Joy Division - Disorder THE BRIEF: A promotion package for the release of an album, to include a music promo video, together with two of the following options:
1. a cover for its release as part of a digipak (CD/DVD package); 2. a magazine advertisement for the digipak (CD/DVD package).
Control[Anton Corbijn][2007]: Plot (from IMDB): A profile of Ian Curtis, the enigmatic singer of Joy Division whose personal, professional, and romantic troubles led him to commit suicide at the age of 23.
This film acted as our most useful source of inspiration. Directly linked to the subject matter, director Anton Corbijn will have had to make the same choices as us for how to best capture the spirit of Joy Division. Sam Riley's near-perfect performance as Ian Curtis helped us as music video makers create Curtis' tortured character, and Riley's performance was a huge help for our own actor.
A few of our shots link to some of those used in the film such as the telephone wire sequence. It also helped further our location scouting, to find suitable places to feature. It didn't have a huge budget, and was filmed in Nottingham, England. These are two important factors we have to deal with too.
Corbijn makes use of black and white as always, and the deep contrast of tones is again something we hope our video will capture. The film is a great portrayal of who Joy Division and Ian Curtis were, and therefore a massive help for us.
Requiem For A Dream[Darren Aronofsky][2000]: Plot (from IMDB): The drug-induced utopias of four Coney Island individuals are shattered when their addictions become stronger.
Requiem deeply explores what it is to be a drug addict. The cast are young and poor, which again shows a link with our protagonist. His protrayal of the emotions behind addiction is fascinating because of it's intensity and the way it grabs it's audience's attention. The film is tragic, but if we can capture the similar emotions behind the piece, our music video should be successful.
It's also shot very artistically. Aronofsky is an auteur, and we have been inspired by him in terms of how we plan to film our music video. Particularly important is his use of a snorricam (featured on a previous post) that will also be used in our own production. The snorricam puts it's audience in a very surreal manner, and is great for capturing your protagonists emotion in a strikingly different way.
Trainspotting[Danny Boyle][1996]: Plot (from IMDB): Renton, deeply immersed in the Edinburgh drug scene, tries to clean up and get out, despite the allure of the drugs and influence of friends.
Again a film about addiction to drugs, Danny Boyle takes a slightly different spin on it. This film though intense, also makes use of comedy. It's set in Scotland, which in itself is a variation on Requiem. This will be particularly useful for looking at the representation of drugs and addicts in Britain.
The cold turkey scene used in the film inspired our sequence. We plan to make ours slightly more ambigious but at the same time, we still want to use similar type of shots and emotions.
Shane Meadow's television programme again offers insight into the troubled lives of young, working class people in Britain. Though the subject matter itself is not directly linked, the sheer devastation and power of his work will inspire our own.
The programme is also set just five years after Ian Curtis' death, making it very comparable with the film Control. The useof council flat estates, is another aspect we are considering for our own production.
Importantly all of the above inspirations have fairly low budgets, and are all artistic in their own right. Most represent working-class British youth, and they all protray tortured individuals. These are all vital factors we must deeply consider when making our own production, especially when taking into account the serious subject matter.
Post Punk originated in the late 70s before finding true success amongst the indie-rock scene of the 1980s. It takes influence from the original Punk scene of the early 1970's, but musically is much more complex, experimental and industrial. It was seen as the starting point from which the Gothic Rock scene evolved. During a time in which big budget bands were dominating, Post-Punk grew as a low-budget genre for the everyday person. Essortment.com makes a great definition as what defines the genre from it's predecessor saying "the punks were marked by their attitude, where as most post-punk musicians can be marked by their lack of attitude. Punk music wanted to create a revolution. Post-punk music wanted to create art."
Key bands of the genre were Joy Division, Echo and the Bunnymen, Jesus & the Mary Chain, (early) The Cure, The Sound, The Fall, Killing Joke and Bauhaus. Some even class certain albums by Sonic Youth, U2, REM, The Smiths and Depeche Mode as dipping into the genre.
Music Videos
Echo & the Bunnymen - Killing Moon [1984]
- It is for the most part a concept video, although certain aspects of performance are seen.
- Prominent shots of the moon (clearly linking to the song name). These shots of the moon are reoccuring, anchoring their importance.
- Very simple colouration for the video. A blue filter has been used giving the video a horror-like vibe. At 2.09 and 1.12 there is a very strong use of the colour red. The majority of the video lacks colouring, so this extremely contrasts.
- The video is surreal in many ways. Shots of water changing to the moon (through editing) help signify the strange elements to the music.
- Though most of the video is darkly lit, in parts it makes use of a flashing light. Shadows are also used to great effect in the video.
