Let's Dance to Joy Division

Joy Division:
Joy Division were an English rock band formed in 1976 in Salford, Greater Manchester.

Despite the band's growing success, lead vocalist Ian Curtis had depression and personal difficulties, including a dissolving marriage and his diagnosis with epilepsy. In May 1980, on the eve of the band's first American tour, Curtis, overwhelmed with depression, committed suicide. Joy Division then released their second album, Closer (1980), and the single “Love Will Tear Us Apart” which became the band's highest charting releases.
The lyrics are perceived to reflect the problems in Ian Curtis' marriage to Deborah Curtis, as well as his general frame of mind in the time leading up to his suicide in May 1980.



The Wombats:
The Wombats are an indie band from Liverpool, UK. The band consists of Matthew Murphy, Dan Haggis and Tord Øverland-Knudsen.
‘Let Dance to Joy Division’ is based on a drunken night when lead singer Matthew Murphy danced on a table with his girlfriend to ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’ by Joy Division.

My Interpretation:
When I first listened to ‘Let’s Dance to Joy Division,’ my initial thoughts were that it was an upbeat song that gave the message that we should dance, be happy and enjoy ourselves. However after some research into the band ‘Joy Division,’ I discovered that the references to them actually represented quite a sad undertone to the song. With Ian Curtis’ suicide and references to Joy Division’s ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart,’ which reflected Curtis’ marriage breakdown, all implies that although the song has quite an upbeat tone, they are still acknowledging the bad things in life. I think the message that The Wombats are trying to portray is that we should ‘dance’ and ‘be happy’ even when we are depressed, and to ‘celebrate the irony’ that although all these terrible things have happened and are still taking place, we must still ‘dance’ and ‘celebrate.’ They place lots of emphasis on being ‘so happy,’ and encourage you to ‘go ask for Joy Division,’ ‘if you're ever feeling down,’ and ‘celebrate the irony,’ that even though ‘everything is going wrong,’ they’re still ‘so happy’ and can ‘dance to Joy Division.’

Treatment for the Music Video:
For the music video, I wanted to capture the band’s image and the idea that they’re trying to portray of being ‘so happy,’ whilst also reflecting the depressing side of Joy Division, as well as anything else bad that happens in life.

I therefore decided to use cross-cutting between the band performing and shots of depressed people or bad things happening. The shots of the band performing will begin quite slowly with dim lighting, in an empty room with not a particularly happy atmosphere. As the song begins to build up, the lights will gradually get brighter and their performance will become more energetic. We will start to see they’re image clearly which will reflect that of a typical indie band with colourful jeans and cardigans and the colours also immediately signify happiness. Gradually throughout the song as the camera continuously returns to their performance, more people will start to appear in the shot as they dance to the song, and the video will end on a high note with the successful band’s performance and a packed room full of happy, dancing people.

The cross-cuts will involve shots in black and white to contrast the shots of the band and will consist of shots that are quite depressing or not necessarily joyful. These will happen with the lyrics such as:
So if you're ever feeling down,
Grab your purse and take a taxi,
To the darker side of town,

And the repetition of:
Let it tear us apart,

let the love tear us apart,

Let it tear us apart, Let it tear us apart, Let it tear us apart.
Examples of shots could be couples arguing, someone looking depressed, lonely etc.

OR continuing from our group idea in class where we based the video in a house party, we could use the point of view shots to enter different rooms in the house where it's quite depressing (eg. shots of couples arguing, people vomiting, crying etc.), but along with that, it cuts constantly to the performance of the band in a room where they remain upbeat and lively (reflected in their performance, the bright room and their colourful clothes), despite everything going on around them. Gradually, throughout the video, people will enter the room and start to enjoy themselves, listening to the message of the song.

The Streets

The Streets is the stage name for Mike Skinner who is a UK artist from Birmingham, England. The Streets often make simple, yet interesting videos.

The Escapist – The Streets

I love this song as well as the music video because it is so different, but this is mainly due to the fact that it wasn’t done professionally. It is so simple and could be seen as quite boring but he goes to so many places and it still keeps you watching because you want to find out where he goes and where he ends up. It does break the conventions of most videos due to things such as no frequent cuts, imaginative angles, varied distances etc. but it wasn't made professionally and they actually commented that:
“During a great period of intense mixing we decided that it might be nice to shoot a video. This isn't the way the record industry works and so it was under the radar of the label and done totally for us by us on a shoe string. It was totally different from any other promo that I've made in that it was something real that we just filmed rather than trying to create something real looking using lots of people and lots of angles. I feel like it's more than a video in that sense. Aswell as looking quite odd without all the singing and quick cuts.”

