Keith Negus' Generic Conventions of a Music Video

Keith Negus, a theorist on Star Image, proposed a list of conventions of how a music video should be. Following this list should help me create the ideal music video, and one that is sure to match genre and target audience conventions as well. Here are Negus' generic conventions of a music video:

• Clear promotion of the desired artist's "image"
• Appearance of the artist in the video
• Large variety of shot types
• One key theme followed that provides the structure, other smaller themes reoccurring
• Occasionally a narrative structure 
• Performance 
• Not always realistic 
• Shots cut to the beat of the track
• Special effects sometimes used (often lighting)
• Specific and carefully planned mise-en-scene
• High impact to compete for airplay

Experimental Album Cover - POWDERFINGER

Jewish Boyz: Colour/Tone/Lighting

In order to successfully parody We Dem Boyz, I needed to make sure that I matched the colour, tone and lighting of the video, and all the themes that they were employing on it to the target audience. These are important elements of the video because they convey messages and about how these colours represents the mood of the video and the reflection upon their career as a musician.

Parody videos usually tend to be bright and colourful because they are imitating another video and artist for fun, therefore there is no real emotion being conveyed, rather it is almost purely comedy. However, if the song parodied is sad or has a particular colour to embody the theme, the parody video should follow with the same type of lighting, colour and tone in order to match the parodied video as close as possible.

The lighting used in We Dem Boyz is dark and grey, quite typical of the Hip-Hop genre, but in my opinion bizarre for this song. The reason for the use of this colour lighting is possibly because they are in a rough part of Atlanta, Georgia, and therefore some of that roughness or violence about it could best be conveyed through the lighting. At times it has been shown to be colourful, but that is usually illuminated by the blue sky and particular objects such as the Mercedes. In addition, the colour of all mise-en-scene aspects are grey and bland, yet strangely the song is uplifting.

We're Jewish Boyz, like We Dem Boyz, is an uplifting song and so I felt that it needed to have bright colours, but it needed to vary in order not to fully imitate the video. 

With this approach, I had filmed shots in early morning, a bright day, a neutral day, dusk and night time. This gave me a variety of colours to work with, essentially multi-coloured. The point of varying all these shots were so that the idea of parody and positivity could be linked into the intention of the video and song, so that the audience would understand the messages coming from it. 

Here are some examples of the variation of colours:

Another reason for using a variety of colours was to share a private joke with British people on the humour that the weather changes a lot, so we may have a sunny day, cloudy day or rainy day etc. This humour targets a very niche section of my audience, but it is not a noticeable theme so I don't expect most of the audience to understand it at all, however this was just my intention for humour.

Jewish Boyz: Audience Questionnaire + Analysis

Below is my audience questionnaire:



Question 1: What worked well in the video?

From this question I learnt:

• The use of the green screen to project images and Jewish symbols was effective in humouring my audience
• The lip syncing (at times) was good along with the special effects
• The cross-cutting between the narrative and other elements of the video proved to be entertaining, and shed light onto the variety in the video
• The lyrics were well written and fit perfectly as a karaoke form in the video
• The costumes were interesting and were a successful parody of We Dem Boyz + perfectly conveyed the mise-en-scene

Question 2: What could have been improved?

From this question I learnt:

• There were issues with the lip sync and timing of the song (THIS ISSUE WILL BE ADDRESSED AND JUSTIFIED AT BOTTOM OF POST)
• I had suggestions from the audience, for example, animating the lyrics in order to simulate a real karaoke type video, however I decided not to take this suggestion forward
• One audience member didn't like the "blurry beard" shot (THIS ISSUE WILL BE ADDRESSED AND JUSTIFIED AT BOTTOM OF POST)
• The actors in my video weren't great at lip syncing (THIS ISSUE WILL BE ADDRESSED AND JUSTIFIED AT BOTTOM OF POST)
• One audience member noticed a change of volume in the video, this issue was fixed
• One audience member found the intro to be too long and more time was spent on the chorus (THIS ISSUE WILL BE ADDRESSED AND JUSTIFIED AT BOTTOM OF POST)

Address and Justification:

• Any issues with the lip syncing were created by Adobe Premiere Pro during the final export of my video. Before export, it had shown itself to be completely in time with the lyrics, however, post export, it had shown itself to be slightly out of time. I justify this issue by defining the point that this song and video are parodies of another song and video, and it is the first thing released by my artist. Therefore, the video was not necessarily designed to be professional and the lack of professionalism is the true significance of the parody. This is the same with the "blurry beard" shot and the actors' level of performance.
• I justify the other issue regarding the intro of the song by saying that the intro was supposed to be more visual than lyrical. It was supposed to set the narrative for the audience, so they had some understanding of what is going on in the video so that they are not entirely confused when the verses begin to appear. Additionally, the intro repeats the chorus because the aim was to make the song catchy and so that it would break into my target audience and make them remember it.

