Intertextuality

Definition:  'the interrelationship between texts, especially works of literature; the way that similar or related texts influence, reflect, or differ from each other'

John Stewart: Modern media incorporates, raids and reconstructs.

Julia Kristeva: Any text is the absorption and transformation of another

'The Universal' Blur

 

This is one of the first shots from the video 'The Universal' by Blur. It begins as a close up on the face of Damon Albarn but gradually zooms out to see the rest of the band sitting on a white sofa. This shows intertextuality towards the Kubrick film 'A Clockwork Orange'. It is imitating a shot in which the main character- Alex- is sitting in a milk bar with his gang which are referred to as 'Droogs'. Because it is such a similar shot, fans of the film will recognise it immediately. Additionally, Albarn is wearing eye liner on one eye like this character does.
This is another way that tribute to this film can be recognised. There are a number of reasons why intertextuality is used in music promos or any form of media at all. It can be in homage to something else, a way of parodying it, it can appeal to more people, it can be appealing to find something familiar. In this video it could be said that the band are trying to appear as rebellious and unpredictable much like Alex and the droogs. It also shows the boldness that the band have in the way they stare the camera down and it almost feels like we are backing away from them.    

This is another shot that would remind many people of the film. This is a shot that was used on Alex in the film and was also seen on the posters for the film. A reason for why this might have been used is because some viewers of promos might like the feeling of recognising a reference. People tend to like being able to say that they knew what something referred to. Also, it is likely that many fans of A Clockwork Orange heard about this promo and wanted to see it, meaning that Blur would have an increased fan base. Damon Albarn is also comparing himself directly to the character of Alex, which is quite unusual seeing as he is incredibly violent and twisted. He may be comparing himself to this as he relates to or wants to project the image of a misunderstood young man. Alternatively it may be to get people talking about the video and questioning whether or not it is a good video as it refers to quite a controversial film.




The costumes in the video are also reminiscent of the Kubrick film. Although they do not directly copy the film's costumes they are quite similar in that they are entirely white. This again puts the band at a parallel to the thuggish boys in the film. The intertextuality in the video could be a tribute to the film as well. Sometimes artists like to show similarities to other art to show their respect and to show the type of the art they would like to be affiliated with.

 

The setting for the video is essential in creating the similarity to A Clockwork Orange. In the film, the characters visit the 'Korova Milk Bar'. It is a very surreal location where they drink drugged milk and there are many sculptures of naked women. This features in the video as seen in this still when there are legs of dummies up on platforms.

Although this speaker does not seem to have such a direct link to the film it could be suggested that it relates to how important music is in A Clockwork Orange. The main character links music to violence and this prop could link to this theme and also fits in with the white leather style of the milk bar featured in the video.

Analysis of Music Promo: Fatboy Slim 'Weapon of Choice'

Throughout this music video, there are many long shots and extreme long shots in order to show the whole dance routine that the actor Christopher Walken is performing. This lets us see his whole body rather than just certain parts of his body, for example we do not need to see his expression so much so it does not matter that there is little focus on his face.

At the beginning of the video, the shot starts as an extreme long shot of a waiting room or reception area in a hotel. We can see the actor sitting in a chair slighty off-centre. This works as an establishing shot as we see the surroundings he is in and we know that he is on his own. We can also not hear anything in this shot so we know that the hotel is likely to be empty or closed for some reason. 

The next shot is very similar, as we see the man slightly off centre and in the same position. This is a long shot and it can now be seen that he seems to be bored or waiting for something. It can be seen that the camera is gradually getting closer to the man and the viewer waits in suspense to find out what is going to happen in this quite plain and dull environment.

This is the third shot in the sequence of slowly getting closer to the character so that now it is a mid-shot. We see he is wearing a suit and seems to be bored and perhaps even sleeping. This may imply that he works at the hotel and has had a difficult day and this is why he is staying here even though it appears to be closed. This is also when the music begins to play and the idea that something is soon to happen is justified when we see that he starts to move to the music.

For the majority of the video when we see the man, mostly long shots are used that are composed with Christopher Walken in the centre as he dances cheerily to the music. It emphasises how unusual it is that what looked like quite a dull and uninteresting man would dance so ecstatically and so well throughout a whole building with loud and modern music playing.

There is a short section of the music video that is quite comedic when the actor leaps off the side of a higher floor in the hotel and flies around one of the rooms in his blissful state. High angles are used here to see the extent of the ridiculousness of the events.

All aspects of mise-en-scene seem to be used in order to show how normal this environment is thus how unusual it is for the man to start to dance so extravagantly.

