This is one of the songs that I’m strongly considering to use, in fact at the moment this is the song that I would say is the most likely that I would use. The song has several features which makes it interesting and, in my opinion, sets it reasonably apart from several others that I have listened to. The most interesting of these, for me, is the tone of ‘western’ that is included in the song via the trumpet and the steady, rhythmic tempo which is similar to that of a horse riding. Due to this I feel that the song can potentially inspire a very interesting music video. A good example of a music video that I can learn from and use as inspiration is ‘Knights of Cydonia’ by Muse, as this is based on a spaghetti western theme and therefore uses several genre conventions – such as frequent close-up shots of eyes, a narrative exploring the struggle between good and evil, as well as the use of distinctive costumes and locations to create an exciting mise-en-scene.
This is quite a strange yet interesting piece which would be very difficult but also seems an attractive prospect. The song has no lyrics, which provides a challenge as the narrative must be designed from scratch, however for the same reason it also provides an opportunity to do something different and interpret the song in a more abstract manner. The piece also has different phases and changes of pace, which therefore presents the chance to create a varied video with different levels.
This song I am less sure about. Although the song has a strong beat which could provide good opportunities for synchronised cuts, I feel the song may be slightly too conventional to inspire an original and engaging narrative, therefore at this stage I’m more likely to opt for one of the other two songs rather than this one.
This is a very interesting music video and therefore represents the band as interesting and quite daring. The video is very entertaining and, in my opinion, achieves this by using several conventions from various genres of film, most notably from the western genre (which compliments the streak of the western tone in the song), but also aspects of science-fiction (such as the laser guns, robots and hologram of the band) and comedy, as some of these conventions of westerns are exaggerated and appear humorous. There are other obvious signs which suggest the video is stylistically similar to that of a film, such as the opening and closing credits. It is clear, however, that the vast majority of film genre conventions in this video are from the western genre, as several shots can be recognised as having been lifted directly from classic westerns such as The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (dir. Sergio Leone, 1966). This is especially evident in the camera movements and angles, as there are several examples of close-up or extreme close-up shots focusing on the eyes (reminiscent of shots of Clint Eastwood) as well as swooping high-angle shots into another close-up shot of the eyes from above the rim of hats – which can recently been seen in modern, exaggerated westerns such as Desperado (dir. Robert Rodriguez, 1995). The video also includes the classic struggle between good and evil (another common theme of westerns), the struggle across the desert, the escape from the gallows and, finally, the ever-present showdown at the end.
Russ Bain in 'Knights of Cydonia'
Clint Eastwood in The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
Antonio Banderas in Desperado
The video, however, also includes a darker, post-apocalyptic influence, which is possibly and explanation for the inclusion of robots and laser guns, as well as providing an explanation for the brief reference to Planet of the Apes (dir. Franklin J. Schaffner, 1968).
Reference to The Planet of the Apes
‘Come to Daddy’ – Aphex Twin
This video is highly unconventional and, frankly, also quite disturbing, as it explores dark issues with suggestions towards violence and vandalism. The idea of Aphex Twin’s face on the little girls combined with him climbing out of the TV as their ‘master’, the lyrics ‘I want your sole’ as well as the title of the song result in several interesting arguments. The most apparent, and the most interesting, of these is the idea that Aphex Twin is criticising both the media and the youth of today – the media for brainwashing the youth and the youth for letting themselves become brainwashed. This also suggests that the media exerts a negative influence upon young people, hence the vandalism, sinister tones and hints towards violence. The video, therefore, includes negative representations of the media and the youth, while presenting favourable depictions of the elderly as innocent victims and ‘survivors’ of the media brainwash. This sympathy for the elderly climaxes when the hideous beast climbs out of the TV and releases a long scream into the woman’s face, who is understandably terrified at this point. However, camera features also support this as the voyeuristic shots from the point-of-view of both the TV and the girls towards the woman create a further sense of vulnerability and fear for bad things to happen unto her, as if she is being judged and scrutinised. These negative themes are complimented by the bland, unglamorous settings and mise-en-scene, which is made up largely of dreary greys and some blues and blacks. Furthermore, like the ‘Knights of Cydonia’ video, this video also uses conventions from various film genres in order to emphasise points, in this case c
onventions of the horror genre are used. The idea of young, innocent girls represented as evil and violent has long been used in horrors, perhaps most famously in Kubrick’s classic, The Shining (1980).