Question 3: What should I add or re-edit additionally?

From this question I learnt:

• The audience believed that I should have had a larger cast (THIS ISSUE WILL BE ADDRESSED AND JUSTIFIED AT BOTTOM OF POST)
• The audience believed that my extras should have had more time in the limelight as opposed to my star (THIS ISSUE WILL BE ADDRESSED AND JUSTIFIED AT BOTTOM OF POST)
• The song was sung in a deep voice and one audience member found this to be annoying and drilling (THIS ISSUE WILL BE ADDRESSED AND JUSTIFIED AT BOTTOM OF POST)

Address and Justification:

• Originally, I was supposed to have a cast of 10 people, however, on the last minute before the first shooting day, 6 members of my cast confirmed that they were unavailable to shoot. This then left me with a cast of 4, and because I had shot a large amount of the video with this cast, I could not have included the other members if they became available because the video would not make sense otherwise. Another issue with this is one of my cast members was only available for one shoot, therefore I had to cut them out of the majority of the video for the same reason.
• Regarding the issue of extras not having enough attention in the video, the epitome of this project is not to focus on the extras, it is to focus on the star. The star is who I am making a cohesive package of video, Digi-Pak and website for, and because this is a parody, the star needs to parody the star of We Dem Boyz, Wiz Khalifa, which I believe he did successfully. 
• Regarding the issue of the song being annoyingly deep, this is also a part of the parody. If you listen to We Dem Boyz, you will notice that Wiz has a autotuned and high voice throughout. The aim of the parody was to ultimately challenge these conventions because that is the way of employing humour in the video. Additionally, the voice was purposely designed to be this deep and annoying because I wanted to make sure the audience remembered it in some kind of way.

Question 4: Does the video match the genre?

From this question I learnt:

• YES! IT DOES!

Question 5: Who is the target audience?

From this question I learnt:

• My audience understood the intended target audience of my video

Question 6: What do you think my artist's star image is?

From this question I learnt:

• My audience understood the intended star image of my artist, and understood that I was parodying prolific Jewish musicians such as Matisyahu

Jewish Boyz: Editing using Adobe Premiere Pro

Unfortunately I wasn't able to capture any footage of me editing the actual music video, however, below is footage of me editing an evaluation question with the music video in it:

I uploaded this in order to demonstrate my skills with Adobe Premiere Pro, and I believe that I am very skilled with it after two years of using it for lots of different media purposes.

Jewish Boyz: How I made the song

Once I had decided I was going to make We're Jewish Boyz, I needed to find a way to make it legally. This first required me to search for an instrumental to the song that wasn't directly released by Wiz or any associates. Thankfully, Wiz had not released an official instrumental, which meant that prosumers were submitting their own variations of it. I asked the permission of a YouTuber to use the song, and he said it would be fine.


At first, I tried using the free audio creation service Audacity, as this would ultimately reduce my budget for the project as a whole. However, there was a disadvantage to using it because the audio quality wasn't professional enough after processing, so I ultimately decided to scrap it.

Luckily, a friend of mine owns the latest version of Logic Pro and I arranged a day with him to record the song and compile the track together all at the same time. This proved successful because it is what most music producers use to create songs and because I didn't need to start from scratch with the instrumental, I saved lots of time just recording the lyrics over the song. Comparing both the audio files from Logic and Audacity, it was obvious to tell that the Logic audio sounded a lot more professional, and one that could actually be used in any type of video or sold as a song online or in store. 

Once I create the Digi-Pak, I will credit him as producer of the song as he is the person who controlled Logic to make the song. 

Jewish Boyz: Cast List

In order to find my cast mates, I used opportunity sampling to see out of all my friends who was most available to feature in my music video. Before creating the idea for the video, I had no pre-conception of what I wanted the star to look like and I had no idea who would best portray the star image that I wanted to display.

