Illuminati In Music Videos?

The Illuminati ("The Enlightened")is a name given to several groups, both historical and modern, and both real and fictitious. Founded on May 1, 1776, the purported conspiratorial organization is said to act as a secret "power behind the throne", allegedly controlling world affairs through present day governments and corporations, usually as a modern incarnation or continuation of the Bavarian Illuminati. In this context, the Illuminati are believed to be the masterminds behind events that will lead to the establishment of a New World Order.

The recent surge of interest in the Illuminati means that more people are now paranoid about it than ever before. Thousands of videos on YouTube try to raise awareness of what is going on in the world around us and it has fast become a hot topic in schools and in the work place. Music videos have always been known for displaying the artist's beliefs and ideologies, sometimes political and sometimes not, but what if an artist could use subliminal messages that enter your subconscious thoughts and brainwash you into worshiping what they want you to? The music industries elite, such as Jay-Z, Rihanna, Beyonce, Kanye West and Lady Gaga have all been accused of seeling their souls to the devil in exchange for power and fame, in turn being monarchly programmed to follow orders and to sell music as well as their newly adopted beliefs.

Looking at a couple of  stills from Lady Gaga's music videos, most people would see the covering of her eye as a celebrity trademark or just a reoccurring pose. However, Those who have studied Illuminati symbolism would point out that the All-Seeing Eye is probably the most recognisable symbol within the secret society. The gesture of hiding one eye goes way back in occult orders. Below is an explanation of the origin of the Eye of Horus.

The sun of Osiris and Isis was called Horus, who rules with two eyes. His right eye was white and represented the sun: his left eye was black and represented the moon. According to myth, Horus lost his left eye to his evil brother, Seth, who he fought to avenge Seth’s murder of Osiris. Seth tore the eye but lost the fight. The eye was reassembled by magic, by Thoth, god of writing, the moon and magic. Horus presented his eye to Osiris, who experienced rebirth in the underworld.-Dictionary of the Occult

See for yourself in her video with Beyonce the link it has with the Illuminati. The video, from a believers perspective, is all about mind control. Do you notice Lady Gaga's blank stares into space,as if she has been dissociated from reality and is brainwashed into selling you her message? Or the way everyone dies from the poison Gaga feeds them, suggesting the industries elite are poisoning the masses with toxic media?

Whatever you think or believe, you cannot deny that a music video has a lot of power when it comes to showing people your views and opinions. With well over 94 million views the video has undeniably reached a huge audience. Artists frequently use music videos to give you an insight in their lives, amplify the points they make in their lyrics or to tell the audience a story. Like it or not, their opinions frequently reach us as we are sat at home consciously unaware of the effect it's having upon us. This isn't always necessarily a negative, as videos from Band Aid influence us to give money to charities for people who cannot make a living for themselves.

Genre Study (Gangsta Rap)

Gangsta Rap is a sub genre of hip hop that reflects the violent lifestyles of inner-city youths.The genre was pioneered in the mid-1980s by rappers such as Schooly D and Ice T, an popularised by groups such as NWA in the late 1980’s.

After the national attention that Ice-T and N.W.A created in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Gangsta Rap became the most commercially lucrative sub genre of hip hop. The subject matter inherent in gangsta rap has caused a great deal of controversy. Criticism has come from both left wing and right wing commentators, and religious leaders, who have accused the genre of promoting violence, profanity, sex, homophobia, racism, promiscuity, misogyny, rape, street gangs, drive-by shootings, vandalism, thievery, drug dealing, alcohol abuse, substance abuse and materialism.



After viewing the video above, you can begin to understand why Spike Lee has attacked the themes featured in Gangsta Rap, claiming they are akin to black minstrel shows or black face performances, in which performers were made up to look African American, and acted in a stereotypically uncultured and ignorant manner for the entertainment of audiences. Gangsta rappers often defend themselves by saying that they are simply describing the reality of inner-city life and their own upbringing. They also argue that they are only adopting a character, like an actor would when playing a role, who behaves in ways that they may not necessarily endorse.