As Mike Skinner said, when watching the video, you can believe it more because it is so simple. I love the ending on the beach, because throughout the video, the audience is led on a journey with a man through the use of long shots from behind him walking. He seems extremely alone, but free, forgetting about everyday realities, anchored by the title, as well as the lyrics:
All these walls were really never there

Nor the ceiling or the chair

I’m eking weeks of peace at the beach

I see the breezes weave the trees

I am not here at all,

You are dearly fooled,

I see bristling trees, the shush at the sea

Mischievous

Fluttering seagulls

No.

I’m not trapped in a box, so I am glancing at rocks

I’m dancing off docks

Since this stance began

That’s where I am

But it then ends with a closer shot and we finally discover who it is. I love the framing of the shots, especially as they shot it themselves, without the backing of their label.

Never Went To Church – The Streets

The use of close-ups are really engaging in this video and the audience feels real sympathy for Mike who has lost his father. Mike is nearly always placed either really right or left of frame which is really effective as it makes him seem lonelier because there is no one around him, and therefore evokes sympathy in the viewer, as well as the close-up shots when he is not singing and he directly addresses the camera. I like the shots on the train because I think their framed really well, as well as the shots that are quite unusual in music videos such as the slow tilt up at 2:14, which works really well, as the song is quite slow and the camera movement reflects the lyrics as Mike is looking at his reflection in the water, saying:

I guess then you did leave me something to remind me of you,

Everytime I interrupt someone like you used to,

When I do something like you you'll be on my mind or through,

'Cause I forgot you left me behind to remind me of you.

How the video makes the audience feel is essential here, as the emotions they evoke is what makes them want to watch it again and listen to the song’s meaning.

Prangin' Out - The Streets

This video builds up to the end when the audience is shocked. I also think the abrupt stop of the music at 2:18 is really effective as its unexpected to the viewer. To shock viewers will make them watch it again. I also like all the shots that relate to his paranoia because we are seeing what he sees and this is really effective, but quite confusing as we see short, quick glimpses. The video is also really enigmatic, as it makes the audience want to know what has happened – has he died? Or is it part of his paranoia from the drugs.
It ends on a cliff-hanger, as the lyrics state:
Right now logic states I need to be not contemplating suicide,

Cos with rational thought it would seem that I need to be not doing the stuff that makes

death seem like

an easier option,

I need a totally trojan plan right now

Has It Come To This? - The Streets

This video has more of a narrative and I thought it was quite interesting because it uses a split screen to tell two different stories that centre on the same person. The video makes you want to watch it again because it’s not made extremely obvious to start with that it is telling different stories, but the differences that you start to notice are small such as the different breakfast, one drops his keys after he bangs into people, the other meets a girl etc. overall, it’s an interesting twist on the use of narrative in a music video.

Challenging Conventions

Typical conventions of music videos are broken occasionally, making them more unique and challenging audience expectations.

Examples of successful music videos that have broken conventions include:

Welcome To Heartbreak – Kanye West Ft. Kid Cudi (Directed by Nabil)
Editing plays a large part in this video (Editor: Ryan Bartley) and contributes most to its originality. The editing even made people think that something was wrong with their computer, as many people made comments on several websites.

Praise You – Fatboy Slim (Directed by Spike Jonze)

This music video uses a memorable home video clip where Spike Jonze (an American director of music videos and commercials) appears as Richard Koufey, the choreographer for the fictional Torrence Community Dance group. Hoping to incite controversy, Jonze & Co. put on a show before a line of people about to enter a movie theatre. The theatre’s manager greets the performance with unscripted rage, angrily turning off the boombox which blares Fatboy's anthem. Spike showed the video to Slim who loved it and the resulting clip was a huge success, and 'Koufey' and his troupe were invited to New York City to perform the song for the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards. The video received awards for Best Direction, Breakthrough, and Best Choreography.

Teardrop – Massive Attack (Directed by Walter Stern)

Massive Attack's ‘Teardrop’ uses an unusual, yet simple video clip. The soundtrack provides the heartbeat of a lip-synching foetus in uterus. The unborn child responds subtly to light and sound, patiently waiting for the moment it will emerge from the womb, perhaps as soon as the song ends. Here, the use of sfx and editing is solely relied on for the video to produce its simplistic style, but the absence of artists or real people challenged conventions, especially in 1998.

