JB - Music Video Analysis #1

Artist: Eminem
Song: 3AM
Director: Syndrome
Genre: Hip Hop
Subgenre: Horrorcore

The video I am analysing is called 3AM by Eminem which was directed by Syndrome in 2009, the genre of this video is hip hop with the subgenre of subgenre which is horrorcore. I decided to use this as it can relate to what song we are doing in our music video, it may not be British or indie whatsoever, but in our song the main type of vocals is rapping, the song is also in a narrative as well and one of the best artists to compare that with is Eminem. The differences are mainly the costume, the vocals are very similar and conform to the hip hop genre, Jamie T’s videos have costume and mise en scene which conforms to Indie. The main conventions of this genre are the way that it is presented through rapping and the backing track is full of hard snares and kick drums. The video conforms to the genre of hip hop as it is very dark and the shots go in time with the beat of the music. The video is Eminem rapping in his alter ego ‘ slim shady’ and is portrayed as a killing spree of him as he tries to escape a rehabilitation centre and murders anyone who stops him.
The relationship between lyrics and visuals is very strong, this is very much a narrative based video and the lyrics are shocking enough as it is, so there is not much need for amplification, such lyrics as, “put my key in the door, bodies laying all over the floor,” as there is a notion of looking as he is walking away and then cuts to a MCU of his feet walking past the dead body as it gives a large shock effect if it is illustrated. It is again illustrated for the usage of drugs, “Holding onto the pill bottle again,” this can conform to the sub genre of horrorcore as horror themed killers normally are subject to drug induced split personas, it also gives another perspective to what has been going on in his life as he has battled drug addiction, but amplified it. There was only one appearance of amplification, which is, “Puts the lotion in the bucket,” which then cuts to a shot of an MS of Eminem in a bathwater of blood, it connotes an increase of shock value to the lyrics, the music video can give good synaesthesia, especially with his grain of voice, at the start of the music video when he says, “there is no escaping,” he has a unique voice that will immediately make you realise as its Eminem as he puts on a slight accent onto it, but as the narrative is proceeding and with the tone of his voice you can have a good sense of subject matter.

There is also a relationship between music and visuals, the video does cut to the beat after the kick drums speed up and then has a screechy synth to bring in the actual beat, when this happens it cuts to Eminem in an MS shot swiping at the camera. The video does change within the music, however there isn’t an increase or decrease, it goes to the beat, during 3 kick drums there is a very fast cutting rhythm and the kick drum is a cue for a transition to another shot, however there are slower followed by fast shots as it does not want to lose its narrative, but is still wants to give a wider view of the incidents.

Interscope are looking to sell this track to people who have a large interest for horror movies, this means that they are aiming to target the audience who are interested in horror movies, which is normally young male adults, this as well is the target for the genre of hip hop. Eminem fans will enjoy this video as it keeps the star motifs and grain of voice, even though there are many inertextual references and in some way different to other Eminem videos due to the mini film look it has about, but he has kept it stereotypical of him. The image of the artist which is being offered is that there are two sides of him, music videos previously of his are very tongue and cheek which regularly mock other artists and they are very comical and light, such as ‘we made you’ that has the artist dress up in many different and amusing costumes mimicking the actions of other artists. However they are saying that there is a different side to him, an alter ego which in fact is dark. The motifs used which have been used previously are to do with him, normally in his videos he either has his top off or has his hood up, but nearly in all his videos he has baggy jeans which are low, however similar to other videos he does name drop a few celebrities, such as Kim Kardashian. He also shows in his music videos his tattoos which conform to characteristics of the hip hop genre, also his grain of voice is very nasally and more fast paced and flowing then other rappers which make him stand out. Also in some of his darker videos previously there is similar mise en scene, such as the video. ‘Cleaning out my closet’ where he is situated in the woods. This video will be mainly consumed in either a communal or solo focused group, people will want to wait on a certain channel, especially the hip hop specialised channels for this to come on as it is mainly a narrative video, so this should be watched from the beginning to the end to understand the meaning of the music video as it can get misleading if watched halfway through, if people watch it communal focused it will socially due to the fact people will want to learn the lyrics, but it will mainly be consumed solo.