My opportunity sample resulted in me having a cast of 10 people at the start, as my original video idea planned to have as many people as possible. However, at the last minute before the first shooting day, 3/5 of my cast had become unavailable for the video, which left me with a cast of 4.

When this happened, I was slightly upset and disappointed but I made a positive out of a negative, by justifying the reason for my small cast. The reason for my small cast is all part of the parody: Wiz’s cast for We Dem Boyz featured approximately 100+ people and my video features a dramatically different cast number, which adds to the humour. Here is the list of cast that featured in my video:

Elior Doani: Once my cast of 4 was finalised, I still had no idea who I wanted to be my star, because I saw that any of these cast members could perfectly portray the star image. Elior volunteered to be the star and he told me he did because he was intrigued by the video idea. I was happy with choosing him as the star because he has this confident demeanour that reflects my star image and I knew he could act and lip sync well enough for this video. Since the release of the video, its popularity has gained him some recognition within the Jewish community which he seems to enjoy.

Daniel Werb: One of the 4 members of the cast. He is an extra who I filmed with on shooting day 3. In terms of where he is in the video, he is most known for holding the LAY THE TABLE cue card, and saying OY VEY ZMIR, THAT IS AMAZING! And because of these scenes, he has gained recognition and has been remembered the most (because LAY THE TABLE was the catchiest line).

Josh Bergman: One of the 4 members of the cast. He is an extra who I filmed with on shooting day 3. In terms of where he is in the video, he is most known for wearing the sombrero and holding the LOCO LOCO cue card, and dressing up as a baby near the end of the video. I chose him for those parts because I knew he would fit them the best, based on the fact that we came up with these lyrics and scenes in particular together. Since the release of the video, people from my school who have seen the video ask me who he is.

Nadav Knoller: One of the 4 members of the cast. He was supposed to be another extra; however, he wasn’t available after he filmed with me on the first shooting day, so I had no choice but to axe him from most of the video because there wasn’t enough footage of him. He does still feature in the video in the ‘extra costume’ standing outside Carmelli’s whilst ABOUDY “high fives” him.

And although this person wasn’t in the video, I believe they still need a mention:

Jake Marlowe: He is the person who helped me create the song on Logic Pro, and without him, the song wouldn’t have the best sounding quality as it does. He is a musician and has experience with creating songs, and I knew he would be the perfect person to help me record the song.

Jewish Boyz: Props

Prop design was very simple from the get-go because I had to gather props based on the lyrics I wrote. Without these props, the lyrics wouldn't have been perfectly executed in the video and they needed the props to come across as humorous as possible. 

Props, like costumes and location, are an important factor of Mise-En-Scene and in order to make the video seem as professional as possible, they were needed when relevant.

These are the props used in the video:

CUE CARDS

CHALLAH LOAF

TEN COMMANDMENTS

TABLE

DESK, PAPER AND PENCIL

REMOTE AND CHAIR

DREIDELS AND CHOCOLATE COINS

MILA KUNIS CUTOUT

Jewish Boyz: Narrative

Like most parodies, this narrative is based on the narrative of We Dem Boyz, however the video only has a minor narrative which is Wiz Khalifa "chilling with his boyz in the hood" whilst he raps, drinks, smokes weed and generally has a good time with his friends. In this case, the lyrics create the narrative rather than the video, which is an interesting approach to the song.

I felt that I needed to imitate this video making method in order to approach the parody in a successful way. I wrote the lyrics for the song in a similar style of the WDB lyrics and this was writing that told the narrative of the song and video entirely through the lyrics. The video then became a visualisation of the lyrics and also shared a theme with WDB. The theme essentially is a Hasidic Jew who is also "chilling with his boyz" but instead of "the hood", it's the Jewish areas of North-West London, such as Golders Green, Hendon, Edgware etc. This is the deifnition of the stereotypical aura that the song, lyrics and video have, and it follows a lyric-by-lyric narrative, as such:

CHALLAH, CHALLAH, WE'RE JEWISH BOYZ
CHALLAH, CHALLAH, KOSHER BOYZ

These lyrics aim to establish, just as Wiz did in his video/song, that they are Jewish Boyz, a title or status that epitomises a clique/group that they is sung about for audience envy, to make the audience want to feel as if they are a part of this group.

