All of the Lights – Kanye West ft Rihanna

and Kid CudiAnnabel Street

• This is the music video for the pop/hip hop/rap song ‘All of the lights’ by Kayne West featuring Rihanna and Kid Cudi. The target audience would be young people (aged 13-30) who like to listen to popular chart music as it reached number 18 on the billboard hot 100. It is also likely to play in clubs suggesting that the target audience is also people that often go out clubbing.

• The opening of this music video features a young, black girl walking around by herself. In this mid shot she is wearing a hat, a scarf, a coat and a rucksack which shows she is dressed for cold weather. The picture is black and white which reflects the sad tone of the music at the beginning of the video. This relates to Andrew Goodwin’s theory that there is often a link in music videos between the tone and the atmosphere of the visuals and the music.

• We hardly see any other people which suggests her loneliness and sets another theme for the video.

• We, as the audience, wonder what’s she doing which makes us intrigued to watch the rest of the video. We also assume that there will be a narrative to follow in the video, however, we do not see what happens to the girl.

• There are no lyrics at the start of the video, just slow, sad music which intrigues the audience.

• We then see still, extreme long shots of bare trees and blocks of flats with snow covering the ground. These monochrome images are quite dramatic which again reflects the atmosphere of the music.• The slow camera movements and cuts show the slow pace of the

video and captures the audience, making them feel sad and questioning the meaning behind these clips.

• The previous black and white images are completely contrasted by the sudden bright, eye-catching colours. The last medium close up shots we see of the girl have different colour washes over them and then we see multicoloured text against a black background which show the artists’ names and some of the lyrics. However, the images still continue to reflect the music because the bright colours appear when the music picks up. The fast transitions also contrast the previous slow camera movements and cuts which makes the video now seem much more exciting. • The first lyrics in the video are “all of the lights” this reflects Goodwin’s

theory of matching lyrics and visuals because the lyrics appear on the screen as they are being sung.

• We see a medium long shot of Kanye West’s silhouette down a dark alley, making him look mysterious. He is alone which is similar to the girl at the start of the video. The neon lights behind him change colour which is a reoccurring theme throughout the video and it gives the impression of being in a night club– a place where the song is likely to play. This shows Andrew Goodwin’s theory that the visuals in a music video reflect the tone of the music.

• The next series of close up shots shows Kanye looking quite frustrated as he raps. He is against a black background with flashing white lights around him, possibly to seem like paparazzi and how he’s struggling with fame.• The lyrics ’I hold my head’ is reflected in the visuals as he starts to

hold his head and rock back and forth as if he is in pain. This again illustrates Andrew Goodwin’s theory. • He’s wearing sunglasses which means we can’t see his eyes, and

unconventionally, he doesn't make direct contact with the audience, making him seem distant and unfriendly.

• He’s rapping about struggling and being poor throughout the song but is wearing expensive looking clothes. This shows Goodwin’s theory that visuals sometimes contradict the lyrics. Or maybe he is showing the audience the tough life he has previously led.• He is standing on top of a police car which is illegal and suggests his

aggressive, rebellious personality.

• We then see Rihanna in a mid shot. Unlike Kanye West, she is making direct contact with the audience by looking into the camera as she is singing. She has bright red hair which connotes danger but also love and it stands out against the dark background. She is wearing a very revealing outfit which shows Goodwin’s theory of the concept of looking (at the female body) and makes the video appeal to a male audience.• The lyrics ‘Turn up the lights in here’ suggests she talking about being

in a club.

• A close up of her face is also used as she is singing, which is stereotypical of music videos. The colour of the picture is constantly changing which again reflects a nightclub where this song is likely to be heard, showing Goodwin’s theory that visuals match the tone of the music.

• We then see ‘Kid Cudi’ who, like Kanye, doesn't make direct contact with the audience - he has his back turned on us, making him also seem unfriendly. He is wearing a bright red jacket, similar to Rihanna’s hair which suggests that they are linked.