- Quite a lot of shots are repeated throughout, signifying a strange importance about the objects.
- The rest of the band feature in a cameo role. They all appear very emotionless. Interesting piece of editing is used at 2.29.
- There is a use of coldness (snow) which helps signify the dark, cold style of music.
Bauhaus - She's in Parties [1983]
- Concept video
- Bleak, black & white colour filters.
- The video is very slow paced (as is the song), and there is actually little shot variation. These slower paced shots are contrasted with quick cuts to imagery such as plates smashing. The cutaway shots are very often more tightly framed close ups.
- The gothic genre is signified through the band's appearance (clothing, hairstyle, makeup etc.)
- Again there is a use of flashing imagery to contrast normal shots. It gives the video an interesting visual element. But it also conceals the bands faces slightly. There are more examples of this, such as the frame used at 1.00
- Another emphasis on coldness. At 1.01 as the singer lip syncs, we get shots of his breath as he sings. This is coldness helps signify the darker mood.
- Use of overlaying and cross-fading transitions to keep the pacing the same. Also adds to the distortion.
- Lots of frantic editing at 2.32, with shots zooming in and out and shaking. Lots of examples throughout of distortion of shots.
- As well as the black and white colour filter, there are other colours used such as purple and blues.
- At the very end of the video there is a shot of the bands single. This is a technique commonly used in the 80s.
The Cure - A Forest [1980]
- Performance/concept video
- For the most part the video makes use of a green/blue colour filter. Gives the video a striking appearance.
- Again the pacing is slow to match the tempo of the music. There is a lot of camera movement in the shots though...
- Interesting use of zooms/pans in the forest section especially the spinning shot of the trees. Clearly the forest's locations is linked to the track name and theme.
- The band show little emotion in the performance sections - if anything they look unhappy. The performance section uses standard close ups of drums/guitars etc.
- Use of cross-fade transitions from the performance to the concept. Keeps the video flowing and pacing the same.
- Use of cutting to the beat (lyrics) at 2.00. Nice shot of camera panning down (with distorted filter) as he sings "down" also with a distorted sound.
- Lots of experimentation with colour filters towards the end of the video. Overlaying is also used here. Helps bring the video to a dramatic, strong ending as does the song.
- Fades to black at the ending.
The Fall - Fifteen Ways
- Extended 25 second introduction with a extreme editing. Inversed black and white? Striking in appearance. Colour then reverts to standard black and white as the song comes in.
- Much quicker cutting than previously discussed videos. The shots of the lip syncing are slower paced and again deadpan. Contrasting use of very quick cutaways to other objects.
- Performance aspects are again included.
- Has a quick break away from the main concept at 2.13 when the drums play alone. Nice little break in the middle of the video.
- The use of black and white is very strong. Contrast has been increased to emphasise this.
- Locations used are very industrial, and urban. But they are in predominantly run down areas. We can guess that there was little budget behind the making of the video.
- Again use of flashing imagery towards the end of the video such as at 3.02.
- Little references to the lyrics in the imagery. Typewriter types "15 ways" for example.
- News report style delivery in places. Still has a combination of performance in this. Use of split screen.
- Lots of movement within the shots.
The Smiths - There is a Light That Never Goes Out [1992]
- Concept video
- Fairly slow paced. Lots of use of overlays in which most of the time the background shot lasts throughout various cuts on the top layer.
- There are also lots of repeated shots such as the one of the women laying down at 0.11 and various other times.
- Use of lots of different colour filters. At different points we see sepia, black & white, red and most commonly a blue filter used.
- There are slight relations between the imagery and the lyrics. Such as shots of a couple, and also a car.
- A shot of some waves (?) with a sepia tone overlays a large majority of the video, and it remains by itself at the end of the video. This actually distorts a lot of the other shots, signifying the past and/or memories.
- Unlike most of the previous videos, the band never appear in the video.
- As Morrissey sings "double decker bus" at 1.05 we see a shot of a bus in the background. This also reveals a location of the city. This shot looks like old stock-footage, however I could be wrong.
- Use of flashing imagery again. Slightly quickens up the pace in some sections.
- The video here more than other seems to want to bring more attention to the song rather than the visuals.
- The ending shot carries on after the track has finished before fading to black.
Conclusion
Having looked at videos of the post-punk genre, I can begin to suggest certain codes and conventions that most of the videos include. So far I have found: - A lot of the videos are performance or concept based. Many combine the two in some manner. - There is a lot of use of flashing imagery. - Multi-layering is also used very often as is cross-fade transitions. - Whilst the videos often use slow paced imagery, quick cutaways to close ups are used to keep the video flowing. - Locations used are generally run-down or urban. - Use of colour filters, especially black and white. - Lots of camera movement to help keep the visuals interesting. - Some sort of motif or theme is repeated through the video. This can sometimes link to the lyrics. - An emphasise on the cold and dark to signify the mood of the band. Characters often seem very deadpan.