Before the late 1990s, Gangsta Rap, while a big-selling genre, had been regarded as well outside of the pop mainstream, committed to representing the experience of the inner-city and not "selling out" to the pop charts. However, the rise of Bad Boy Records, propelled by the massive crossover success of Bad Boy head Sean "Puffy" Combs's 1997 ensemble album, No Way Out, on the heels of the media attention generated by the murders of 2Pac and The Notorious B.I.G., signalled a major stylistic change in gangsta rap, as it morphed into a new sub genre of hip hop which would become even more commercially successful and popularly accepted. The earlier, somewhat controversial crossover success enjoyed by popular gangsta rap songs like "Gin and Juice" gave way to gangsta rap becoming a widely-accepted staple on the pop charts in the late 1990s.





Many die hard Gangsta Rap fanatics would now argue that the genre is slowly fading away The tradition of the Old school music tracks and videos have been washed down to mere gimmicks of the past, in order to appeal to more audiences and generate more money. Today's Gangsta Rap is riddled with hooks and phrases rather than powerful lyrics and insightful videos, that were demonstrated by pioneers such as Ice-T and Schooly D. Although most of the themes have been kept, the whole style, flow has been moulded into a 'Club Banger' template to suit more audiences rather than simply the Gangsta Rap fans.



The lyrics concern racial profiling and police brutality, as well as the stereotyping of African Americans driving a vehicle with drugs or other contraband on the inside ("riding dirty"). The music video attempts to create a sense of the police abusing their powers for likely racist reasons, juxtaposing police actions with wrestling scenes to show how the police allegedly treat suspects. It was awarded the last Best Rap Video at the MTV Video Music Awards, which was awarded in 2006.

Music Video Auteurs

 Chris Cunningham is an English music video film director and video artist. Cunningham has had close ties to Warp Records since his first production for Autechre. Videos for Aphex Twin's "Come to Daddy" and "Windowlicker" are perhaps his best known. His video for Björk's "All Is Full of Love" won multiple awards, including an MTV music video award for Breakthrough Video and was nominated for a Grammy for Best Short Form Music Video.  He also directed Madonna's "Frozen" video which became an international hit and won the award for "Best Special Effects" at the 1998 MTV Music Video Awards 

First Music Video Analysis 

Frozen- Madonna

Camera Angles, Movement and Composition:

·       

            Shots:

Establishing shot:
3:00, 3:18- used for scenes of the natural landscape in the evening, the sun covered by a mass of clouds and mountains.

Extreme close-up:
2:03 into the black wolf’s body whilst he’s running
Close-up:
0:37, 0:40, 1:14, 1:24, 1:28, 2:48, 2:53, 3:36, 3:48, 4:53 into Madonna’s face
2:56- into the black wolf’s face

3:46, 3:51, 5:00- Madonna’s hands
4:40- Madonna’s back
5:07- Madonna’s necklace
5:18- Madonna leaning on the rocky floor

Wide-shot:
0:12, 1:26, 1:48, 2:14, 4:27, 4:33, 5:04 Madonna alone in the middle of an empty rocky landscape
1:37- the black bird
3:06- Madonna in the darkened sky

Two-shot:
1:05, 1:10, 1:17, 1:27, 4:06, 4:17, 4:24, 4:29, 4:33, 4:45, 4:56 Madonna and her duplicates.

Mid-shot: 
0:21, 0:33, 0:47, 1:03, 2:40, 2:54, 3:08, 3:54, 4:03, 5:10 of Madonna and her duplicates.

Angle:

High Angle: 
0:48, 1:13, 1:22, 1:29, 2:07, 2:23, 3:44, 3:50, 4:07, 4:17, 4:24, 4:33, 4:56, 5:02, 5:20- Madonna and her duplicates.
3:46 Madonna’s hands
4:40, 4:48 Madonna’s back

Low Angle:
0:58 black birds flying
3:08, 3:16, 3:17, 4:30, 4:36, Madonna and her duplicates.

Movement:

Pan:
0:01, 3:27 along the rocky floor
0:29 following black silk cloth
1:04, 1:19 from Madonna to her duplicates

Tilt up: 
0:11 tilts up to Madonna,
1:03 tilts up as Madonna gets up
3:57 tilts up as Madonna lifts her head up
4:39 Tilts up from Madonna’s face

Tilt down: 
1:34 tilts down from the replicates of Madonna to the rocky floor surface

1:46, 2:42 tilts down as Madonna kneels down
4:53 tilts down from Madonna’s hands to her face
5:12 tilts down as Madonna drops down to the floor

Zoom in:
0:15 zooms into Madonna
4:43 zooms into Madonna’s replicates
3:03 zooms into the black wolf’s face

