Female gaze of Torres, Mitski and female directors

A quick note on the Torres video: mostly very dull, but 2 elements that might inspire some useful ideas
the David Lynch-like unsettling intermittent red lighting, and playing with darkness (possible Twin Peaks influence there)
the stoney-faced singer continuing to lipsynch with shower water flowing over her (wind effects have been used in other vids, anything like this adds visual interest and impact to a key convention, arguably bringing a postmodern deconstructionist approach in revealing, and revelling in, the absurdity of lipsynching). In practical terms it would be better to try and rig a shower head to a hose - or even point it out of a bathroom window if the external wall framing works (as bathroom framing would be very limited)

This is desire: Torres, Marika Hackman and the artists redefining the female gaze https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/jun/16/torres-women-pleasure-fleabag-female-gaze-videos?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Blogger

DANCE EG: 2 Brothers on the 4th Floor (1996)

(Click pic to enlarge) These screenshots provide a sense of this act's approach

2 Brothers on the 4^th Floor -

Come Take My Hand.

Dir: Arcade Creative, 1996.

Eurodance/Happy hardcore (Dutch).

Lyrics. Wiki. Videography (eurokdj.com), YT Channel.

NB: Dance music is a genre I have some familiarity with, but lack a broad enough knowledge to be picking up on intertextual links with other dance vids; if you spot any, let me know via a comment below. At the end of this post I've also added a couple of pointers on how to go about blogging on a single track.

SUMMARY OF KEY FEATURES: 

1ST SHOT contains many key characteristics of the vid

• CGI is very evident; very sophisticated at points, fairly simplistic (intentionally low-tech/non-realism?) at others.
• Playful, surreal and offbeat (visual at times) humour, with characters that could be in a David Lynch movie; there is no coherent narrative (beyond getting off a bus, walking, and re-boarding). Pomo playfulness, aka deconstructionism, is evident, eg revealing the daft fake moustache.
• Interesting gender countertypes with the male a mostly decorative, passive presence; also notable that overt sexuality (clothing, framing/shot selection, dance moves) largely absent.
• Cinematography has an Anton Corbijn feel: monochrome with occasionally oblique angles and framing. Panning and tracking are common, but vertical movement is limited, with smooth, steadicam action (and no zooms). Also signifiers of Soviet realism through lighting, framing, angle, subject choice and facial expression?
• Editing pace isn’t frantic but still zips along, with no take more than a few seconds, and increased pace/cutting to the beat for only short periods in the track. Cross-fades are common.
• Diegetic intro and outro.
• Lipsynched MCU 2-shots are dominant, but there is considerable cross-cutting between these and non-lipsynched 2-shots, plus other characters and even CGI creatures and a vortex; successful in shot variety terms despite the simplicity of the setup.

1ST SHOT (see screenshot above):

Diegetic intro: ELS of bus, rapid editing (ellipsis to ensure this isn’t a slow start) + good shot variety; beach setting; narrative enigma: where is this/who’s getting off bus?; surrealism – bus on beach!; monochrome/B+W

Audience Interaction: Nine Inch Nails

NB: the article contains strong language

Compared to the arguably cynical, hackneyed, overhyped apps, dripping with prompts to buy more merchandise, for Lady Gaga and Snoop Lion releases, this example of using websites, dropping USB sticks at gigs and suchlike is innovative and refreshing - and a source of ideas for any forward thinking promotion. Mark Beaumount details his groundbreaking Year Zero project:

He has explored the latest on-stage hardware and in-studio techniques and has been eager to use cyberspace to give his fans an all-encompassing multimedia experience. Its pinnacle was 2007's Year Zero project, an apocalyptic concept album about a futuristic US dystopia run by the military and populated by drug-controlled surveillance slaves. Initially, Year Zero sounded about as sci-fi as an Oyster card. Then fans began finding hidden website URLs imprinted into their promotional T-shirts and USB sticks of coded static left in toilets at NIN gigs. These clues led them to a labyrinth of websites for fictional organisations such as the Bureau of Morality and the First Evangelical Church of Plano, all part of an ultra-elaborate alternate reality game. For two months Year Zero lit up the web, turning from a cloak-and-dagger internet lark into a concerted effort to rally real-life political protest. Complete immersion.

Reznor has a track record for putting out some quite extreme promo clips, but also for looking beyond record labels for new digital forms of (self-)distribution:

Concept/Perf Vid featured on multiple YT channels

Longish post title: interesting example of a lyric-free rock vid blending concept (with a suggested narrative; concepts tend to have some narrative glue - narrative vids are those which directly tie into the lyrics) and performance. Comes close to getting sleazy (your reading may be that it falls over that line), and though the editing's generally sharp there are some obvious points where cutting to the beat, or simply greater shot variation would be good.

To my eyes there's a strong Anton Corbijn influence here (and it reminds me of the 2012 IGS vid for The Swing Movement in some regards, especially the use of focus-pulling and switching), with (to these eyes) an evident nod to Nirvana when the upbeat section kicks in with a splash (tho' you could also take this as a horror note in what could be alternatively read as a David Lynchian, filmic text).
What I also found noteworthy was the promotional strategy: they've either set up multiple YT channels or just got fans who've opted to put their vid as their channel's autoplaying featured vid. I came across it via another promotional strategy: adding other YT users/channels as contacts. Simple psychology: the suitably burnished ego of most YT users will coax them to add every contact to boost their numbers (I always click through to suss out who/what has requested this ... thus still making the strategy a winner!).

As well as the official CQ channel, Feeeppe, and mary1982next had CQ as their set vid at 20.11.12 and had all added me as a contact within a couple of days in Sept 2012.

Music vid, web and film collide: David Lynch directs Duran Duran webcast

Source: http://pitchfork.com/news/41876-david-lynch-to-direct-duran-duran-webcast/

Obviously, this is a perfect illustration of the process of CONVERGENCE...

Monday, March 14

David Lynch to Direct Duran Duran Webcast

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"American Express Unstaged" is a live music webcast series that teams up big-name bands with big-name movie directors. Last year, they got Terry Gilliam to direct a webcast of an Arcade Fire show, and Spike Lee to direct a live stream of a Roots/John Legend show. And now the series has its most out-there artist/director pairing yet: On March 23, Duran Duran will play at L.A.'s Mayan Theatre. And David Lynch will direct the webcast.

Duran Duran's new album All You Need Is Now drops March 22, via S-Curve. The next night, the band's live show at the Mayan starts at 10 eastern time, and you'll be able to watch it at Duran Duran's Vevo page.
In a press release, Lynch says, "I am very excited about this opportunity to experiment with the band, Duran Duran, at the Mayan Theater on March 23rd. The idea is to try and create on the fly, layers of images permeating Duran Duran on the stage. A world of experimentation and hopefully some happy accidents." If you see Simon Le Bon holding a frozen smile for just a few seconds too long, you should probably blame this guy.
Below, watch a suitably ominous trailer for the show, and check out Duran Duran's forthcoming tour dates.