Niki Minaj Music Video Analysis

The sound of this particular track i think is very futuristic and so to match this different techniques have been using in camera shots and also in post-production to match the uniqueness of the song. For example, the song is very upbeat and alot of percussion instruments are used. In order to match this to the video, editors have clipped each scene so that a dance move, e.g a footstep, hand clap or a finger snap is in direct sync with a clash of a drum or a beat of a piano. Each time a new beat is hear there is a movement which illustrates this and so i feel that the music video is illustrative of the track as theorised by Andrew Goodwin. In addition, the actual storyline to the track is illustrated through the choreography and the video itself. The track is about summarising themselves up and declaring their superiority over other artists who should 'check this out' or check them out. It's all about being higher in the charts and more popular than artists who perhaps put them down in their beginning. This is illustrated in the choreography, especially by Nicki Minaj who uses alot of attitude in her dancing. The choreography is illustrative of the words being spoken, for example when the song says 'sometimes it's just me and all my bottles all alone' Nicki Minaj acts like she is drinking out of bottles. Will.I.Am does this also when saying ' you need to grow a little taller' as he moves his arms up to taller height, all of this illustrates the lyrics in the song.

A colour scheme is apparent through mise en scene and backgrounds throughout the video. Pink and Black are the most dominating colours in this video. Not only does Nicki Minaj and Will.I.am wear them but also some of the backing dancers. The colour pink is almost like a recurring motif for Nicki Minaj as it is vivid in her other music videos and also contributes to the name of her album 'Pink Friday'. When an audience see the colour pink it easy for them to associate it with Nicki Minaj as she uses the colour so often. Sticking with mise en scene, a lot of the outfits are very wacky and futuristic which amplifies the songs sound. The backing dancers were costumes which almost resemble spaceman outfits, again pink and black for the most part. At one point, Nicki Minaj is wearing a pink and white leather catsuit which has been designed to look very futuristic and wild. Will.I.Am wears a leather padded outfit with a plastic L.E.D lit hair stripe which again contributes to this idea of computerised characters and futuristic tracks.


Some of the post successful components of this video have been done in post-production. For example, throughout the video we have running animatics in a foreign langauge which presumably read what the song is saying. By having these animations the track is able to be amplified and the lyrics emphasised through the use of them. The animations are also used on the beat of the music, so that they only appear on a certain beat to match the track. They carry the same animated and futuristic feel as the rest of the track and so the theme is also amplified through these.


A range of camera shots are used in this video for a variety of reasons. One of the most common shots is the 'meat shot' which enables Laura Mulvey's theory of 'voyeurism' to be apparent. A close up shot of Nicki Minaj is used as the 'meat shot' in order to promote the song through her attractiveness and the female figure. A lot of males will watch the video purely for Nicki Minaj and so dressing her in certain outfits and choreographing certain moves will help contribute to the 'male gaze'.
A lot of long shots are also used within the video so that the choreographed and sometimes free styled dance can be seen. A lot of this video is made up of small sections of choreography which amplify and illustrate the song. Dance routines are a convention of pop videos and audiences will automatically be able to assign the pop genre to this song as soon as the upbeat tempo and dance routines kick in.