New Order were an English New Wave/Electronic band who formed in 1980. The originate from Macclesfield and were formed by Peter Hook (Bass, Backing Vocals and Electronic Drums), Bernard Sumner (Vocals, Guitar and Synthesizers) and Stephen Morris (Drums, Electronic Drums and Synthesizers). This three started the band after Ian Curtis' suicide which led to the end of their previous band Joy Division and they moved onto New Order in the same year. They then appointed Gillian Gilbert as their keyboard player.
New order combined New Wave and Electronic Dance for their music, and became one of the most influential bands of the 1980's and one of the most influential bands for electronic music ever. The bands biggest success was the song "Blue Monday" which proved they became pioneers of dance music as it is still the biggest selling 12-inch single of all time, which made them the biggest selling band on factory records.
They first received bad criticism from Joy Division Fans and Critics as the death of Ian Curtis still over-shadowed the band. They also received criticism for their choice of band name. It was claimed there band name came from Hitlers book "Mein Kampf" which quoted "the new order of the Third Reich" and the name Joy Division originated from the prostitution wing in concentration camps mentioned in the novel "The House of the Dolls". Critics believed both names sympathised with Nazi regimes but Sumner later saying "We really, really thought it didn't have any connotations, and we thought that it was a neutral name, it didn't mean much...."
Overall New Order have released 8 studio albums, the first six were released in the hay-day of electronic music and the introduction to the 'rave' scene in the early 90's. The last two albums were released in 2001 and 2005. These two albums did not succeed as much as their predecessors.
New Order - True Faith
The single for True Faith was released on the 20th of July 1987 and was directed and choreographed by Philippe Decouflé.
It is a Concept/Performance video.
Themes, choreography and other elements of the video re-occurred in the opening ceremonies for the 1992 winter Olympics in Albertville.
Choreographed to the beat with the face slapping at the start of the song.
Dark lighting in the performance shots to signify the "dark processed beats" that New Order produced.
Shots in reverse from editing techniques signifies the surrealism of the video and abstract style the director had intended.
Blue lighting had been used during the production of the video to anchor the sense of surrealism and mystery of the video.
The mise-en scene used (costumes) anchors the futuristic style that electronic music had in this era.
Camera tilts to a dutch angle in one movement, adds to the abstract style intended.
Lyrics of the song has been translated into sign language within the videos choreography. Again it anchors the the surrealism intended and could also attract other secondary audiences.
Large focus on lead singer throughout the video, small range of shots used to focus on him.
Shots start to focus on drummer and crowd dancing along to the song. New Order one of the first bands to develop the "Rave" scene.
New Order - Round & Round
The single for Round & Round was released on the 27th of February 1989 and was directed by Patrick Jean.
It is a concept video with a lack of shot variation.
Consists of eight young female models. The shots types were close-ups featuring the heads and shoulders.
The shots of the eight models were edited to black and white which contrasts the one second inter-cut shots of flowers or marbles featuring lots of vibrant colour.
The models are speaking but no diagetic sound is heard in this video.
New Order - Blue Monday (Original Video)
This version of the songs video was released in 1983, one year after it was recorded.
The videos colour filters show a very retro style, signifying the bands intentions for this song to be a timeless classic in the future.
Like True Faith choreography of the hand clapping in sync to the music.
Simple on screen special effects with the line graphics and animations.
Shots of the Military on screen edited with a negative/false colour filter, signifies the bands interpretations of the military of being false.
Aged low frame rate contrasts with the art style the director has gone for with the negative colour filters.
Military footage taken from the Falklands War. The video signifies the negativity towards the idea and Margaret Thatcher, this is anchored by the False/Negative colour filters.
Documentary footage of bombings during the Falklands War. This time shown without colour filters. Contrasts the false colour filters used in the other shots to signify how real it was.
Band footage has been presented as small still images that cover the screen in a mosaic fashion, other shots are very low frame rate and quality to mix in with the retro art style of the other colour filters and animation.
The electronic music and animation used in the video both processed. Animation is a processed art form, electronic music also has a processed feel to it.
Footage from the video game Zaxxon, again it anchors how false the Falklands war was, and like a game the war could have been stopped before you get to into it.
Sound FX of gun shots and missiles in the song matching the visuals on screen.
