Music Video Research 1

Ice Cube - It was a good day (1993)




Camera/Editing

The editing in the video is seamless and relaxed which fits well with the pace of the song, slow and chilled.There are multiple camera shots used such as a low angle show when Cube is showing off his car, In the studio segments of the video the camera is almost exclusively at close up, normally this is to identify with a character and to fully see his emotions however as Cube is wearing glasses we are unable to really see emotion from him. A skewed camera shot is used when they are rolling dice which i believe is a pov shot one on the people who are lying on the floor playing dice.

Narrative

The narrative is simple, as a title suggests it is a day in the life of Ice Cube in the hood, and on this particular day everything goes right for him such as the police not hassling him and dropping a triple-double in basketball. This can be considered a juxtaposition to a stereotypical day in Compton,California (setting) and this is emphasised in the penultimate line, "Today I didn't even have to use my AK" which is then followed by " I gotta say it was a good day". This is an example of how dangerous the area is when it is considered a rarity, and almost shocking that an AK does not have to be used on a daily basis. The good day is ruined when the police surrround Ice Cube and the good day is ruined and normal service is resumed.

What Works?

Everything, this isn't a video that will shock and make you want to desperatley watch again however it succeeds in its purpose which is to to relate to the lyrics and give a better understanding of Cube's day.