the shape of a love heart, the fact the light shade wasn't in the shape of a heart, could illustrate higher powers are aware of their love and highlighting it to the audience.
At the very start of the video, we can denote a supermarket. The video then cuts to a dark figure, this is done by using little lighting when filming Jason Derulo. The dark figure is dancing in the same way as Jason Derulo is in the supermarket this illustrates to the audience that the dark figure is Jason Derulo. Within the video, Jason Derulo is predominantly shown singing the lyrics to the woman. When he’s singing to her, Jason is in a position which is very close to her. This can connote a sense of love and affection to the audience, allowing the audience to relate to the video itself. This allows the audience to identify with Jason Derulo, this gives a sense of realism.
Throughout the video, it appears that when the video cuts to a different scene, it does this in time with the beat. This gives the video another dimension and seems more in sync with the video. This is a technique i will definitely consider using for my final production.