After Their massive success New Order went on hiatus for five years between the years 1993 and 1998. They came back and released the album "Get Ready" in 2001. Their most influential song from their new era was the song "Crystal" which featured a fictional band mimicking New Order called "The Killers". The band originally called "Blush Responce" changed their name to "The Killers" in RESPONSE (caps intended to exaggerate the Pun) to the New Order video. The video for Crystal also inspired the video for "Somebody Told Me" by The Killers a similar set up and lighting rig. The lead singer of The Killers, Brendon Flowers joined New Order on stage for T in the Park in 2005 for the performance of this song. Without further a due here is the video:
New Order - Crystals:
This video was released in 2001 for the new album Get Ready. The artwork for the single is in a very similar style to the albums artwork.
The video was directed by the Swedish director Johan Renck aka Stakka Bo.
This video is a Performance/Concept video. The concept aspect in the video isn't as clear as others, but its the way the band playing isn't New Order.
The video features a mocking band performing the video named the killers.
Strobe lighting during the heavier bass riffs. Anchors the faster more upbeat style of the song.
The lighting rig at the back is also used as an edited filter over the top of the performance footage from the back of the band, anchors the more electronic/processed feel to the song.
Red filter and slowed down footage achieved through editing, this is shown on screen when the song slows down. Gives the video a darker, more un-nerving feel to it.
Band members and invading crowd in video are much younger than New Order and their core audience. These people are used to attract a new secondary audience of teens of today.
This video was released on the 7th of March 2005 alongside the single release.
It was directed by Johan Renck, the same director for the video Crystals. The styles are very different but both videos are based around younger people, maybe to draw in a larger secondary audience.
The camera is constantly moving in this video, signifies the intense pace of a young adults life and how their emotions are constantly moving and changing.
This video is a concept video as the video don't match the lyrics. If they did the director would have gone for a more narrative approach to the video.
The bright shades of colour within the setting (for example the snow and the colours within the kitchen set) signify the innocent intentions of the protagonists.
Counter-types for the young protagonists, darker haired characters signify a more pure type of nature. The fairer haired characters usually signify the sexually active types, this theory is opposed in this video.
Mise-en scene of the clothes and condom wrappers on the floor signifies they have just pursued in sexual activity (Ooooh Cheeky)
The location of the roof-tops signifies the freedom the protagonists feel in the video.
Overall the newer style that New Order has presented is much more different to their older one. You can tell that their change in sound is to "fit in" with today's music industry. The change in style will mean they are attracting a new target audience and they know that this audience are the type who will go out and buy CD singles and contribute to the bands success in the charts. But at the same time they have moved away from their older style (they still have features which they have carried on e.g. electronic drums) which as a result has pushed away the original core audience.
Here is a Brief, light hearted interview with New Order with Jools Holland. They discuss why they formed New Order after Joy Division and the reasons why they got back together after their eight year hiatus.
Echo & The Bunnymen are currently a 5 piece Post Punk band, though the bands line up has changed a lot since their formation in 1978. The original line up consisted of f vocalist Ian McCulloch, guitarist Will Sergeant and bass player Les Pattinson, supplemented by a drum machine.
The band have up to date released;
11 studio albums
9 live albums
9 compilation albums
8 EP's
30 singles
5 music albums
22 music videos.
Which is quite a collection, the response to the albums in particular has been very varied, with the album Porcupine released in 1983 reached number 2 in the album charts and album Reverberation (1990) didn't even make it into the charts.
The band have been through many changes in its career, the biggest change was in 1988 when the band split up after McCulloch quit and another member was killed in a motorbike accident. In 1994 two of the members started to work together again under another name but after a third member joined the double they reformed Echo.
Music Videos
The band have released quite a collection of music videos over time and i will look at 5 of their biggest music videos and try and find similar codes and conventions within the bands style and how well this fits into the Post Punk genres code and conventions.
The Cutter
Performance video
Mainly performance video in a pretty dark room with a projecter shining on the lead singer, typical shots for a performance video. Band in typical 80's fashion.
Interlinked with sony are short clips showing nothing more then a cold icey location. In some of these shots they use a person smoking.
Bring on the Dancing Horses
This video is the dark horses of the lot (if you pardon the pun), this could be because the video was directed by Anton Corbijn, ceebs going into it now its also pretty dark.
Lips Like Sugar
This video is in two location/ pats. All the shots which are not performance are in black and white,
Follows a lone figure with a guitar on his back, walking through a city, the person passes three people and they enter a room and the performance aspect kicks in. It is once again in a dark room. They is a gaint eyeball behind them during performance aspect. The lighting in the performance shot is a blackish purple. At points it jumps back to shots of the long figure.
Porcupine
Performance
Opens with shots of old WW2 imagery of posters, then clips (anchored with title) of war time russia.