LET'S LAY THE TABLE (LAY THE TABLE)
ON SHABBAT DOING WORK, WE ARE NOT ABLE (WE'RE NOT ABLE)
WE CAN'T WATCH TV, NOT EVEN CABLE (NOT EVEN CABLE)

From this line onwards, the song becomes more educational, but mixes the element of stereotype into it so that it becomes a multi-purpose and humorous song. These lyrics in particular talk about Shabbat, a two-day period (Friday-Saturday) of religious observance and abstinence from work or any form of electricity/energy use. 

THE ONLY GAMBLIN' WE DO IS SPINNIN' DREIDEL (SPINNIN' DREIDEL)

These lyrics refer to the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. It's also a humorous spin on the stereotype of gangster culture, some of which tend to gamble a lot. In Judaism, spinning dreidels for chocolate coins is the closest form of gambling that Jews are allowed to take part in.

THE REBBE MUST BE SERIOUS, CHALLAH
COME TO SHUL AND FACE YOUR FEARS, CHALLAH CHALLAH

There are some lyrics, like these, that have directly been taken from WDB and have been changed in order to fit the context of my song. Therefore, these lyrics reference how Rabbis are "serious" teachers and are wise, and one must go to Shul to face their fears (which according to Judaism is normally God).

DO IT JUST LIKE MOSHE WITH THE TEN COMMANDMENTS (SIDE BY SIDE)
WE WILL KEEP ON TEACHING 'TIL YOU UNDERSTAND IT (LAWS TO ABIDE)

Once again, these are lyrics slightly varied from the WDB. The references include a mention of the Exodus story, where Moses received the Ten Commandments from God to instruct upon the Jews during their slavery period in Egypt. The idea of continuous teaching refers to the idea that once a Jew has read the entire Torah (bible), they must repeat, and read it again until they understand something new that they did not understand the last time they read all of it.

SMELL IT FROM HERE, THE BRISKET'S READY (YEAH IT'S READY)
SUCH A GOOD SMELL WE CALL IT SEXY (DO WE REALLY?)
MAKING ME DROOL I'M QUITE UNSTEADY
BUT FIRST I GOTTA EAT THIS CHALLAH, BABY CHALLAH CHALLAH

The lyrics then change subject from a religiously heavy and educational topic, to a more commercial topic of eating brisket. The reason I included brisket in the lyrics was because I wanted to reach an audience that wasn't limited to British Jews and Jews from London, if I had included something that is more popular in the US, then there's a more likely chance of it spreading further. The recurring gag in this song is Challah, because it rhymes with Khalifa's way of saying "Hol' up" in WDB. This is the reason as to why it's repeated so much in the song.

OY VEY ZMIR, THAT IS AMAZING!

This lyric is an exact replica of WDB: "Oh my God, that is amazing!"

CHALLAH, CHALLAH, YOU DRIVE ME CRAZY (LOCO LOCO)
YOU'RE JUST LIKE NORMAL BREAD, BUT WAY MORE TASTY

These lyrics talks about the star's infatuation with Challah bread, and that it makes him crazy or "loco". What I did not take caution in doing was making sure that the audience wouldn't associate Mexicans with constant craziness, because that is a stereotype that I cannot address if I am not Mexican myself. However, I still had a member of cast dress up in a Sombrero and moustache in order to quickly shoot the shot of the lyric. 

A SHIDDUCH TRIES TO MATCH US WITH A SPECIAL LADY (SPECIAL LADY)

A Shidduch is a person who matches Jewish men and women together so that they can eventually marry, a.k.a. Arranged Marriage. The special lady in the video happens to be a cut-out of Mila Kunis, and the reason for that is because she is a famous and attractive Jewish celebrity, and was the first person out of many in that category that I thought to include in the video, since we couldn't get her in real life.

WE JEWS ARE FAMOUS, MAKING LOADS OF BABIES (HERE COMES ANOTHER ONE)

These lyrics address the stereotype that Jewish families are large because of the amount of children they tend to have, which is true. The creation of these lyrics were unintentionally offensive and relate to the narrative generally because of the theme of stereotype addressing.

SOME BOYS THINK WE SO RICH THAT WE OWN MERCEDES (BENZ)
IN FACT I OWN A PEOPLE CARRIER WITH NO MORE SPACES (THERE'S NO ROOM FOR YOU)

Another stereotype is addressed here, and that is the negative attitude that non-Jewish people have towards Jewish people if they happen to be rich or successful in their jobs. This is not the case for all Jewish people! The Mercedes Benz is a reference to an expensive sports car that Jewish people are sometimes known for owning in the North-West London community. However, Jewish people across the UK and US are known for owning SUVs, which can carry lots of people, again reiterating the stereotype of large Jewish families. 