 

 

This is seen in the three stills above: the man in the suitacase rack, the trolley carrying towels and the bell. These are all typical objects to be found in a hotel and he uses some of them within the dance to emphasise the strangeness of what is happening. This is also seen by the costume and the setting. The man wears quite a plain grey suit so even he does not look extraordinary in any way. The hotel also looks like a very normal hotel, and would not be a natural place to start dancing around. The lighting in the video is quite low-key to give the impression that it is the end of the day the hotel is closed for some reason and this man would be the only person there.  

The artist- Fatboy Slim- is not featured in this video; it soley shows Christopher Walken and his dance in the hotel. The lyrics of the track do not seem to relate to the events in the promotional video. Howver the main repeated lyrics are 'Check out my new weapon, weapon of choice' which may be referring to the character's dance moves as his weapon of choice. It also repeats 'You can go with this, or you can go with that' which seem to suit how the man is free to do what he wants in this building.

The genre of this song would be said to be Big Beat or Dance. In other videos of this genre you would often find the extreme long shots to show all of the dancing going on. Dance muysic videos tend to have humour in as well like this one does, for example another Fatboy Slim video is called 'Right here, right now' and shows the whole of evolution in a few minutes until it reaches present day when there is an overweight human being. He also made a video for the song 'Praise you' which shows a group of people dancing in a really unusual style in the middle of a cinema with unsuspecting people around.

Analysis of Music Promo: 30 Seconds To Mars 'Kings and Queens'

I made a PowerPoint  presentation with my friend which analysed different aspects of the music promotional video 'Kings and Queens' by 30 Seconds To Mars. We presented it to the class, explaining why the creators of the video had chosen to include certain parts of it including choices in camerawork, narrative and mise-en-scene.

Analysis of Music Promo: Queen 'Breakthru'

Queen: Breakthru

 

Narrative

 

- A young woman is seen lying on a train track

- She wakes up and gradually stands, moving her hair from her face

- She begins to walk towards the camera while miming the words 'Break through'

- A train then bursts through a wall that has the word 'Now' on it as this word is sang by Freddie Mercury

- The majority of the rest of the video is seeing the band performing the song on top of the train

- At one point the train goes through a tunnel and the video goes darker and we see a montage of the band playing their instruments

Camerawork

- When we see the band performing on the train the majority of the shots are long shots and extreme long shots of the train. These allow us to see the band all together and give us the chance to see them play
- A handheld camera is used for these sections as well, almost so it feels like we are on the train with them
- Some low angle shots are used too to make the band seem powerful  and almost holy as we literally look up to them as they play the rock song

- For the short narrative with the woman many close ups and mid shots are used. This may be because unlike the band, this section is being acted so it is more important to see the woman's facial expressions. She has also got very unusual make up and clothing on so the close ups and mid shots help to accentuate this.


Editing


- For parts of the video when we see the female on the track, the transitions are mostly fades. This creates a sort of dreamy atmosphere especially when we have just seen that the girl had been sleeping
- Similarly to this, there is a shot where the girl brushes the hair away from her face as she stands. This is shown three times from different angles and distances which again highlight the dream-like feeling
- In contrast to this, when we see the band the cuts are straight cuts and they last for a lot less time. This matches the rock music that is fast and loud, and suits the theme of the fast train as well.  

Mise en Scene

 - The setting of the video is on a train and a track. The fact that it is filmed on a train may be because it suits the fast moving and intense song. The girl is seen lying down in the middle of the track which again makes it quite strange as this would be a dangerous thing to do

- The costumes of the band members are white shirts with different waistcoats on top, except for the drummer who has a yellow shirt and waistcoat. It could be said that the reason they are wearing quite similar clothes is to show that they are united as a band and this is almost like a uniform. It is also quite casual so shows the cool and collected attitude they have

- On the other hand, the girl on the track wears an unusual costume with a futuristic dress and belt and strange make up. This seems to be used to give the unreal feeling that this section has

- The only props used in this video are there in order to make it look like Queen are really playing this song on top of the train; the band has instruments and Freddie Mercury has a microphone. 

 

Sound

 

- The song Breakthru seems to be about someone who is completely in love with someone else and is desperately trying to show them this. This could be shown in the video by the girl on the track who perhaps is trying to end her life. The lyrics 'If I could only reach you, if I could make you smile' could be meaning that they are trying to convince her out of it, and that it would be a break through to do this 

- Some other the parts of the song also fit the events, for example when we see a close up on the girl's eyes as they open we can hear a short glissando which is classically heard in dream sequences in films and TV shows

- The music also crescendos and there are key changes and guitar solos as it gets closer to the end. This may be as it builds up to reaching the girl and finally 'Breaking through'

 

 

 

 

History of Music Promos

1960s

- The Animals: 'House of the Rising Sun' 1964

This music video shows the band playing the song as the camera follows them around for the whole song (or at least pretending to). It is a very simple video as it relies on the viewer just wanting to see the band playing the song. It is one of the first rock videos to be made which would inspire the cool performances of each the band members with their serious expressions.

