Big Boi - Shutterbug Comparison With The Fray

Shutterbug was rapped to by Big Boy, (Antwan André Patton). He was born February 1, 1975. He is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer and actor. He is best known for being a member of American hip hop duo Outkast alongside Andre 3000. Shutterbug is considered to be in the rap/hip-hop/R&B music genre. Other artists within this genre include Drake, Lil Wayne, J.Cole, Kanye West, Nicki Minaj, Mariah Carey, B.o.B and many others. This is totally different to that of artists such as The Fray, who are considered to drift towards a more Indie music genre.

In Indie music videos, there is not always necessarily focus on the artist; there is usually a lot of focus on instruments. This differs from that of music videos of this genre, where the focus is usually on dancing, money, ‘bling’, and girls. There is usually very little focus on instruments, and a lot of focus on money or dancing. An example of this is in the ‘Drake – say something’ video where Drake and Timbaland are in expensive suits, with large ‘blinging’ jewellery, and there is constant pouring of crystal champagne, emphasizing just how wealthy they are. The rap/hip-hop/R&B music genre is dominated by urban solo artists, whereas the indie/rock music genre is dominated by more Caucasian bands.

Also, Big Boi is very often fore grounded and centre frame, this is not the case when referring to The Fray video, when the band is hardly ever centre frame, except at the end of the video. This video begins with subtitles, introducing the artist. This is a total different start, from that of The Fray. This is because in The Frays video, we do not see who the artist is for the first 17 seconds into the video. The next shot after the subtitles is of a digital camera, which occupies the entire screen, to create the illusion that a picture of us (the audience) is being taken. We then finally see Big Boi walking to his microphone and the diegetic sound of his footsteps allows the audience to become anxious as to what will happen next. The fact that Big Boi is in shallow focus, and slightly shadowed, creates an enigma as to his identity.

Again we see here how the mode of address differs from The Fray’s mode of address. Big Boi is in a suit, and much more formal, whereas The Fray was in a t-shirt and jeans. There is also a significant insert shot of the expensive ‘Royal Black’ liquor, again emphasizing Big Boi’s wealth. As he finally reaches the microphone, and the beat drops, there is a swift cut to the dancers, who are shown various times throughout the video.

Big Bois’s next mode of address is quite casual; a hoodie, a cap and trousers, however, there are large, expensive chains accessorized with the outfit. Unusually, there seems to be focus on instruments, which is not usually shown in music videos of this genre. This video also contains a lot of animation, which show the band as animated characters, playing their instruments. Besides the two dancers, there are a total of 9 different females shown in the video. All of which are glamorous looking, curvaceous, and in skimpy clothing. There are a few unrealistic features to the video, such as when one of the females is holding Big Boi’s head, and the rest of hisbody is dancing on a separate chair.

There is also reference to another song called ‘Back to Life’ the female shown in this video is a lookalike of the original artist who sang ‘Back to Life’; Soul II Soul. This intertextuality, taken from Soul II Soul should be recognized by people who enjoy this genre of music. During the time when the lookalike is shown, the focus pull allows us to concentrate on her after Big Boi has finished his own lyric. When the words ‘grab a cup’ are used, the visuals show cup being stacked up and down on a white wall. There is a large ‘family/crew’ vibe to the video, when all the boys are huddled up together, bopping to the tune. The video ends, in the same way it began; with the non diegetic sound of a camera flash, which leads the viewer to believe they are having their photograph taken. Neither video contain any form of chromachy.