Tinie Tempah - Pass Out

Tinie Tempah is a British rap artist that has been performing since, 2007, yet rose to stardom in 2010 with his first real hit, Pass Out. He has gone on to top the charts on numerous occasions and is now a huge sensation with both the British and the US public. He is regarded as a leading artist for his style of music (hip hop/rap) in this day and age.

Pass Out begins with a close up on Tinie with his head down, facing the floor, shirtless, with a light shining on his back. He looks up directly into the camera with some sort of white glow around his head, similar to the ring seen around the planet Jupiter. A close up cut to his mouth allows him to say the first line of the song, and then a quick cut to a long shot of him is seen before going back to a ECU of his eye. The first part of his rap is shown through quick cuts between the words on screen, the long shot angle of him, and several close ups of his facial features such as mouth or eyes. It occasionally cuts to side angles of him but it is usually a straight shot of him using mode of address to the audience. Narrative is lacking compared to what could have been construed due to the opening shot and the mist around his eyes.

This continues until around 1:15 in which someone else comes into shot, to sing his part, he walks in from behind in which it is dark, highlighting the fact that there is most likely one single light fixture, hanging directly above Tinie. He then proceeds to put sunglasses on in a close up, and a strange image can be seen on both the lenses, which begin to change frequently in further shots. The other character is occasionally in shot but doesn't sing yet, to which his role is in question. At one point the screen is clearly cut whilst focusing on Tinie's mouth, giving us almost 2 shots in one, even though it is still from the one lens. Tinie then walks out of shot as there is a break in the music, before skipping back into centre frame in the long shot angle to sing his next verse. The continuous shot change to close up then long almost gives it a shot reverse shot feel, however now and again shot of a speaker begin to be incorporated, and also Tinie in a dark room. with glasses on, not sunglasses. The cuts get quicker as he raps, ranging from room, to dark room, to speaker, to close up, the close ups now also have a wider range of angles, not just left and right but now high and low.

At 2:30 candles are seen burning, and then it cuts back to the room at a long shot, with almost reflections showing 3 Tinie's now giving the camera mode of address, but narrative is still lacking, and the mise en scene is lacking at best, with only casual attire, speakers, and a variety of glasses used in the video. At 3:05 Tinie begins smashing up poles, in slow motion, and this is the only sign or narrative that is key since the beginning. The pace by 3:20 is extremely fast with around 8 people in shot, and a party atmosphere is used by quick shots, often inadvertent OTS angles and focus on the key characters dancing in the centre, with quick cuts to speakers every now and then. The pace again increases and the shots last around 1/4 of a second, with the poles seen hitting the floor and smashing, close ups and the dancing on-going, it abruptly ends, to meet the pace of the music which also ends at an alarming halt.