Zoom out: 
0:44, 3:09, 3:17, 3:48 zooms out of Madonna’s face
0:55 zooms out as Madonna drops herself backwards and a pack of black birds flies out to replace her body.
1:51 zooms out of Madonna whilst she’s dancing with the black silk cloth
3:35, 3:44 zooms out of Madonna’s body

Composition:

Framing:
0:14 Madonna alone in a huge rocky landscape
1:12 Madonna, her duplicates and black birds in the rocky huge landscape.
1:18, 1:27, 1:38, 1:54, 2:18 Madonna and the vast landscape around her.
3:02 the landscape
3:13 Madonna in the darkened sky

Depth of field:
0:24, 1:00 Madonna being clear and the background of the landscape is not so clear.
2:55 the black wolf’s face is defined and the background is left a blur

Blur: 
2:51 the black wolf running forwards

Editing:

Cutting- Jump cut/Cutaway:
0:19 a cut is made from a far view of Madonna to a mid-shot of her.
1:37 the black bird flying in the mountain scenery
1:46 from Madonna dancing and singing up close to a wide-shot of
Madonna dancing with the black silk
3:00 a cut from Madonna to the evening sky with the mountain scenery

Parallel cutting:
0:33. The black silk moving across the rocky surface and Madonna singing with her body slightly off the ground.
1:10 the replicates of Madonna and the close up of her dancing using her hands.
2:00 Madonna dancing and singing up close to a black wolf running
2:52 Madonna dancing and singing with the black cloth and the black wolf running.

Other transitions:

Fade in:
2:56- a fade into the black wolfs face

Short take:
3:00. 3:07, 3:18, 3:23 the rapidly fast moving clouds as if to show quickening of time
3:26 the short amount of time that it takes the black ink to go to Madonna’s palms

Visual effect: 
0:17, 1:26, 1:30, 4:26, 4:29, 4:32, 4:43, 4:56, 5:04 the duplicates of Madonna
3:06, 3:11, 3:23 Madonna flying the in air
1:58 when Madonna transforms into a black wolf.
0:55 when Madonna falls on her back and a pack of black birds appear

Mise-en-scene:

Black Victorian like dress, Necklace, Cloth, Black Wolf, Black Birds, Paintings on the hands (aswell as palm) and wrist. Mountains and rocky landscape, Dark Nail varnish, long black extensions and black colour dye.

Analysis: The song seems to be a romantic song whereby the lyrics are of Madonna singing to a long lost love and she’s trying to explain how unjust the person she loved was.  This can be related to the use of dull and dark colours. I’ve also noticed that the editor intentionally used frosty colours to represent the title of the song as well as the character in which Madonna is trying to portray. The dried and cracked rocky floor shows the dead environment which could also be a symbolism of Madonna’s character as well as her relationship. The dark weather which seems to be a key theme in the music video could be a reflection of Madonna’s sad ness as well as a mirrored view of her depressed mood to have lost the dearest person to her.

 During various moments of the music video Madonna is seen in the air, as she is lifted the sun seems to appear which could be a symbolism of hope, however this sign of hope disappears instantly leaving the audience feeling upset and curious. Another interpretation of Madonna being in the air and the sun appearing is to show the audience that she does have the ‘power to melt [the] heart’. This portrays to the audience that she is a powerful character and this is enhanced when at tilt up is used to give the idea that we are looking up to her.

Religion can be considered to be a major theme. Madonna can be compared to an Indian god in this music video. The reason being is that she is multiplied twice giving the image that she has three heads and three bodies. This is called Trimukha Ganapati which illustrates the myth of Creation. This could reflect the simple and bare landscape. Another interpretation could be that at various points throughout the music video the camera always tilts up to the sky, this is sometimes done when praying to God- our Creator.

http://oldsite.exoticindiaart.com/product/EG78/

Madonna uses a lot of symbolic hand gestures that have to do with the way people either Meditate or the symbols of Hindu gods. Nevertheless the symbol on Madonna’s hand is the First Chakra which resides with Ganesha.  

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ganesha-aum.jpg

The use of animals is to symbolise nature. The black wolf especially in middle-eastern culture and black birds especially during the Victorian times is said to be superstitious as they symbolise death. She could also be a symbol of death or bad luck/ omen as both the birds and the wolf come from her.

