Riptide
what is it? and who is vance joy
• Vance Joy is an Australian singer-songwriter
signed to Atlantic records (a subsidiary
of major label, Warner). His music can be
categorised as fitting into indie folk-pop genre.
• Riptide was Vance Joy’s first single to be
released in the USA, following his debut EP,
“God Loves You When You’re Dancing”.
It became a platinum selling single.
• The video was directed by Dimitri Basil
and Laura Gorun and has had nearly
100 million views on YouTube.
economic context
- Can contemplate whether this seemingly low budget video was an artistic design or an economic one.
-Lacking funding due to being a smaller brand originally.
-Unique visual and editorial style, minimal cast and assessable locations, low budget video. Props are fake or improvised add to this feeling.
-Often emphasised by simple edits and whip pans, imagery is literal, may be a stylistic choice.
- Say something about how the artist wishes to be perceived, doesn't appear in video. May reflect how the artist is self aware and conscious that music videos can be overly elaborate and detract from the music.
- Vance Joy's earlier videos. "Georgia however, in much bigger scale and budget, shows how more available as the fan base grows.
intertextuality
(Media Language) How can a combination of elements of media language influences meaning and intertextuality?
- Montage editing used in an overt way - wide range of contrasting shots juxtaposed to convey a large amount of information. The intellectual montage means there isnt one clear specific representation and therefore the audience can interpret.
-Contrast of themes and lighting, not chronological can represent the dark themes of reality. bialy opposition causing element of shock - better for publicity. Juxtapostion/good/bad
-The editing together of seemingly disparate images invited audience interpretation (Eisenstein's concept of "intellectual montage" where new images generate new meaning from collision)
-Music video rejects clearly defined narrative.
-Seems to reference surrealist or avant -garde cinema of the 20th century, juxtaposition of images to prod the unconscious creative mind.
-low angle spying on women creates a voyeristic view of women as though they are being stalked.
- Opening shot makes use of cinematic style credits and information about the music presented with a billing block and the bottom of the screen. Intertextual reference of the convention of film. Borrowing the cache of an elevated art form w/ more weightiness suggested more important.
codes and conventions
• Ways in which the music video seems to defy or subvert music video conventions:
» Whilst it is a convention of the music video form to have song lyrics interpreted on screen, the overt and deliberate way the lyrics are interpreted in this music video might be subverting this convention:
* The opening line “I was scared of dentists and the dark” is interpreted explicitly with a shot of a female looking “scared” with a metallic contraption in her mouth that suggests she is in a dentist’s chair and followed by a shot of a light swinging in a darkened room. This overt graphical representation of the lyrics is largely repeated throughout the video. Consider
whether this is following or subverting the convention of lyrical interpretation.
» The music video seems to explicitly reference feature films:
* The opening shot makes use of cinematic style credits and information about the music is presented with a title at the bottom of the screen. This title is graphically similar to a “billing block” or “credit block” which is often seen on film posters or in trailers. Consider why this style of presentation might have been appropriated from the film genre and how this might frame an audience response. Is the video presenting itself as a short film or a music video?
* The video frequently references the Western and Thriller genres (and arguably the hipster style of Wes Anderson films), but most notably uses Horror genre iconography, e.g. females repeatedly dragged off-screen by unseen forces and a character going missing in a dark graveyard.
- During the opening for every chorus teh colour palette is very bright and colourful which further helps the audience to achieve that 'feel good feeling' that is ever desirable. The bright colours help the audience to feel more up-beat.
The background being a beach can also cause nostalga and the audience can relate to their happier memories of themselves at the beach.
- Moreover, the video later on contains visual jokes when the women is evidently singing the words wrong. This links in perfectly with the line that is sang over the top of the image- as it discusses singing the words wrong. The humour that is added to the music video can engage the audience more and essentially give them that 'feel good feeling' that many audiences crave for. This part of the music video coincides with Jean Baudrillard's theory of Postmodernism.
subverting genre conventions:
- Unusal in terms of rejection of narrative and lack of spectacle or special effects.
-Maybe trying to convey a sense of uniqueness or intrigue to the band.
steave neal - genre
Polysemy - poly:multiple semic:signs and signifiers - multiple clear meanings
Indie folk music video genre is dominated by repetition such as bands playing instruments
Examples of representations
-Could reinforce patriarchal world view subverts the objectification in media. Women in Riptide tend be shown as victimised or objectified in some way.
-Images of violence and objection of women is supposed to encourage us to think this is social issue or entertain the audience.
-High camera angles make women feel smaller w/terrified facial codes and dim lighting create horror atmosphere.
-Women are repeatedly presented as an object to be watched.