ON OCCASION I TAKE MY KIDS TO THE NURSERY 
OH WAIT IT'S MY TURN SOMEBODY SAVE ME!

These lyrics finish off the song and have no stereotype to address, as a form of finishing the song.

Lighting

Lighting is very important as it is able to reflect moods and is able to create ideas within the audience. The parody genre usually aims to make fun of upbeat and happier songs, there aren't that many parodies of sad songs that exist. The lighting usually is not specialised, however it tends to match the lighting used in the video it's trying to imitate. 

During a double Media lesson last year, we were brought to a lighting and colour workshop hosted by Mr Rosenberg in the media suite. The aim of the workshop was to teach us how to use lighting effectively when filming. We were taught about three main lights involved in filming:

Key light - First and usually most important. It is used to highlight the form and dimension of the subject. It shines directly upon the subject and serves as its principal illuminator; the strength, colour and angle of the key determines the shot's overall lighting design.

Fill light - Is used to reduce the contrast of a scene to match the dynamic range of the recording media and record the same amount of detail typically seen by eye in average lighting, what is considered normal. It also shines on the subject, but from a side angle relative to the key and is often positioned lower than the key which balances it by illuminating shaded surfaces and lessening chiaroscuro effects, such as shadow cast on the face and nose. It is softer than the key, preventing stark contrasts.

Back light - Is used to give the subject a rim of light to separate the subject from the background and highlighting contours. It shines on the subject from behind, often (but not necessarily) to one side or the other.

Mr Rosenberg then showed us how this would work practically:

We were also shown how the lights could be used against walls to give a different type of background image, which was an example use of colour effects. 

Colour is also extremely important when it comes to filming the thriller. The aim is to get the right colour in the right places so that the audience will react to the video as they would a professional film. First and most importantly, white balance must be retained, and without this, the colours of the video will be completely incorrect.

Mr Rosenberg also brought colour filters so we could see how to film with other colours. Colour filters aren't important for thrillers, but it gives us an idea of editing the clip to be in black and white.



When thinking about lighting for my music video, I knew that I was going to film a lot of it outside during the day, so natural lighting was going to assist me which would leave me no need to use that much artificial lighting. However, I then had to use the green screen in a studio, which required a lot of artificial light so that I could receive the best picture quality in order to place images clearly in editing. 

Music Video Tips

During the construction process of my music video plan, my teacher offered tips on how to create the most successful music video:

• Essentially, you are manufacturing an artist for a song - but in my case, I am manufacturing a song for an artist - and this will be that artist's first release, so it's my job to make the video successful
  
• Start with the image of the artist, ensure that their style is fit for the song - or that the song is fit for their style - and that the artist is able to realistically mime/lip sync to the track. Once this has been realised, a concept for the video can be decided, and one which will blend most with the music
  
• The artist I am creating starts off with no fan-base at all, so it's my duty to spread the word about them, through various marketing techniques and through a cohesive package of the music video, Digi-Pak and website. As Henry Jenkins says:
  
  "If it doesn't spread, it's dead"
  
• The best type of music video contains three different strands: 

1. Performance element - the record labels believe this is vital as it acts as a fail save
2. Lip sync element - Singing in a situation with very few props
3. Narrative element - The story, which will be led by genre and style

• The music video will then consist of constant cutting between these strands, in order to keep the video exciting and interesting
  
• We were advised to create a 'mood film' or Prezi involving a set of images or a simple video to demonstrate ideas for the final product for clarification and identification of any potential problems

Parody and Pastiche

The aim of my music video is to parody Wiz Khalifa's song, We Dem Boyz, and therefore I must know what a parody (and its opposite, a pastiche) actually is. This isn't just important for the blog, it's also important as terminology for the exam. Another important term I must be aware of in this case is "Intertextuality" because it is considered a type of pastiche.

Parody: An imitation of the style of a particular writer, artist, or genre with deliberate exaggeration for comic effect.

Examples: Movie and music parodies are very prevalent in current times as they bring a sense of nostalgia (mainly with movies) and humour to past artists' works. The most known movie parodies have been (and still are): Scary Movie (series), Johnny English (series, UK's best in current generation), and Spaceballs (parody of Star Wars, greatest film at time of release). The most known parody music artists at the moment are: "Weird Al" Yankovic, The Midnight Beast (UK), and Rucka Rucka Ali.  

