Music videos - MEDIA LANGUAGE Explore how the combination of media language creates meaning for the audience in the video to Riptide [15]

Music videos - MEDIA LANGUAGE    Explore how the combination of media language creates meaning for the audience in the video to Riptide [15]

The music video for riptide uses a wide range of media language to create meaning for the audience and convey the producer’s ideology. The genre of the music video uses a mixture of surrealism and horror making intertextual references to horror films such as ‘Suspiria’. They both use the main character as a week and vulnerable female, both of which are hegemonically attractive in order to gain and maintain the audience’s attention to her characters development as the audience is drawn to her beauty. The music video is also taken from a postmodern perspective recreating a 1970s aesthetic through the costumes and vibrant primary colours. Which can also be seen in ‘Suspiria’ which was released in 1977, both using iconographic features such as the colour red to symbolise horror and aggression which can be seen in the lipstick worn by the singer in that is eventually speared over her face. The postmodern setting is further anchored through the often out of focus shots, mimicking the camera quality of that in the 70s as well as showing a 70s film camera briefly. The weakness of the woman can further be anchored through the reference of a left hand, in both the lyrics and used by the woman, this can symbolise weakness in a battlefield if a soldier fights lefthanded. This reference can then further make reference to aggression supporting the horror genre, if this reference is identified by the audience it can also provide gratification.

The use of montage is also used to keep a fast pace to the video only showing shots for a few seconds, theses shots often link to the lyrics and convey a form or narrative and illustrate the message in the song. However, these events do not happen chronologically as certain shots are repeated when lyrics are repeated within the chorus. The video is also designed to be watched repeatedly for the audience to see hidden messages and reoccurring themes or actions. For example, at the start of the video the lyrics make reference to a cowboy running from himself, repeating the same character in one scene, using a continuity shot to show each cowboy looking at each other. The same technique and series of events happen later in the video when a director points to a man Infront, panning the camera to a camera man and then panning to an actor, all of which are the same man. These are examples of hidden messages input by the producers in order to target multiple audiences. By the audience noticing hidden messages within the video it then provides gratification for the audience as they feel more involved in the video and creates a topic of discussion with friends about the video rather than the song itself. This then creates the two main audiences, those that enjoy the song and are gratified by the aesthetically pleasing video and those that are not as interested in the video by get gratification through the intertextual references to pop culture and other films.

The whole video keeps the audience in a state of discomfort and uncomfortable mode of address, through the use of short scenes that feel as though they cut off too early before they reveal something. This can be seen in the opening scene of clouds, the camera pans down as if to reveal something however cuts, only showing clouds. This can also create a false suspense for the audience as only the build-up is shown. This use of mystery keeps the audience engaged as they always feel something new will be revealed to help better understand the narrative, however very few events link or repeated props are not in the same context. such as the dollar bill, which is repeated but never in the same setting. through the use of binary opposites it also creates depth to the video to help better construct a horror genre, this is shown most clearly in contrast cuts between to juxtapostionsing images, such as the bright sky in the opening scene and the cut to a dark dentists. this emphasises and anchors the fear and scariness of the second shot.