The artist is rejecting the dominant ideologies as we believe in our society that murder and should be punished for it, however the artist is going against this as he believes he has a right to murder people that get in his way as he believes there is a just cause in doing it as he is escaping from his rehabilitation centre. In this video he is very much leading the macho look which is portrayed stereotypically within hip hop artists, with subordination he is very much a dominant male with his body language, he is aggressively swaying his arms about and literally swinging them at the camera which connotes his dominance with the open body as he look very intimidating, there is some slight function ranking within the video where there is an MS shot of a nurse, who is in the supportive role of the artist as he is in a rehab clinic. Then there is a notion of looking into the mirror and seeing the artist in the background with a knife which is then connoting that he is in control of the woman and superior to him as he decides her fate.

The artist in some way is on sexual display, such as the final sequence of the video where there is an MS shot him taking his top off and when he is in the woods an MS when it is performance based there is some form of sexual display which is rejecting the concept of this video as it is supposed to be horror related and does not go with the horror conventions, for this sexual display will aim to target the female target group as he has become a sex symbol over the years. The only real way it implies sexual display is through his costume, only when he shows his torso is the only way it portrays it and does not show it through camera work or dance. There is a lot of references to looking in this video, especially through CCTV which conforms well with the concept of the narrative as it is very voyeuristic which connotes that someone is watching him carry out these murders and no one else is about, also the notion of looking is illustrated when there is a LS of a mannequin which has a camera shot through a window and the lyrics are, “kiss the naked mannequin man again, you can see him from the window when you look in.” Also there is a notion of looking of mirror as he is walking away, it gives and added effect to the voyeurism is that there is a bloody handprint on the mirror as he is walking away, this connotes that there has been a struggle from the victim, which is very chilling.
The intertextual references from this music video are predominantly from horror movies, there are very broad and obvious characteristics from a slasher, horror film, very alike to ‘silence of the lambs,’ where there is a lot of gore in the videos where it cuts quickly during the 3 kick drums to give a wider, overall view of what the location like with all the dismembered bodies, also the lyrics, ‘ She puts the lotion in the bucket, she puts the lotion on the skin, before she gets the hose again,’ has been quoted in the film which is famously very creepy. There is also an indirect link to the film Jekyll and Hyde as the editing is very granulated and hazy which can connote that the experiences are very vague and the lyrics are repetitive like, “not again,” meaning that this has not been the first time and connotes that he has an alter ego, similar to the film, Jekyll and Hyde, also in the video it inferences that he changes at a certain time, “its 3AM so you should probably run,” which can relate to old films involving werewolves. It also has a reference to an old fashioned horror film due to its editing effects, they have used an effect which looks like it is being ran by a tape through an old fashioned projector and has a very rigid effect and transitions which are used where one shot is layered on top of the other and is used as a burning through effect such as the 1931 films Dracula, and again Jekyll and Hyde. Overall due to the various filmed which have been included in this music video it could be classified as a use of post modern pastiche due to the fact he decided to take old films from the 1930’s when the majority were predominantly in silent films and has used this to the same effect, except there is sound over the top which makes it slightly different from the silent movies. He has chosen very famous films to use for intertextuality as the audience can identify them well without being a horror film fanatic so even if you are slightly interested in the horror genre you can still understand why he has displayed this in his song.

Overall this video is a dark narrative portrayal of the artist’s alter ego which used illustrative scenes within the video to express the darkness of it all and magnify the significance of him, the oberall effect of this movie which conforms to the subgenre very well is the intertextual references and how it conforms to the genre characteristics of the horror films. Also the way he has not used much amplification is good as it may lose its edge if a lot is put in as they are shocking enough if they are illustrated and more realistic then if they are amplified.

Here is the music video -