Jay Z - Run This Town

The video starts of with a fast-paced vibe, using fast editing by cutting away from different camera shots. This ties in with the upbeat tempo of the music itself. The scene being shown is trying to depict a story to an audience, i.e setting the scene for the music video to take place. The two artists, Rhianna and Jay-Z are first introduced to the viewers within 44 seconds using mid-shots.

Their costume design set them out as an image of Kings and Queens as the video is showing a battle scene probably aimed to be around the early centuries. All the other soldiers in the shot are wearing the same garments with helmets and swords depicting them as soldiers, whereas Rhianna and Jay-Z can be seen supporting black and gold attire, obviously standing out to the audience that their the main characters. Close ups are used to show emotion and meaning when the artists are singing and in-conjunction with mid shots when the artits are shown moving (walking along the set). A main trait is the artits walking towards the camera whilst singing, this can be seen at 1:10, this interacts the audience by direct address. Jay-Z is then seen to be rapping to an audience of soldiers who are all waving their spears, acting in as a crowd at a concert. Alot of movement by the artists is used to show them performing such as; hand gestures like waving to a crowd, or dancing to show their performing.

Zoom ins are used to show the powerfullness of the artists and all action shots work in synergy with the sound of the music. The lighting is dark, used to show a mysterious yet powerful image, working well in sync with the songs lyrics as the song is all about power and dominance. Bright lights are also used when the artisits are the main centre point of the shot to show their the stars almost, an on-going theme used throughout the video. Fire is used to an effect that also is used as a symbol of power to good effect.

A shot of Jay-Z is used in conjunction with an over-laying shot of a crowd in the distance, giving her a more dominant status, depicting her as the main focus point.

The editing of close and mid-shots alongside shots of the story setting the music video is depicting is roughly around 2-3 seconds each between them, this i feel is changed in different music videos according to the tempo and lyrics of the song, something i have to consider when planning my own music video.