Spike Jonze is an American director, producer and actor, whose work includes music videos, commercials, film and television. Jonze has many alter egos, including Richard Koufey, an urban troupe that performs in public spaces. The Koufey persona appeared when Jonze, in character, filmed himself dancing to Fatboy Slim's "Rockafeller Skank" as it played on a boom box in a public area. Spike showed the video to Slim, who loved it so Jonze then assembled a group of dancers to perform to Slim's "Praise You" outside a Westwood, California movie theater and taped the performance. The resulting clip was a huge success, and "Koufey" and his troupe were invited to New York City to perform the song for the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards. The video received awards for Best Direction, Breakthrough, and Best Choreography, which Jonze accepted, still in character.

Second Music Video Analysis 

Sky's The Limit Notorious BIG&112

Camera Angles, Movement and Composition:

·       

      Shots:

Establishing shot:
0.03, 0.08, 0.13 Used for showing the mansion and the grand setting in which the action is taking place
0.14 revealin the grand mansion and the outdoor swimming pool
1.25 used to show the scene if the bedroom within the mansion

Close-up: 

0.42, 1.03, 1.37 the supporting artist moves himself twords the camera and singing
1.01, 1.04, 1.11, 2.13 the artis is also being upfront to the camera and singing
1.57, 2.05, 2.10. 3.56 a shot of the artist singing
2.47, 2.31, 2.43 the shot is focused on the crowds faces screaming like obessed fans.
4.19 of thwe supporting artist looking at the artist
4.24 of the supporting artist looking directly at the camera
4.28 both supporting artist and singer looking directly at the camera and nodding

Wide-shot:

0.02, 0.08 of the mansion
0.34, 1.14 the arist in the swimming pool sining and ladies dancing in the backgroud
1.21 the supoorting artist singing in the background
2.53 the artist and supporting artist walking into the club
4.04 the artist singing on stage to a crowd
4.30 the artist on the balcony nodding his head in time with the tune

Two-shot:

0.30- the artist hugging to greet the other supporting artist
0.42, 0.48,1.02, 1.56, 2.00, 2.04, 2.13, 4.06, 4.16, 4.24, 4.28, 4.33 the main artist and the suporting artist are sitting in the car singing and dancing whilst directly looking at the camera
1.05, 1.07, 1.11, 1.43, 158, 2.15, 4.18, 4.25 both the main artist and supporting artist sitting in the car sitting and dancing whilst directly looking at the camera
2.48 both the arist and supporting artist walking inside of the club
2.55 both the artist and suporting artist walking
3.01 the artist hugging a young girl
3.07 both the main artist and the young girl sitting at a table


Mid-shot: 

0.39, 0.46.2.24,3.20, 3.22, 3.25.3.44, 4.06,4.10,4.24, 4.33 the arist singing
0.51 of the artist answering the phone
1.36 of the main artist standing
1.56, 1.57 of both the main artist and th supporting artsit singing and dancng.
3.00 of the young girl
3.07 both the artist and the young girl sitting at a table

3.08 of the other characters sitting on the table
3:12 of the body guard
3:19 of the muscian
4.12 of the three backup singers
4.34 of the artist and the main artist

Arc:

1.51 from the artist to the straicase on his side

Point of View Shot:

2.33, 2.49 of the crowds view of the artist
2.43 of the artists view of the crowd
2:54 the artists view of the people in the club

Angle:

High Angle: 

1:22, 1.31, 4.08 of the supporting artist floating on the swimming pool
1.25 of the artist in his bedroom
1:59 of the supporting artist looking up from his black shades
2.04 of the artist and supporting artist singing
2:54  of the artist looking down at the two people standing from his point of view
4:25 of both the artist and supporting artist singing

Low Angle:

1:21, 2.01, 4.01 of the artist singing from his balcony

1.28 of the artist nodding his head on his balcony
2:55 a point of view shot of the people looking up at the artist and supporting artist walking down the stairs

Movement:

Pan: 
0.26 of the newcomers waking towards the mansion

2:30 from the point of view of the main artist walking 

Tilt up: 
1:34 from the supporting artist to the main artist

2:52 of the main artist and supporting artist walking

Tilt down: 

0:02 from the mansion 

1:13, 1:18 from the main artist singing from the balcony 

1:25 of the main artist in bed

Zoom in: 

