Intertexual references
- 2. Narrative/representations I found and collected poems from Tumblr (shown on the next slide) - a social networking site that allows people to upload photos, literature and music. After I read them, they really inspired me to base the narrative of my music video upon them. The storyline of my video is not entirely linked to one of them, because most of these poems are about heartbreak and rejection. However, the line from one of the poems ‘the greatest feeling was falling into your eyes’ related to the scene where the male character in my music video is the bed one minute, then the next he has moved – highlighting the moment of catching feelings. However, Love is never constantly positive and happy whilst it lasts so the emotions in these poems can reflect the complexity and downfalls of this theme. This will be shown through the effects and body language of my male character in my music video. The first and second poems mention the ocean/waves, which is also another link to the hallucinogenic waves but also to the song title. The poems are not obviously linked to my video than other intertextual references because I do not want my music video to be too romantic - this is because this would be more suited to the light hearted and my target audience is male dominated. I also took inspiration from the music video ‘Why'd you only call me when you're high?' by the Arctic Monkeys. The video follows Alex Turner going out of a bar and walking to a girl's house, whilst intoxicated and hallucinating visions of her, but she isn't present at the time. I took inspiration from this plot because it includes the theme of love, and drug intoxication is a good metaphor to describe the power of love we feel. Although the female character in my music video is not imaginary, either narrative fits well into the theme of love. The trippy effects in the music video has also inspired me to create mine in a similar way, as I found watching 'Why'd you only call me when you're high?' really indulging because of how effective these effects were, as if the viewer is given an insight into Alex Turner's vision. Another music video that inspired my narrative (as well as the theme of masks, shown on slide 3) 'All those friendly people' by Funeral Suits. The video is quite difficult to watch because it involves a man with a mask dragging an innocent character, adapting to the thriller genre. The female character in my music video is similar to this, because she will be wearing a mask & she is making sure she gets followed by the male character, so it is far less scary than 'All those friendly people'.
- 3. Arctic Monkeys – ‘Why’d you only call me when you’re high?’ Funeral suits – ‘All those friendly people’ --> Narrative/representations intertexual references
- 4. Masks Masks have been an embodiment of different cultures for centuries, beholding ceremonial and practical purposes such as for protection, entertainment, disguise and performance. In Africa, for example, masks were used for connecting with the spirits in order to cure sickness. They also come in a variety of shapes and sizes and can make other people feel a particular way. For example, halloween masks are designed to scare others – we brought the mask for our video around that time so ours is supposed to have a similar purpose. However, we chose this mask over others because our group was inspired by ‘The Purge’ – a 2013 horror film based in future America where all crimes are legal for 12 hours each year. We wanted to buy a mask that was not too surreal and slightly distorted the human face so the female character would look unrecognisable. The masks in the Purge (shown on the left) look disturbing and makes the viewer looks uncomfortable, so using a similar mask in my music video helps to portray the character in a suspicious way. This would also make my music video more suited to the age range of my target audience because younger viewers may find it inappropriate. The mask is not scary enough to be afraid of harm being caused, but it certainly has the power to make the viewer feel differently. I was stimulated by artist Miguel Leal, who brings about a sarcastic response to human attitudes and behaviour in his paintings - “My work seeks to satirize, and stylize grotesquely ironic reality and behaviors that humans develop. I see the world and I represent it through the grotesque“. This inspired me to select the mask we chose because it illustrates distorted emotions and creates a sinister satire about the effects she has imposed on the male character.
- 5. Effects In order to make my music video look cinematic, I looked at music videos who have credits in them. 'Telephone' by Lady Gaga is a good example of this which gave me a foundation to work upon. It has the credits at the beginning of the video in a clear font and has the typical conventions of a film. Before watching this video I had an idea how credits are written and presented in films, but I found it confusing to know what kind of companies there were given credit to. For example, '______ presents' is the record label and 'a _____ production' is the music studio/record producer. I do not think I will include the black borders because it will decrease quality to my footage as well as cropping a lot of it out, lengthways. Additionally, the music video of 'Telephone' does not have black borders so I feel as though they are not necessary for making it look cinematic if they have credits. Having a cinematic video would attract my target audience well because they like music videos that have a narrative, so adding credits will emphasise this appeal. Effects I watched a video on Youtube about the stages of LSD and what it does to you. The motive of the video is for educational purposes instead of promoting or appropriating the drug. Watching this video increased my understanding on the visual impacts and how I can incorporate them into my music video. The video mentioned how your surroundings begin to move slowly and ‘you just don’t feel right’, whilst your consciousness shifts from bassline state to altered state. As it progresses, one’s own identity and self of time distorts and the shape and size of objects, movements and colours begin to disfigure. There are many more mental and physical effects of this drug so I am limiting myself to focus on visually creating the ones I have just discussed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIFlWe1oYlw Enter the void is a 2009 Fantasy/drama film that was filmed entirely through the viewpoint of a young American drug dealer when he enters a psychedelic tour of life after his death. This movie instantly gave me inspiration to include drug indulged effects in my music video to represent another theme, altering the viewpoint of our male character’s world. As shown by the images, the majority of the film has been filmed or edited in vibrant and bright colours to maximize the character’s consciousness to the full. The film is also suited to the age of my target audience so my video may receive a similar response from those who have watched Enter the Void.
- 6. Locations Our group wanted our music video to be filmed in an urban environment than the countryside because we wanted our locations to relate to the realistic aspect of our music video, as love is a topic experienced by almost everyone that can also happen anywhere, which will make the audience relate to it more. We also thought that an urban environment would be more suited towards my target audience because younger people are more familiar to those kind of places because it is where they spend a lot of their free time and education in. Therefore, I was inspired by the British television drama ‘Skins’, which looks into the lives of teenagers in their 2 years of sixth form who are suffering from substance abuse & mental illnesses, as well as teenage pregnancies and sexuality. Because of these narratives, the television series is set in Bristol and the neighbourhood of the teenagers, meaning that the locations we chose for our music video are similar to the ones in Skins.