- The Kinks: 'Dead End Street' 1966

 

This was one of the first music videos to include a plot/narrative in the video, which we now see and have seen in many music videos since. The BBC did not like the video as they said it was in bad taste as it included the band members playing undertakers and pictures from the Great Depression.

1970s

Queen: 'Bohemian Rhapsody' 1975

 

This is one of the most iconic music promos ever made. After this video it became common for record companies to make videos for single releases. This meant that the video could be shown on TV shows (for example, Top of the Pops) so that the band would not have to actually perform themselves. This meant that the song would not have to be accompanied by the dancers often seen on the show, Pan's People. It also used a lot of different effects that would not have been seen before.

The Buggles: 'Video Killed the Radio Star' 1979

This video was the first to be shown on the channel MTV. MTV would then become an incredibly successful channel and a way for musicians to be promoted and new music to be heard. Some viewers that saw the video claimed it was too violent because a television exploded in it.

 

1980s

Talking Heads: 'Once in a Lifetime' 1981

 

At the time this  was released it is was a very unusual video and still is now. The video involves David Byrne (the singer of the band) dancing very strangely, quite similarly to a marionette. Apparently his odd dancing was inspired by clips the choreographer showed him of epilepsy sufferers.

Peter Gabriel:  'Sledgehammer' 1986

This was an influential music promo because of the amount of time that was spent on it to produce such a creative and memorable video. The video involves a great deal of stop motion animation that all takes place around Peter Gabriel's head. All of the animation is linked to the lyrics in the song. This video would inspire many artists to be more imaginative with their videos and make them more impressive.

 

 

1990s

 

Pulp: 'Common People' 1995

 

 

 

This song features the frontman of the band, Jarvis Cocker, dancing in a wacky style which he improvised on the day of filming. The rest of the band can also be seen, in this is an example of a video where we see not only the performance of the band but a narrative too. Pulp are performing at a disco and the narrative takes place in a supermarket with Jarvis Cocker sat in a trolley being pushed by a female character who wants to 'live like common people'.



 

 

Daft Punk: 'Around the World' 1997

 

 

 

This is a very quirky and intelligent music video for the pop duo's song. The video shows a dance in which involves robots, synchronised swimmers, skeletons and mummies. There are different groups of dancers that are all on different sections of a platform. They all dance to show certain parts of the song: the repetitive vocals, the bass, the keyboard, the guitar and drum machine.

 

 

2000s

 

Beyoncé: 'Single Ladies' 2008

 

 

This is another iconic music promo, especially among dance videos. The video involves Beyoncé and two other dancers performing a fast moving dance routine in black leotards. Many parts of the video are long lasting shots and it is clever as the room does not appear to be logically possible as it seems we see the whole way around but there are no doors or corners in the wall.

 

 

Fatboy Slim: 'Weapon of Choice' 2001

 





This is quite an influential video because of the comedy element to it. In the video, the actor Christopher Walken is sat in a hotel and then begins to dance on his own to the Fatboy Slim song. Also it is notable that the artist himself does not appear in the video which would be common for music promos.  

What is a Music Promo?

A music promo is a video created in order to promote an artist, song or album. It is a short film that uses both the song and images to create a memorable clip. Many famous past music promos include Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody', a number of Fatboy Slim videos, Daft Punk's 'Around the World', and Peter Gabriel's 'Sledgehammer'.





The purpose of a music video is to be memorable so that it will stay in people's minds and they will be more likely to buy the song. It also gives more meaning to a song, for example giving it a story or narrative or a deeper meaning. Many music videos are funny as well, and this makes people want to watch them more and again will be likely to buy the song. An example of a popular comedic music promo would be Queen's 'I Want To Break Free' I which each member of the band is dressed up as a woman. 


Music videos can be viewed on music channels such as MTV (which have branched off into many more channels that specialise in certain genres), 4Music and Viva. They can also be seen on websites like YouTube and Vimeo. Some new music videos by very famous artists (for example Michael Jackson's 'Thriller') were premiered on television late at night.




With the constant developments and advances in technology, music videos are viewed more often on smart phones and tablets. Similarly people use social networking much more meaning that people can share the videos and get more people to see them. Many artists have Twitter or Facebook pages now so they can release the videos onto them and the fans can watch them straight away. However, both of these advances in technology have meant that the music channels are suffering as less people watch videos through this method.