Pastiche: An artistic work in a style that imitates that of another work, artist, or period.

Examples: George Lucas' influence for the Star Wars series was the film Metalstorm: The Destruction of Jared-Syn (1983). Ever since creation, Star Wars has been an influence on most post-modern movies. Queen's influence for Bohemian Rhapsody was Happiness is a Warm Gun by The Beatles.

Intertextuality: The interrelationship between texts, especially works of literature; the way that similar or related texts influence, reflect, or differ from each other. 

Experimental Album Cover - Bruno Mars

Star Image Analysis - Matisyahu

Matisyahu came to fame in 2004 with his debut album, Shake Off the Dust... Arise, as a Hasidic, Reggae performing Jew. From 2001-2007, he was associated with the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic community in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, New York, and this was the main reason for his appearance.

Like Yankovic, fans will remember him most for his Hasidic image and the idea that he performs in the Reggae genre is unique (just like the start of parody with Al) so he also made success through his hit songs, such as:

• King Without a Crown
• Youth
• Jerusalem
• One Day
• Sunshine
• Searchin'
• Surrender
• Happy Hanukkah

His image made him a notorious artist, especially because he didn't dress in a Hasidic style, rather he observed the look but dressed casually which upset the Hasidic community. He also refused to perform live on the Sabbath because he was observing it. 

In 2011, he posted this picture on social media, announcing that he would no longer be adopting the image of the "Hasidic Reggae Superstar", as he would rather just be the same artist, but as himself, realising that he had let go of the faith that he once believed in. At the time of this reveal, fans were shocked because it was something they never expected, and some still debate today as to whether it was a publicity stunt for extra popularity. 

According to Dyer, Matisyahu's image would be perceived as Organic, he developed it himself and he is not fully involved in the industry. In addition, he reinvented his image to reach his audience in a more organic way, because he seemed to feel that this part of his image developed into something quite synthetic. 

Star Image Analysis - "Weird Al" Yankovic

In the 1979, "Weird Al" Yankovic gained fame through southern California comedy and radio personality Dr Demento on his radio show. 

He has been making parody songs and videos since then, and is still making them currently. His star image is mostly based on his parodies, however his actual image does have a huge impact on his star image.

Yankovic was prolific with his "classic" look (1979-1998). Throughout the "classic" period, he released some of his greatest hits:

• Another One Rides the Bus - Another One Bites the Dust (Queen)
• Eat It - Beat It (Michael Jackson)
• Like a Surgeon - Like a Virgin (Madonna)
• Fat - Bad (Michael Jackson)
• Smells Like Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit (Nirvana)
• Amish Paradise - Gangsta's Paradise (Coolio)

In 1998, Al got LASIK eye surgery, and because of this his image changed completely. He also decided to grow his hair out to an extreme length, and has looked like this ever since. However, it's more likely that people will associate his image with his "classic" look because he was more in his prime from the late 70s to 90s. 

Despite the image change, his star image was still empowered by the hit songs he made, such as:

• The Saga Begins - American Pie (Don McLean)
• Pretty Fly for a Rabbi - Pretty Fly (for a White Guy) (The Offspring)
• Couch Potato - Lose Yourself (Eminem)
• eBay - I Want It That Way (Backstreet Boys)
• White & Nerdy - Ridin' (Chamillionaire)
• Canadian Idiot - American Idiot (Green Day)
• Perform This Way - Born This Way (Lady Gaga)

According to Dyer, Al would have constructed his star image based on his entire music career, as he is recognised for his image, songs and personality. The best part about him is that his entire image is based on his career, and not one sole achievement in his career.

Star Image Analysis - Wiz Khalifa

Known as a large contribution to the Hip-Hop genre, Wiz Khalifa has multiple aspects to his Star Image, and what he is most known for. 

Besides the fact that he is featured in the news a lot, he is known by the younger generation instantly, either by look, particular song, or the amount of cannabis he smokes each day.

This is what Wiz looked like in 2010 once he had released Black and Yellow. He was mostly recognised for his extremely catchy song, and the fact that his hair represented the flag of his resident city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This was his emergence into stardom so there wasn't an exact determined image that his fans would know him for until later on in his career.