Challenging the conventions of music videos makes them stand out from the rest and creates interest in viewers. This is one of the main aims of the videos as it is essential that producers and directors make them as unique and original as possible to make audiences want to watch them repeatedly and therefore maximise the music video's ability to be used as a promotional tool for the song and artist.

Directors, Style and Genre

Music videos are used as promotional tools to help market popular singles. Directors of Music Videos often have their own distinctive styles or genres of music that they tend to stick to. This makes them recognisable in the music industry.

Notable Music Video Directors include:

Hype Williams:
Harold "Hype" Williams is an American music video and film director. This is a link to his official website with his biography and long Videography. http://www.hypewilliams.com/bio.html

Williams has worked with many well-known artists and is notable for creating a number of groundbreaking and successful music videos for hip hop and R&B artists. This includes TLC, Aaliyah, Kelis, Jay-Z, Busta Rhymes, Nas, LL Cool J, Beyonce, Ne-Yo, The Notorious B.I.G, R. Kelly, Ashanti, Kanye West, Pharrell Williams, and many more.

An example of a music videos he has directed is Homecoming by Kanye West Ft. Chris Martin


Here’s a link to many of the Music Videos that he has directed - http://www.hypewilliams.com/videos.html

Williams often uses a distinctive style (although it is not exhibited in all videos) which involves shots placed in regular widescreen ratio, while another set of shots are placed in the spaces which would normally be left blank in widescreen ratio videos. Videos that use this style include "Diamonds on my Neck" by Smitty, "I Ain't Heard of That" by Slim Thug, "So Sick" by Ne-Yo, "In My Hood" by Young Jeezy, "Check On It" by Beyoncé, and many others.

Here's Ne-Yo – So Sick:



Joseph Kahn:
He is an American music video, advertising, and feature film director. He has worked with many well-known artists including Mariah Carey, Britney Spears, Destiny's Child, Ciara, Backstreet Boys, U2, The Chemical Brothers, Muse, Blink 182, Eminem, TLC, Katy Perry, George Michael, KoRn, Janet Jackson, Black Eyed Peas, Gwen Stefani, Chris Brown, The Pussycat Dolls, Lady GaGa, and many more.

He directed Eminem’s Without Me in 2002, as well as Eminem and D12’s Purple Hills. The style used in these videos was wanted for Eminem’s We Made You in 2009 and he was therefore chosen to direct it due to his unique and comedic style used in Eminem’s earlier videos.

Eminem - We Made You:


He does however use styles that reflect the music, as well as working with a wide range of artists, from Britney Spears to Eminem to Muse.


Anthony Mandler:
Anthony Mandler is an American music video director. He started as a highly regarded commercial and celebrity photographer, but then moved into video directing. He is now in strong demand as a director in the music industry, receiving high critical praise for his unique style of story telling demonstrating his extensive and highly talented famous photography background.

Anthony has written and directed, among others, the videos: Nelly Furtado, Man-eater; The Killers, When you were Young; Ne-Yo, Sexy Love; Eminem, When I'm Gone; 50Cent, Hustlers Ambition; Rihanna’s Unfaithful, Disturbia, We Ride, Rehab, Take a Bow as well as Live Your Life with T.I; Enrique Iglesias, Somebody's Me; Fergie, Big Girl's Don't Cry; Omarion, Ice Box; John Legend, Everybody Knows; One Republic, Stop and Stare; Daniel Merriweather, Red, and many more.

An example of a music video he has directed is Beyonce’s Irreplaceable.



Jake Nava:
Jake Nava is a music video and commercial director. He grew up in Hackney, London, England and later moved to the United States.

The genre of music he works with is generally pop. He has directed Britney Spears “If U Seek Amy” and “My Prerogative,” Leona Lewis “Run,” Beyonce “ Single Ladies” and “If I Were A Boy,” Beyonce/Shakira “Beautiful Liar,” Beyonce feat Jay Z “Crazy in Love,” Rolling Stones “Streets of Love,” Kylie Minogue “Red Blooded Woman,” Pink “Nobody Knows,” Kelis “Milkshake,” Usher “Burn,” Natalie Imbruglia “Shiver,” Robbie Williams “Lovelight,” George Michael “An Easier Affair,” Tina Turner “Whatever You Need,” Mariah Carey “Shake It Off,” and others.

One video he directed is James Blunt - Carry You Home

First Post

Welcome to my Music Video blog! It's the start of the next project which I'm really looking forward to so this blog is now open.
Tanya x