The band then slowly fade into shot playing the song (in the cutter the band are playing in a dark room)
The rest of the song is merely repeats of the start but in different order linked with more performance shots.
The Killing Moon
Performance video with hints of concept
Imagery of moons and stars and different planets
Recurring shot of cloth blowing in the wind.
Performance mainly focus on lead singer for most of song of him performing, framing of just his face with a constant swinging light bulb lighting up his face.
Depeche Mode formed in 1980 in Essex UK, and still tour and record albums today. They are an electronic band, that have been hugely influencial since they first formed; Q magazine branding them "The most popular electronic band the world has ever known".
The band consist of vocalist Dave Gahan, Martin Gore and Andrew Fletcher, and have been a trio since 1995. That being said, session musicians often feature at live performances.
Depeche Mode have sold over 100 million records around the world. Songs of Faith and Devotion (1993) and Ultra (1997) earned them UK number one albums, with SoFaD also taking the US number one spot. Their latest album Sounds of the Universe (2009) reached no.2 in the UK, showing they're still hugely popular today. The band have not had any number one singles in the UK or US, but are still regarded as one the biggest and most influencial bands to come from the UK for a considerable time. Songs such as Enjoy the Silence, Personal Jesus and Just Can't Get Enough are just three of their biggest hits.
Due to the length of their career it is understandable that Depeche Mode's musical style has changed. They were originally part of the New Romantic movement in the UK, with their debut album Speak & Spell often classed as "synthpop". Notably this was the only album featuring Vince Clarke as chief songwriter, which would explain the dramatic change in sound. Their later releases are much more industrial sounding than previous tamer efforts. There is much dispute about Depeche Mode's genre even between their own fans, as seen here. Gahan's lyrics signify a gothic side to the band, and it is undeniable they are a much darker band than they used to be.
For a great link to all of Depeche Mode's music videos click here.
They have so far had 57 music videos, and wikipedia has a good entry listing them all here.
Early Videos
Just Can't Get Enough [Speak and Spell][1981]
- Depeche Mode's first music video and the only one featuring Vince Clark. It was directed by Clive Richardson.
- Lots of close ups of the keyboard signifying the bands focus on electronic music and synthesisers. It also helps establish them as a synth pop band. The fact that the camera focuses on the synth for such a length of time also connotes that riff is a large part of the song, and iconic of the song.
- Our first shot of the band at all is of the singer at 0.24 when the vocals come in.
- The band are all dressed in leathers and in truth the video has a very "camp" feel - like a lot of 80s pop videos. Not lease by singer Dave Gahan's dancing... They are signified as a rebellious but fashionable pop group eg. wearing aviator sunglasses. Woman dance around them.
- The set up is best shown in a long shot at 1.18 revealing the band consists of 3 synth players and the singer - notice at this point the band do not play instruments such as drums or guitar. The singer is also the focal point in this shot and the whole video. They are in one room throughout the video, and it simply has a grey background with a shadow of a fence. Little colour is seen.
- Interestingly Dave Gahan (singer) avoids looking in to the camera (something we normally expect from pop group videos). In some ways the band are signified as being quite shy throughout especially in the none performance footage.
- A succession of two shots with the band looking through notes happens at around the 1.30 mark. Strangely these shots seem almost out of place but show the band in a different light - just normal people. Likewise is the outdoor long shot of the trumpeteers at 1.45. A similar shot takes place at 2.58 with the band in the foreground.
- At this point the band are signified as leaning towards a young female audience.
Stripped [Black Celebration][1986]
- Last video to be directed by Peter Care. Depeche Mode by now were starting to gain a much darker sound than previously, and the video follows this change. They were now classed as "darkwave".
- The video uses very dark lighting, and more gothic aspects such as smoke are included to match Gahan's ever more gothic lyrics.
- Lots of shots use overlay transitions which works well with the smoky appearance given to the video.
- Like with JCGE our first shot of a band member is of the singer when the vocals come in, at 0.21. We pan down to see Gahan again wearing black leathers, but here is much more gothic in appearance with black gloves, pale skin, no sunglasses.
- Blue filters have been used to further signify that almost horror style of film. This is further connoted with shots of band members holding flowers as if it were a funeral almost.
- The band are shown destroying a car with sledgehammers. No performance is shown apart from them lip syncing to the lyrics. This further signifies them as being rebellious but now with much darker tones.
- Interesting projections are used such as at 1.21 and 2.36. These very often are distorted almost as if signifying the distortion in the band's new sound.