At this point, he gained an increased level of fame by the collaborations he made. A collaboration with British rapper Tinie-Tempah on the song Till I'm Gone helped him gain popularity in the UK, and a collaboration with 50 Cent on the song Telescope helped him increase his popularity in the US.

Wiz maintained this look and image from 2010-2013.

This is what Wiz currently looks like, demonstrating this look after the release of O.N.I.F.C., before and during the release of Blacc Hollywood. At this point in his career, Wiz is known for a lot more after having much time in the public eye.

The word that most people would associate with him and his image is cannabis. He is known for openly smoking it and supporting its legalisation in the few states of America, and the rest of the world in the future. One would also associate him with fellow weed smoking rapper Snoop Dogg, as they share a quite similar image - suggesting that Wiz is a younger spawn of Snoop. 


In early 2014, Wiz Khalifa stopped paying approximately $10,000 a month on cannabis as he became a sponsor of "The Cookie Factory", a medical marijuana dispenser. He has also created his own strain of cannabis, known as Khalifa Kush, which he made a song about in Blacc Hollywood, called KK.

The constant change of hair colour is also a factor of his image that he is recognised for, having gone through multiple, such as brown, "Pittsburgh" and this purple colour. 

He is also known for dating supermodel Amber Rose from 2011-2015, and they had 1 child together. 



According to Richard Dyer, Wiz would be adding to his constructed image with all the changes he is making to it, and all the additional popularity and recognition he's receiving via social media. He has also used his own strain of cannabis, his own rolling papers, and other merchandise as a unique selling point. 

Website Analysis - "Weird Al" Yankovic

Because I am parodying We Dem Boyz and my future artist is part of the parody genre, I needed to research the website of one of his cited influences: "Weird Al" Yankovic. I researched his website to see how I could apply features of his website to the one I will create.

Al's website features a mainly white background with white text, and this theme runs through all the pages. On the home page, there is a large landscape picture of Al in black and white. This demonstrates how Al is a synthetic artist because he is selling himself primarily based on his image.

You can scroll down to find news on his home page and when you scroll down further, you find links to his Facebook, Twitter and Instagram all on a social bar. The other colour theme that goes with the website is red, which sits at the bottom.

He has also included important promotion for his world tour, which is currently the biggest part of his career this year so he is placing advertisement for it on every page on the website in order to target and persuade his audience to buy tickets. 

This version of Al's page is the updated version from 2015 (this post has been updated since its publish date). Before 2015, Al's website used to look like this:

We can suggest that his previous website format was more exemplary of the parody genre and his humour, whereas his updated website format has come across more formal and serious, even though he is already a respected artist. He has also had this website for over 10 years so the format update may have been needed from his perspective.

The menu bar is usually conventional of artists' websites. Al's website features:

HOME|NEWS|VIDEOS|TOUR|CATALOG|STORE|ARCHIVES

The pages CATALOG and ARCHIVES will not be necessary on the website I plan to make because the catalog page is a mix of all the things that should just be included in the menu bar, but I only have a certain amount that I can include for a new artist. The archives page contains his history and lots of other links that a new artist like mine should not have on their start-up website, therefore I will not be using it either. 

Website Analysis - Wiz Khalifa

Wiz Khalifa's song We Dem Boyz is what my song and video We're Jewish Boyz is going to parody, therefore I decided to do some research on his website and use it as an inspiration to see how I could apply features of his website to the one I will create.

Wiz's website features a mainly black background with white text, and this theme runs through all the pages. On the home page, the main focus is on Wiz's latest music video (in this picture the video is loading) which therefore translates as a focus on Wiz's latest activity all the time. 

You then scroll down to find three sections on his website, and this picture is the first section which has news, merchandise, songs, pictures and tour dates all regarding his latest album Blacc Hollywood. The other two sections feature his two previous studio albums. 

Other than promoting his albums, Wiz is trying to attract his target audience by grouping all these products under one album and putting the most interesting and latest features of these products on the homepage so that the audience are updated. 

We can assume that Wiz is a synthetic artist because he is being sold on more than just his name, he is also selling his lifestyle and culture which a lot of his fans follow and imitate.

The menu bar usually is conventional of artists' websites. Wiz's website features: 

WIZ KHALIFA (HOME)|NEWS|MUSIC|TOUR|PHOTO|VIDEO|LIFESTYLE|STORE

Wiz's page LIFESTYLE is essentially similar to other pages on his site, so I will therefore not include such pages on my website.

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