-In one shot a woman with her back to the camera undresses out of her swimming costumes and there are.a number of instances where we see disembodied, isolated sections of women's bodies such as feet running away or feminine hands dragged out of shot. Questionable whether its for the enjoyment of straight heterosexual men of a demonstration of how we shouldn't be sexually objectifying women.
- Shots are sexualised and offer to audiences for pleasure or presented in ays that challenges the sexualisation of women in many music videos. Spying on women through bushes creates voyager perspective as though they are being watched.
-Singing scenes - starts flatteringly lit w/ make up in conforming to social norms of beauty and glamour associated with mainstream media texts. Repeatedly return to character, becomes increasingly dishevelled, her make up smudges and expression more vacant. Hard to look away from, forces audience to notice her face and audience becomes uncomfortable. Mise en scene of make up and costume, ambiguous glance to the side creates a tense atmosphere. Shocks the audience creates enigma about what has happened. Wrong lyrics - uncertainty and fear.
-could this be trivialising or normalising violence.
Theories of Identity – David Gauntlett
Theories of Identity - David Gauntlett
- Concept to pick n mix seems particularly relevant to the style of the music of the video which constructs a range of different stimuli that the audience are invited to interpret.
-The video rejects singular, straightforward messages and instead invited a variety of different responses and interpretations.
Feminist Theory – bell hooks
• Hooks could be used as a stimulus to explore
the seemingly contradictory messages about
gender in the video.
it objectifies women and sexualises them
Semiotics – Roland Barthes
Semiotics - Roland Barthes
- How might signs be interpreted according to social convention.
"Oh, all my friends are turning green"
-Barthes idea that constructed meanings can come to seen self evident - colour green means both money and envy. Complication meanings of the message.
-This example of polysemy could be interpreted in a variety of ways - friends have sold out into money
-drugs, prostitution,
-Friends are jealous.
Genre Theory - Steve Neale
- Genres are dominated by repetition but are also marked by difference, variation and change.
For music videos I'd suggest Goodwin, and if representation is part of the focus then either van Zoonen or Gilroy
how are the women represented
Women in a victimised and objective way, tied to tree, dragged into darkness, assaulted. High camera angles to make them seem smaller. Terrified facial expressions, low key lighting lead to represent women as fearful. Makes audience feel uncomfortable, encourages to see victimisation of women as undesirable.
Shots of woman seeing done in long takes, uncomfortable, and makes the audience question why.
The sections of fast paced editing create representations of women that seem scared, horror manage.
Woman on tree does escape, more powerful and independent rep, acting as own hero.
Shots of feet dehumanise the women and make them feel like objects to be admired.
Glamourous make up makes her feel important but highlights sexualised image and traditional ideas of women - make up down face, attacked, bruises, mine-en-scene makes a tense atmosphere, makes us sympathise with her. The on screen lyrics help us to see she is singing the words wrong, this signifies she is panicked emotional and scared.
Maybe showed shocking representations of women being tourtured in order to gain publicity and market the song
more infoamtion
https://alevelmediaemilyh.weebly.com/vance-joy--riptide.html
editing
- tends to be fast-paced and speed to with the song to show building of the action and violence and the pace of the music to also build tension amongst the audience
- montage feel to make it feel fast-paced and more genuine and adds to the realism and tension of the music video to the audience
- fast editing to make it jumpy and scary and "horror" like to the audience as this is a genre that is featured in the music video
camera shots
- some camera shots are long and done this way to make it awkward for the audience and force us to question what is happening
- shots of women naked or stripping to dehumanize them and sexualize them to appeal to a male target audience
- Low-angle shots through bushes to make it feel like we are stalking the woman and invading her privacy
- men on the balcony looking down to show the men are more in power and have more control
makeup
- blood to show horror and violence
- her makeup becomes ruined more throughout the video
- she is wearing makeup to showcase her as pretty and meet beauty standards
- the determination of her makeup shows that she is being victimised and is experiencing violence and abuse in some way and it is further emphasised through the lyrics and her hand actions
- her bruises make the audience make the
the audience feel empathy and sorry for her
general representations
- women are sexualised
- women are fearful
- men are shown superior to women
- women are shown as having very little power
- some women are shown as their heroes as they seem to save themselves showing them and independent and powerful at times too
- women are dehumanised and objectified
product context
He starts with joy talking about a relationship he had with someone at first, the relationship was going very well but as time went on his friends became jealous of him, and over time they began to drift apart. The girl took on more challenges and a dangerous lifestyle and he still loved and tried very hard to get her back.
genre theory
Polysemy - poly:multiple semic:signs and signifiers - multiple clear meanings
The indie folk music video genre is dominated by repetition such as bands playing instruments
what does riptide link to?
riptides drag you into the water quite quickly which may be referring to how he jumped into the relationship to quickly