- Lots of shots feature some sort of destuction or distortion. This video in many ways acts as a transition towards their new sound, so old aspects are featured such as Gahan's dancing, but they are clearly trying to move away from their past. In contrast to their earlier shy portrayal, they name seem miserable but confident.
- This video appeals to an older, more male audience. They have tried to include old aspects to keep old fans but a lot of the video seems to signify destroying their former image. The video is perhaps what you would expect from a rock band if there were more performance aspects.
The Anton Corbijn Years
A Question of Time [Black Celebration][1986]
- Their first video to be directed by Anton Corbijn. Many more followed...
- The video is performance/concept based, and though being his first with the band many of the techniques seen even here would be carried through all their videos.
- Opening shot is of a crowd before we cut to a close up shot of a man's face. The fact that this video features performance aspects, is a continuation from the change to more of a rock band style that I discussed about their video for stripped. If it shows they peform well live, they can tap into that audience too.
- Corbijn's trademark black and white with high contrast is seen here. This creates much darker shadows to match the dark vibe of the song.
- The narrative/concept side to the video is left ambigious so the audience can interpret it for themselves. This suggests an older, more sophisticated audience. The concept of the video is very often strange when directed by Corbijn, and this is no different.
- A technique seen here by Corbijn is to blend the concept side of the video with the band side, such as at 2.56 where Gahan and the band are seen holding the baby.
- This strange sequence with the baby acting as clock hands at 3.18 again shows Corbijn's abstract nature. It also though relates to the lyrics ("Time"). In this sequence, we also see the band posing as they lip sync. This is something we wee in other Depeche Mode/ Corbijn videos.
- The use of shadow is important as when mixed with black and white, creates some very varied tones, making it visually interesting.
- Also important is the way he combines very long takes with very quick cuts, to keep it entertaining. He also at some points cuts to the beat.
- This video shows Depeche Mode's continued efforts to disassociate themselves with their past.
Personal Jesus [Violater][1989]
- This was Corbijn's first colour music video for Depeche Mode. Even then most of the scenes are in sepia, and colour does not feature prominently.
- It also the first Depeche Mode song to centralise on a guitar riff. This could be the reason that guitars are featured at many times in the video such as at 2.34.
- Saul Austerlitz desrcribes in Money For Nothing: "Corbijn favored stark, resonant imagery for his Depeche Mode work, often invoking deserts, empty rooms, Western flavored setups, and other markers of classical muscluar individualism... Corbijn turns the Wild West into a sexual wonderland."
- Unlike many earlier Depeche Mode videos, this one does focus a lot on the woman that feature. They are now a much darker, adult orientated band focusing on sexual obsession rather than the innocence of Just Can't Get Enough and See You.
- This video has a very dirty, grainy look to it which links to early Western films.
- Lots of use of shadow again. This is most clearly seen at 0.58 with a shot of the four band members silhoutted in an arch way.
- Lots of looking into the camera both from the men and women. This could signify the video is aimed at both men and women. There are lots of suggestive shots such as just the bottom half of a woman at 1.21 and also Martin Gore's suggestive mouth movement (which MTV cut out) at 2.17.
- Interesting jump cuts of same movement at 3.16. This is not cut in time to the beat here which is something we might expect. There are a few sequences similar to this throughout the video.
- Each shots has an artistic quality to it. Lots of use of symmetry and creative framing, and you can see how being a photographer has influenced his work. Shots such as those at 3.20 and 0.56 act almost as portraits.
- Whereas the start reflects a classic Western, once the band are inside the brothel you see the much darker side coming through. It still has Corbijn's strange quality as an auteur throughout, and the vibrant green of the car at 0.19 signifies the bizarreness that Depeche Mode and Corbijn bring to the Wild West.
- This signifies the way in which Depeche Mode have used the classic acoustic guitar in a much more modern, dance orientated way, and there desire to break boundaries.
- The video was also parodied in The Killers video for "All These Things That I've Done" which was also directed by Corbijn.
Enjoy The Silence [Violater][1990]
-Was the next single after Personal Jesus, so there are similarities in the music videos style. Was released in 1990 and is now the band's signature song.
- Wikipedia says the band originally rejected the video idea until Corbijn explained how the King represents ""a man with everything in the world, just looking for a quiet place to sit"; a king of no kingdom." - The video is based on the bizzarre story and themes of the children's book The Little Prince.
-From 0.00 to 0.17 we have black and white shots of the band posing until one by one they all disappear leaving just singer Gahan. They are all looking into the camera. Like in most of their videos, they all wear black leather jackets. Quickly intercutting this section is an image of a rose (which links to the album artwork for Violater and single cover).
- Lots of long shots which show the protagonist's isolation. Other than the posing band shots, the singer is alone throughout the whole video. A prime example of the is at 1.08 where a large frame, with the singer small at the bottom of the screen.
