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