The Wombats - Lets Dance to Joy Division

Research and My Interpretation

Before coming up with an idea, I looked closely at the lyrics in order to shed light on its meaning. I researched further into the line 'Lets Dance to Joy Division' and what I found changed the meaning and my interpretation of the song. Joy division were an English rock band formed in 1976 whose lead singer Ian Curtis led a tragic life in which he was depressed and diagnosed with epilipsy. He killed himself on the eve of the band's first American tour. The line 'celebrate the irony' draws on the irony of the name 'Joy division' and the upbeat song next to the mystery and immense tragedy the band is associated with.

I also did some background research into the band 'The Wombats' and some of their earlier videos and tracks. They are an Indie/Pop Rock music band from Liverpool, a place the song also mentions.

My Treatment

After looking closely at the lyrics of this song I have come up with an idea for the music video based on my interpretation of the song. I chose to focus on the line 'Everything is going wrong but we're so happy' that is in the chorus.

The video will begin with the guys walking down a street in Liverpool, as this is mentioned in the song and is where they come from, lip-synching to the song. People will be walking down the street without taking much notice of them and carrying on as normal. As they walk and continue to lip-synch, the surroundings behind them keep changing into random places and streets in Liverpool at quite a quick pace. This continues to happen until about half way through the song when the chorus comes on for the second time. At this point the surrounding behind them changes into a room full of people dancing and they are suddenly on stage with their instruments. They instantly begin to perform and play to the audience. The video will then cross-cut between them performing and the audience dancing until the end of the song.

Performance, Narrative and Abstract

Music videos can be performance based, contain a narrative or can be completely abstract. Many music videos contain a combination of two or more of the above. I have picked out an example of each and analysed mainly the visual look and mise-en-scene but also the camerawork and at some points the editing.

Performance - Umbrella, Rihanna feat. Jay-z

This music video by the American singer Rihanna is performance based. There is a strong sense of style created through mise-en-scene throughout the video. The background is black with sparks falling in the background like rain which is a link to the lyrics of the song. It also helps create a distinctive style for the video making the video memorable. One purpose of a music video is to sell the artist and therefore they must have a distinctive visual look. There is a small build up before the artist Rihanna is revealed. She is wearing a short black leather dress and black gloves and at some points she wears a white dress. These are the two main colours worn by her and the dancers in order to create a distinct visual look. There are close-up shots used constantly and this is a common trait used in performance music videos. The background is misty with bright lights shining throughout. The camera changes focus throughout the song, which reflects the lyrics as the unclarity is reminiscient of water and rain. She also uses an umbrella at some points in her performance.

Narrative - Stan, Eminem feat. Dido

This video tells the story of a fan of Eminem. The video reveals his girlfriend is pregnant but he treats her badly. He writes letters to Eminem who doesn't reply and ends up crashing his car off a bridge and dying at the end. The atmosphere created through the visual look of the room that Stan is in is a disturbing and depressing one. The lighting is dim throughout and the colour black seems to dominate, which creates a dark mood that goes with lyrics and the meaning of the song. His obsession with Eminem is made clear through the many pictures of Eminem revealed through pans. Longer shots are used in this video when compared to other performance based videos as the video is telling a story. The transitions used are fades as well as cuts. However the pace increases as the climax of the story is reached and this also occurs in other music videos that tell a narrative. Near the climax when Stan's car falls off a bridge, the shots are quicker and there are more close-ups that do not reveal much of the big picture so that the audience feels a sense of confusion. Shots of the rain hitting the windscreen are out of focus in order to emphasize the chaos. An Extreme Long Shot is used when the car is falling so that the audience knows what is happening. Flashbacks are also used in the video and this is made clear through the use of special effects as the shots are in black and white and they are made blurry around the edges.

Abstract - Crazy, Gnarls Barkley

This is an example of an abstract music video. The background throughout is a plain white colour with different patterns coming onscreen. Within the patterns the face of the artist can sometimes be seen. The main colour used in the patterns is black with some red, pink, green and blue. The patterns are completely abstract and random but still go with the rhythm of the song as they transform from one shape to another.

Music Genres

As this coursework is on the music industry I thought I would start my research with a post about the different genres of music! These are some of the major ones that then branch off into sub-genres as well.

RnB

Rhythm and Blues is the name given to a wide ranging genre of popular music created by African American artists in the late 1940s and early 1950s.

Rap

African-American genre in which rhyming lyrics, wordplay and poetry are chanted to accompanied backing beats. It is a primary element in hip hop music but predates hip hop culture by centuries.

Pop

This genre of music features a noticeable rhythmic element, melodies and hooks, a mainstream style and a conventional structure that developed form the mid-1950s. It has absorbed influences from most other popular music and uses technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.

Rock

A genre of popular music employing electrical amplification that entered the mainstream in the 1960s but has it's roots in 1940s and 1950s rock n roll, rhythm and blues and country music.

Country

A simple style of folk music heard mostly in the southern United states and usually played on stringed instruments. It evolved rapidly in the 1920s.

Punk Rock

A rock music genre rooted in garage rock that consists of fast, hard-edged music. It developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia.

Metal

A genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s largely in England and the United States. A loud, thick and massive sound with highly amplified distortion, extended guitar solos and emphatic beats.