Vance Joy- Riptide

-Apply Barthes and semiotics

 

What do you already know about the video and its release/reception?

• He was an indie musician who got signed after the song went in the top 20’s.

What other texts/media contexts does the video relate to?

• The fake overplayed characters and stereotypes linking to the film

What are the most prominent parts of its media language that stands out to you?

• The repetition of the woman singing the lyrics wrong

What are the key representations factors that stand out for you?

• The images support the lyrics so they’re easier to remember
• The images help audiences to understand the lyrics and create their own deeper meanings.

 

Vance Joy:

• An Australian singer-songwriter signed to Atlantic records (a subsidiary of Warner)
• His music can be categorised as fitting into indie folk pop genre.
• Riptide was his first single to be released in the USA (2013), following his debut EP, “God loves you when you’re dancing”. It became a platenum selling single
• The video was directed by Dimitri Basil and Laura Gorun and has more than 350 million views on YouTube.

 

Barthes semiotics

• “all my friends are turning green”- picture of dollar bill- suggests jealousy and money- implies others have sold out by giving into money or that they’re jealous of his success.
• Polysemy- has dual connotations

 

How is meaning created through the lyrics and visuals?

• Connotation: turning green – Money and greed/ jealousy- Australian artist using American iconography suggesting he want fame in America it is also more seen in the media and the AUS bills aren’t widely known, Woman is being hurt because she got the lyrics wrong – “you’re gonna sing the words wrong”, Women are being sexualised and seen as a damsel in distress.
• Denotation: Dentists and the dark, running down to the riptide, ice cream “they come unstuck”, gotta know- looking through books, dark side- low key lighting
• Genre: horror/ comedy, left hand man “left”
• Anchorage: The images match the lyrics on screen, looks like “Michelle Pfeiffer”
• Editing: long cut of the woman singing, cowboy running from himself- comedic using the same actor in the same shot, low angle shot of woman “on the highest shelf”
• Jump cuts: between each word and image, got faster towards the end of the Music video

Montage editing is used in an overt way- a wide ranger of contrasting shots juxtaposed (often through hard jump cuts) to convey a large amount of information:

• The editing together of seemingly disparate images invites the audience interpretation and candidates could consider Eisenstein’s concept of “intellectual montage” where new ideas emerge from the collision of images and generate new meaning that might not otherwise exist.
• meaning can be derived from the editing of clips together, the linking of images creates a story and connection.
• many of these cuts also have a clear link to the lyrics themselves and you should explore the visual metaphor and possible significance of these edits in relation to the lyrics.

Thriller from Michael Jackson- $500,000- $1.2 million now

 

Comparison to a later video: similarities and differences

Fire and the flood vs riptide

• Both low budget- S
• Better production value-D
• Mainly filmed in one shot-D
• Steady camera work- D
• The set was more expensive- D
• Colour scheme- blue and white-D
• Meaning is more implied that explicit-D
• Less metaphorical-D
• Only two character narrowing the story line-D
• Both abstract, but Riptide is continuously abstact- S
• Still a story about his relationships-S
• About one relationship- D
• More real life than fantasy- relatable- D
• Non linear narrative- S
• She appeared when he mentioned her- S
• Filmed in one location-D
• More narrative based- D
• Same use of close ups- S
• Didn’t have as many cuts (montage), more long shots- D
• Lots of track shots- D
• Invisible edits- D
• Artist included in the video, star persona, he is more known- D
• Riptide is abstract- D

 

Intertextuality in Rip Tide:

• Western iconography– To showcase a narrative stance on the lyrics, a homage.
• Horror film “Don’t look now”– blonde woman wearing red, suggesting a horror element to the female character in Riptide.
• Wes Anderson’s ‘hipster’ films– His style is reflected throughout the video continuously: wide shots, parallel sets, same actors in different films, costume, symmetrical shots, centred focus, colour grading
• The Assassination of Jesse James/ Roger Deakins– Silhouette shots
• Blue Velvet, David Lynch– The lady singing on the stage, high key lighting and contrasts on the stage lights.
• He is very cine-literate, using more varied styles from different directors and producers
• Surrealism– Salvador Ali, metaphors

 

Femininity in Riptide:

• Woman turning around but not knowing she was being watched- Male gaze of the camera (Mulveys), evokes the creepiness of the man watching the woman
• Woman smeared in makeup on stage- Connotations of abuse and violence, wide eyes showing she is scared
• Woman with back to the camera- being watched
• Fetishistic- hands, tide to a tree, on Dentist chair
• Women are seen as free but watched from afar
• More negative representations that positive
• Women are never touched by men so are implicitly sexualised not explicit

Woman as Objects:

Woman with high-key lighting, heavy makeup, gradually getting more scared, smeared and darkness covers her face. Shows domestic abuse, possibly mistreatment in the industry. Women are represented as scared, vulnerable. The bright light in the first shot is strong and intense, the spotlight on beauty standards? or possibly the fact that she is exposed. “you’re gonna sing the words wrong” she is scrutinised and under watch by everyone. The makeup on her face follows typical beauty standards but as it gradually is taken off and smudged, it shows the negative side of beauty. The lighting is less intense to the end of the video, connoting the idea that the industry turns a blind eye to the reality of abuse.

 

Violence in Riptide:

• Evocations of fear and terror
• Women looking scared
• Hand with knife in it
• Cowboy running
• Cutting a plant

 

Why have these images been used in the video and could they be interpreted as trivialising or normalising violence?

The video constructs a range of different stimuli that the audience are invited to interpret. The video rejects singular, straightforward messages and instead invites a variety of different responses and interpretations.

 

Anchorage- When a piece of media uses another piece of media (music with visuals) to reduce the amount of connotations in the first, therefore allowing the audience to interpret it much more easily.

Polysemy- Has dual connotations.

Intertextuality– The way in which texts gain meaning through their referencing or evocation of other texts. It is a short cut to meaning that relies on audience’s understanding of media texts and pop culture to create new meanings.

Parody– Mimicry of an established concept, idea or a person with deliberate exaggeration for comedic effect.

Satire– Humour that stands for a social or political change. It depicts an anger or frustration while trying to make the subject palatable. It’s mockery but not mimicry. Key difference is that satire can induce the society to think where a parody does not have the same lasting effects.

Pastiche– (Paste- copy and paste) A work that imitates the style or character of the work of one or more other artists as a form of celebration or tribute to the original. Great artists steal e.g. Thriller MV- Werewolf in London.

Evocation– The act of bringing or recalling a feeling, memory, or image to the conscious mind.

Hipster culture– A subculture of people who typically are in their 20’s and 30’s that value independent thinking, counter-culture, progressive politics, an appreciation of art and indie-rock, creativity, intelligence, and witty banter. They are pioneer and leader of the latest cultural trends and ideals. Hipsters reject the culturally-ignorant attitudes of mainstream consumers, and are often be seen wearing vintage and thrift store inspired fashions.

Surrealism– a 20th century movement in art and literature which sought to release the creative potential of the unconscious mind, for example by irrational juxtaposition of images. More metaphorical works or art and a reflection of the inner mind, they’re created in a subconscious mind with little thought. Synonymous with the term Avant-garde