Music Video Analysis

The video we are analysing is Stan by Eminem. Directed by Phillip G Atwell and Dr Dre. This music video is of the rap genre. The video is dark almost like a thriller as it tells the story of Eminem's rise to fame and the problems it can bring to an artists life.

The lyrics 'The morning rain cloud hits my window' is then amplified by the sound of rain which can be heard in the background. 'Picture on my wall' and then it pans into a collage of pictures of Eminem. 'too sloppy when I jot 'em' he says this when he is writing to Eminem in a panic state, this emphasises his lack of control. 'I'm just like you in a way' and it changes to a picture of Eminem on the TV screen as Stan watches the TV intensely.

'She don't know you like I know you Slim' switches to picture of Dido looking on bored and dissatisfied with Stan. 'This will be the last package I ever send your ass' Stan is driving recklessly through the pouring rain as he raps into a recorder showing his annoyance and frustration with Eminem. Also there is a picture of Eminem hanging around the rear view mirror showing Stan's deep obsession with Eminem. 'You could have rescued me from drowning' you can sense that Stan is annoyed and going to do something reckless putting not only his life, but also his little brother's and his girlfriend's life. 'I hope you know I ripped all your posters off the wall' cuts into an image showing Stan ripping posters of Eminem off the wall. 'I think you need to treat her better' shows Stan beating Dido and making her cry, contradicting what Eminem says.

The pace of the music is not very fast it is slow during the chorus and some verses. Except the last verse that Eminem raps from his perspective, here the beat picks up and there is an increased amount of cuts due to the faster pace of music. There are solo instrumental bits illustrated by the video. For example when you see Stan drive is car into the river off the bridge you hear the symbol on the drum kit and the pulling of guitar strings. This emphasises a pivotal moment within the video.

The lighting in the video is quite dark and dim, especially in Stan's basement. This connotes the sadness and a sense of loneliness throughout the video. When Stan is in his basement writing how he feels about Eminem,there are sources of artificial light such as the tv, the lamp hanging from the ceiling and there are also sources of natural lighting as a flash of lightning outside comes through the window.

Also, the gestures that Stan shows in the video are very aggressive. There is a distinct link with the lyrics in the video and the gestures made by both Stan and Eminem. Stan in the very beginning of the video is dying his hair blonde to try an imitate his idol Eminem. He also copies Eminems classic image of a vest top and some jeans.

The record company are trying to sell this track as a dramatic story of the hardship of fame and of the obsession that fans have with their idols. The artist is being portrayed as busy, as he has various other things to do such as perform for other fans and rest whilst on tour. Although at the end of the video he does reply to Stan's letter although as Eminem says in the song he has been busy and can't reply straight away. Its a change of style of video that Eminem is usually featured in as he usually has a more comical side to his videos although in this video he takes a more serious role due to one of his fans killing themselves due to his passion and obsession with Eminem. This change of image makes the viewer empathize with Eminem and his difficult situation.

The video Stan by Eminem has a variety of camera angles, shots and movements.

The shot on the right, is of Dido in focus and her boyfriend Stan out of focus in the background. This type of shot is known as a shallow focus. The point of this shot was to show Dido's reaction to the photo she had picked up and to equally show Stan's reaction to her being in his basement. There are many pans, and tracking shots of Stan when he is in his basement, writing his letters to Eminem. The camera circles him once as he writes part of his letter.

The screens within screens notion is demonstrated when Stan looks himself in the mirror and changes his hair colour to blonde to look like his idol Eminem. We also see close ups of the TV screen with Eminem on it also portraying Stan's obsession with the star. Finally we see Stan through his windscreen shouting into his tape recorder portraying his obsession and disappointment in Eminem.

This relates to the stars image of being incredibly popular and having massive amounts of fans write to him all wanting a reply a they are all equally obsessed with Eminem due to his massive success. We also see Eminem on the TV, on tour and at a book signing all demonstrating his star status and how he is always doing something for the fans and does not always have time to write to them. These different aspects are used to tell fans that he does appreciate them but due to his busy lifestyle he can't always write to fans straight away.s

The video is strongly narrative based, this is because Eminem and the directors feel the lyrics best suit a narrative based performance. Eminem voice is heard telling the story of both Stan and from Eminem's perspective this gives the viewer a broader story and understanding of the lyrics and Eminem's situation.

Toward the end of the music video, Eminem is sitting in what appears to be a tour bus reads some of the letters than Stan has sent to the long awaited reply. He also tells Stan that he

needs to seek professional help as he's behavior is that of someone sane. "You got some issues Stan, I think you need some counseling". As he says this, it cuts into an image of Stan.

The video on the whole portrays how an artists rise to fame brings a lot of responsibility and fans along the way. This narrative based video reinforces this responsibility as one of Eminem's fans becomes irate and kills himself, leaving he's family behind. Eminem is shown to

be a very busy person as he does not have the time to write back to all he's fans mail, not even those of he's biggest fans. In the end of the video, Eminem comes to terms with the death of one of he's fans as it shocks him as he realizes that the person he was replying to was in fact dead.