0:08 into the mansion and the cars that had just arrived, 

1:14 into the main artist singing in the jacuzzi

Zoom out: 
0:33, 1:21 from the main artist singing
1:34 of the main artist in his bed
4:31 from the main artist on his balcony

Composition:

Framing:
0:03 of the mansion

0:15 of the main artist in the doorway of the mansion

0:33, 1:14 of the main artist singing in the jacuzzi 

Blur:

0:35 of the main artist

Other transitions:

Long take:
2:52, 2:57 of the main artist and supporting artist walking

Mise-en-scene:

Expensive cars, mansion consisting of jacuzzi, two white dogs, black sunglasses, black hats, suits, maid clothing,  swim-wear, balcony, walking stick, dress robe, crowd of fans, club, dancing floor, backup singers, musical instruments.

Analysis: This music video is quite different to what i would normally expect to see in this genre of music. However i think it is very clever, even though it seems quite weird but its a music video that makes you reflect on life and what you have and what you could do to improve your life to make it better for yourself. The use of children destroys the sense of innocence that they symbolizes as they are seen driving cars, having late night parties and girls dancing in their bikinis and dressing up to impress. However the song acts as a sequel to his hit "Juicy" as the lyrics deal with Notorious B.I.G.'s tough upbringing and how he made it in life. It also gives the message of following your dreams and never giving up and this could be reference to the title of the music video "Sky's The Limit". Dark Shades and hats are used by the main artist (B.I.G.) and the supporting artist throughout the music video, some would interpret this as a barrier to the rich and famous life in which he's having (a fantasy) and reality. The conventions of what is expected is presented in this music video despite having children playing the roles of the adults, this could be done to show how easy life is when you are wealthy and well known (celebrity). 

Michel Gondry is a French film, commercial and music video director and an Academy Award-winning screenwriter. He is noted for his inventive visual style and manipulation of mise en scène. 

His career as a filmmaker began with creating music videos for the French rock band Oui Oui, in which he also served as a drummer. The style of his videos for Oui Oui caught the attention of music artist Björk, who asked him to direct the video for her song "Human Behaviour". The collaboration proved long-lasting, with Gondry directing a total of seven music videos for Björk. Other artists who have collaborated with Gondry on more than one occasion include Daft Punk, The White Stripes, The Chemical Brothers, The Vines, Steriogram, Radiohead, and Beck. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XS088Opj9o0

Third Music Video Analysis 

Sky's The Limit Notorious BIG&112

Camera Angles, Movement and Composition:

·       

            Shots:

Establishing shot:
0:48, 1:48- from the kids, panning across the streets to the artist on the rooftop looking down and singing
2:50 from the kids to the guy playing on the piano on the rooftop

Arc:

0:51 from the children to the artist on the rooftop looking down singing

Point of View Shot:

0:06 of the kids coming out of school

Wide Shot:

1:02 of the artist on the rooftop and the buildings behind him
3:07 of the main with the piano and the buildings in front of him

Angle:

High Angle: 

0:10, 1:16, 2:01 of the kids playing and making shapes on the pavement

Movement:

Pan:

1:46 of the surrounding

2:42 of the kids skating and walking on the pavement

Tilt up: 

0:55 to the artist singing on the rooftop

1:36 from the kids playing on the pavement panning the surrounding area.
2:49 from the kids to the man playing on the piano on the rooftop

Tilt down:  

1:07, 1:55 from the artist singing on the rooftop to the kids playing on the pavement

Crane

0:55 to the artist singing on the rooftop

1:36 from the kids playing on the pavement panning the surrounding area.

2:49 from the kids to the man playing on the piano on the rooftop

Mise-en-scene: piano, school building, school bell, skateboard

Analysis: This music video even though is quite simple and has no visual effects or complicated camera shots and angles it worked really well in bringing out the feelings and emotions of the artist. The music video is about the artist lamenting the past and how he misses his childhood days. It sets a barrier of childhood days and adult life and complicated and corrupted society has become.  Having the children make shapes with themselves i thought was quite entertaining and it brought the audience to also feel like a child again as they would guess what shapes the children were making. The music video has a sense of innocence and purity and this is reflected in the way that the music video was edited as it was very simplistic. This music video is a "long take" so therefore the music video didn't have any edits and if any mistakes were made whilst filming the music video then they had to start over again. Though this may sound painful, it might have been done to keep the music flowing as cuts would disrupt the music and therefore wouldn't be as effective.