- Again aspects of lip synching are used such as at 1.00. Corbijn blurs the gap between concept and performance often in his videos. -Like Personal Jesus, this video makes use of colour. On that topic Austerlitz says in Money For Nothing:"Corbijn favors the texture and grain of black and white stock footage for most of his videos, and when shooting in colour, often depends on an over processed, supersaturated stock that makes individual colors (like the red of Gahan's kingly robes in "Enjoy The Silence" [1990]) pop off the screen."
- More linking the of concept part to the band section is used with the shot of Gahan posing as the king at 2.10. Again this video is all about Gahan, anchoring him as the focal point of the band.
- Use of black, contrast and shadows is again vital to the video with many silhouettes used but also in the posing sequences they give it that photographic appearance.
- Makes use of natural lighting for creative purposes. The sunset for example is used to great effect. Importantly they shot on location rather than simply in a studio.
- Filmed in the Alps, Portugal and Scotland we can suggest that this video had a fairly large budget. This was around the band's peak of success.
- Again Corbijn and this time Coldplay pay homage to the video in their video for "Viva La Vida".
- An alternate video for the song was shot by French TV with Depeche Mode performing on top of the WTC in 1990.
- Austerlitz continues to say in Money For Nothing how"his Depeche Mode videos often empahasise the archaic (kings, cowboys, shacks, lanterns, even old cars) out of a desire to frame the band's timeless qualities and the cinematic scope of their songs' landscapes."
Suffer Well [Playing the Angel][2006]
- Depeche Mode's first music video since Useless to be directed by Corbijn again, after a 9 year gap. It turned out to be his last (to date anyway)..
- A concept music video focusing on Dave Gahan's drug problems. Gahan and his wife (who appears in the video) seem to be reflecting on the life he would have had if he had continued using drugs.
- The video is one of the few exceptions to Corbijn's black and white schemes. The video instead uses pale blues until the disco scene which features a vibrant red (link to Enjoy the Silence?). This scene also links to the album art for Playing the Angel. As does the angel at 0.57.
- There a few instances of lip-synching such as at 2.51 when backing singer Martin Gore sings along whilst dressed as a bride. Andrew Fletcher is also in this scene but for the most part this video just focuses on singer, Gahan. This shows how he has now become the focal point of the band, in the same way a singer is in a rock band.
- There are a lots of still, steady camera shots mixed in with panning shots with movement. Very often the still shots are long shots, whilst Corbijn opts for a moving frame in close ups/ mid shots. Similarly the speed of editing varies throughout.
- The video is a continuation of Corbijn's strange concepts. Like many of his works with Depeche Mode, he has the band dressing up and acting out parts.
- We can suggest the video had a fairly large budget as it is clear a set has been built for filming. Depeche Mode at this point are a huge band worldwide.
Below is a short interview with Corbijn discussing his work with Depeche Mode. Press the CC button in the bottom right of the video for subtitles unless you can speak Dutch.
I also found a lengthy interview with Depeche Mode here in which they discuss their music videos and working with Corbijn. They discuss their general disappointment when working other directors in compared their partnership with Corbijn. I have picked out some of the key parts below...
- "Øyvind Holen (interviewer): I’m finished with the B.AC. era now. So why did you start cooperating with Anton Corbijn?
Martin Gore: We had been trying to work with Anton for quite a while, but he wasn’t interested in working with us, because he felt we were too much of a pop band, and he didn’t really like what we were doing. It was probably the third attempt when we sent him the single “A Question of Time”, and asked him if he was interested in doing a video for it. And finally he actually liked something we were doing. There was also some coincidences going on as well, because Anton’s been really important for the visual output of the band. But we also did change drastically musically around 1986 anyway, and that’s why he decided to change and work with us."
"Øyvind Holen: Do you feel he helped you with making the transition from 80’s to 90’s in a way?
Andrew Flecher: A combination of Anton’s input into the artistic side, combined with the way the music was progressing. Before Anton, we made the decision to start wearing black."
- "Today, if Anton did a video and wanted us to go on spacehoppers we’d do it, because we would know he would make it look cool."
Post Corbijn Videos
Wrong [Sounds of the Universe][2009]
- Directed by Patrick Daughters in 2008, in the previous interview Depeche Mode discussed how they were happy with the outcome of the video. It was their 46th single.
- Nominee for "Best Short Form Music Video" at the 2009 Grammy's. Time magazine said it was the second best video of the year.
- It's a concept music video focusing on a man trapped in a car going backwards. It links to the themes of the lyrics but not directly.
