Analysis of Wiley - Cash In My Pocket

This video was released on the 1^st December 2008; this song was off Wiley’s 5^th studio album called “See Clear Now” and the first Pop album he composed. Wiley is signed to Asylum Records who are the subsidiary of Warner Music Group and this song generates from the genre of Grime/ Electronic/ Pop and was produced by Mark Ronson. This is a concept based video, creating the representation of what it is like within the corporate world but showing it in a comedic way using satire.

The video starts off with a close up of two white males in a car within the surroundings of central London- showing the corporate world. This is because we see a low angle of one of the most iconic buildings in London, the Gherkin.  What the audience can get from this is that, these two males are about to take us on a journey of what it’s like within their working environment. We then enter the building but see it from a mailman/woman point of view, this could be his/hers perspective of what it’s like when they come to this office to do their daily route, and the audience is welcomed by two males in smart attire one again stating it is a place of work.

As soon as we enter into the building we establish that the video is recorded by a hand held camera, which enhances the verisimilitude of it being set in an actual work place with ordinary office workers.  As view this video through someone else’s perspective, it’s an instinctive invitation for the audience to indulge within the work place and feel involved within the video. A long shot is shown for each person who has a few lines to say, whilst in the background everyone else is getting along with their work, which creates the effect of it being a normal day in the office and the use of the camera switching from face to face also reminds the audience that they’re in a fast paced working environment.

We continue to see more office workers coming into the shot saying their lines- then we pan across the different office cubicles whilst everyone inside is doing their own parts in a comedic way which will entice the audience because they may find it humorous. Throughout video it’s visible that the work place is predominately white male and female workers, so once we see the small minority of the different ethnicities, it gives the suggestion that the employment system is mainly based on 97% white ethnicity and the rest of the 3% are other ethnicities- and that is shown within the corporate businesses.  

The video ends with some of the colleagues crowed together walking towards the camera singing the lyrics, showing the company is in unison and everyone is in it together. It then ends with a pulling focus going out of the office building- which signals that the journey within the office is over, and the workers are waving goodbye hoping that the audience have enjoyed their stay.

Overall I think Wiley had a good concept to the video because the lyrics of the song are in contrast to what is happening in the video, and it makes it more exciting for the audience to consume. Everything has been done in a comedic away to subvert the idea of what office culture is like- so the director has chosen to make it less obvious but also realistic by using officers workers to get a better approach towards the video.