Busy Earnin'

Context: Busy Earnin’(XL Recordings)

Jungle is a London based group comprising of Josh “J” Lloyd-Watson and Tom "T" McFarland. This is a track from their eponymous debut album.Jungle told NME about the song: "It's weird, a lot of people seem to have thought this song's a celebration of making money when it's completely the opposite. It's about that fear of spending your life chasing a career you don't really want". The video shows an unidentified street dance crew who hold their pose before completing an aggressive routine choreographed by Birdgang member Kendra J Horsburgh.

Analysis

The opening shot features the whole dance crew as the video starts with a gradual zoom by emphasizing on the dance group with everyone in still motion. It is set in an empty warehouse where people are supposed to be working which links to the title ‘Busy Earnin’ as it connotes the fact that people are too involved in working and making money, rather than living a life that brings them happiness. The props used such as the rusted metal, big silver vents, small windows and tiny fans also bring about a sense of poor working conditions,but people are too focused on money rather than improving their own standards and living a better life. The video mostly targets a working class audience as; it is set in a warehouse, the clothing of the dancers, and the lyrics of the song “Too busy earning, can't get enough”- This shows the ideology of workers as they put their jobs in front of them before anything else.
The lighting used in the video is quite bright but dull. This is because, instead of using natural light or light facing the dancing group directly, there were also lights in the background that were facing the camera which makes it quite difficult for the audience to pay vivid attention, but rather have to squint a little. This might have also been the ideology of the text creator to show how difficult it is to see in between the lines of living a fulfilled life, be it having all the money one wants in life or being happy and creating the best memories.
The costumes used in this video could reflect a “rebellious youth” as they’re mostly in tracksuits and hoodies, with sneakers. This could also connote the idea that all the youth is interested in is making quick money by any means. However, the main dancer looks relatively older than the rest of the group and has a tank top on with no sleeves. This could connote that because of his maturity, he has more freedom, but still finds himself in this rut because of the difficulties of being in a minority group in the country.

The music video represents black, white and brown people, but with blacks playing the main roles. This shows how society has changed overtime as normally, whites dominated the music industry. The video makes a female character the lead at “1:45”, this shows equality between males and females.
Applying Goodwin’s theory, the lyrics don’t match what is shown in the music video, as there are no props to demonstrate actions, but rather, choreography throughout. Busy Earnin' does not conform to most conventions of music videos as it is only set in one location and there is choreography instead of lip syncing. However, there's the use of a main character, which helps involve and engage the audience.The choreographers are also dancing to the song in synchrony, which connotes that the majority of the world are doing the same thing ie.chasing money. The ideology behind this decision is to target a specific niche audience. There are no special effects which connotes the reality of the situation. The dance moves are also specifically hitting each beat.
The video is mostly in a long shot view to make sure all the actions are being shown. There are also mid shots which allow the viewer to pick up on the characters movements and gestures.Tracking shots are used to follow the traveling subjects.The mid shots of them rubbing their hands together also go along with the lyrics of the song. The connotation of this gesture is when someone is expecting something, or indicating that something good is happening- they are earning their money.
The general narrative of the music video is how people work all their lives chasing money, and not realising they'll never feel accomplished, which is illustrated through the lyrics “Too busy earning, can’t get enough”.