- The video is shot in colour which could signify the director's attempts to seperate his work from that of Corbijn. The lighting is that typical inner city lighting with vibrant blues and yellows.
- The opening shot is an abstract shot possibly of the top of the car window. This instantly suggests the polysemy of the video. Music videos are often polysemic as they are intended for multiple viewings.
- The second shot is a long shot of the car probably edited in reverse. A lot of the video will have been filmed in reverse to make it play back normally, if you watch the video you will understand what I mean.
- Because of the dark lighting we believe at first that there is no driver of this car. At 0.50 it becomes apparent he has been tied up and is currently unconscious. The reason for him being trapped is left as narrative enigma.
- No performance aspects are included in the video although the band do make a cameo appearance at 1.38 as people walking down the road.This in itself a big departure from previous especially the earliest ones which we nearly all performance centralised on the band. As they are now older could it be that the music is more important the band? This video in itself is a short film rather than simply a music video.
- Two main shots reoccur. One is a POV shot looking out the windscreen from the "driver"'s perspective. The other is the shot of camera going backwards. This shot has a very surreal feel to it, and in truth reminds me of the effect that a snorricam creates.
- The mask makes our protagonist unknown until the very end of the video where he breaks free (just in time to get hit by another truck!). This scene could signify that video had a large budget behind it. The mask not only distorts our view of the driver, it makes his identity irrelevant, as well as supporting the video's bizarre vibe.
- The artistic styling of the video continues where Corbijn left off. The video is strange both plotwise and visually, which fits with the themes of the actual band these days. Importantly this video is very clever and sophisticated, showing that even though Corbijn doesn't direct their videos any more, his influence is seen through the successful ones that have followed his departure.
-Originally starting out as a club, Factory Records was created by Tony Wilson, Alan Erasmus, Peter Saville and Martin Hannet in Manchester, 1978.
-A year later A Factory Sampler was released - An EP consisting of tracks performed by bands at the club. Notably Joy Division were on the EP.
- They were a small indie label who over the years managed big success due to the bands they had attributed.
- Very often bands didn't even have contracts with the label.
- Bands such as Joy Division, New Order, The Durretti Column, Happy Mondays and A Certain Ratio all helped give the label it's legacy.
- The company had a unique labelling system; they labelled everything, including artwork, posters etc. Even Tony Wilson's coffin was labelled FAC501.
- Joy Division's Unknown Pleasures (1979) was not only their own personal debut, but was the first LP release by Factory.
- Rob Gretton (Joy Division's manager), became the fifth member of the Factory Record team also in 1979.
- After Factory's biggest success so far (scoring a UK Top 20 hit with Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart"), 1980 saw the suicide of Ian Curtis. The remaining members of Joy Division went on to form New Order, and stayed with Factory Records.
The Hacienda - In 1982 the doors opened to the nightclub "The Hacienda". The club has been credited as playing major role in the development of "Rave" music. The club was formed by both New Order and Factory Records.
- Though originally being funded by the label, New Order's record sales supported the club as it struggled to keep customers. According to wikipedia the clubs low prices were partly to blame and in the end " the Hacienda ended up costing New Order 10,000 a month".
- "Acid House" music was again attributed to the nightclub.
- Alledgedly customers spent more money on buying drugs from the bouncers than actual drinks from the bar. Therefore it struggled to make a profit.
- It closed in 1997, due to both security issues and ever-growing debt problems.
"Blue Monday"
-New Order's song "Blue Monday" was the biggest success for Factory Records. It was the biggest selling 12" in the UK and is often said to be the biggest of all time, with over one million estimated sales.
-It has recieved chart success at many different times, and is very often remixed. - FactoryRecords.Net claims that due to high production, Factory Records still lost money for each die sleeve it cut.
The Fall of Factory Records
- New Order and another of the labels successful bands "Happy Mondays" caused the label even more financial issues in 1992. Both spent excessive amounts recording their latest albums, New Order not Factory owned their back catalogue, and in late 1992 the label declared bankruptcy. - Many of the bands joined London Records after Factory went out of business.
- In 1994, Tony Wilson (centre) attempted to revive Factory Records, rebranding it as "Factory Too" in partnership with London Records. After moderate success, Wilson left the label in the later 1990s going on to form Factory Record LTD., and then later F4 Records. The latter closed in 2007.
- After a battle with cancer, Tony Wilson sadly died of a heart attack on 10th August 2007, aged 57. This was just three months before the release of Anton Corbijn's Ian Curtis biopic Control, in which Wilson is played by Craig Parkinson. He is also played in the loosely accurate film directed by Michael Winterbotoom in 2002, 24 Hour Party People, by comedian Steve Coogan.
