Video Analysis -Tesla Boy - Thinking Of You (Official Video)
During the course of this essay I will be analysing the music video to Tesla Boy - Thinking Of You directed by Yoram Benz. The song Thinking Of You is a Synth pop song and thus many of the characteristics of the Synth pop genre can be seen here with the inclusion of neon lights and overly saturated colours. This characteristic of synthpop can be seen here on a website focused on synthpop here as well as a google image search of the genre itself. From this one notices one of the main elements of the synth genre is bright saturated colours and lights and this is very evident in the Tesla boy video.
In the official video itself lyrics are illustrated and complimented by the visuals of the video through abstract and sometimes subtle or suggestive imagery. This can be seen when the line "A heavy breathing I can hear" is uttered early on in the song when at 00:22 we the viewer see a shot of two lips in the background with the artists face split in two and placed in the foreground. One may suggest the suggestive look of the lips amplifies the lyrics concerning heavy breathing by making said heavy breathing feature more sexual connotations. Furthermore the composition of the shot successfully illustrates the title of the song. This is evidenced by the fact that the female figure remains in the background whilst the artist in the foreground illustrates how the artist is think about this person. They are in the background and don't really say anything;they represent the thoughts behind the artist. Not only this but the female depicted is very prominent in the shot and takes up a large portion of the composition. One may argue that this suggests that this female figure plays a large role in this artists thoughts as he is always thinking about her. This in turn emphasises the title of the song adding more meaning to the title"Thinking Of You "
This abstract illustration of the
lyrics is echoed throughout the song and can be particularly seen during the
chorus of the song, "If I'm passing through,
Only thing I do, Thinking of you, Thinking of you.” At 1:11 we see the artist
split in two and then join up again only to be split in two once more to add
more emphasis to the line "If I'm passing
through." The use of this animation illustrates and
exaggerates the meaning behind passing through; we get a clearer understanding
of the artist’s thoughts and feelings of the person he is thinking about as we
may establish that the lyric in conjunction with the illustration at hand may
show how the artist is wandering around thinking about this person all the time.
The lines "Thinking of you, Thinking of you.” has been illustrated via the use of a mid shot and a close up of the female figure to convey the artists obsession with this woman by featuring her in a close up shot by herself we the audience identify her importance in this video and in these shots; she is the central figure and subject matter. Furthermore the visuals are in sync with the lyrics "Thinking of you, Thinking of you.”which also displays the link between lyrics and visuals as she is shown fully each time the artist mentions thinking of you to show this is the only person on his mind.
Another example of the relationship between lyrics to visuals can be see when the artist utters "A weeping soul is moving fast" the weeping soul here being represented via the use of a white silhouette of the female figure however whats significant about the the relationship between lyric an visual here is how visuals contradict the lyrics to add more to the video.Instead of moving fast as the lyric mentions the silhouetted figure moves in a slow yet smooth motion which as a result conveys a more sexualised looked to the form which explores the sexualised subtext that can be seen throughout the video.
Similar to the relationship of lyric to visual the video also features a relationship of music to visual however not as strong as the previous relationship. Said link between music to visual can be seen during the video at 1:04 when we hear the transition from the verse to main chorus of the song to compliment this we see a graphical animation of neon lights moving frantically in sync with the sounds of the beat. This visual cue illustrates clearly the transition between verse to chorus whilst also allowing the video to transition from animation to animation as we see the close up shot of the artists head transition to a close of the lips.
Another example of this relation can be seen around 1:40, during this time the music have become progressively distorted and have an echo like sound to them. As a result of this during this sequence we the audience notice how distorted and exaggerated the forms have become; the forms are much more abstract as they move into each other and criss-cross looking more like echoes of each other thus clearly depicting the echo sounds visually.
Around 3:12 the pace in music increases and so does the pace in visuals as the visuals previous shown i.e the circular motion increases as well as its frantic nature. The visuals start to transition in sync with the beat of the music, not only this but during said sequence the music starts to become more electric in its sounds through the use of strange eerie sounds. These sounds in turn are represent by an array of colour distortions and neon lights to convey the electric feel of the sounds. Near to the tend of the sequence we hear piano noises which are depicted visually by wavelength like movement of the pink neon graphics. To summarise these visuals in conjunction with the music show an electronic and distorted aesthetic.
During the music video one notices how there are many close up shots of the lead singer; this may be becaue Tesla Boy are not a well known band and thus the record company behind them may be using the lead singers face to not only sell the band to audiences to do not know who they are but to also depict them as fashionable or "cool". This can be evidenced in the artist image throughout the video as he calmly performs the song with a hypnotic stare towards viewers as well as his general costume consisting of a sunglasses black leather coat and fashionable hairstyle which are types of clothing that can stereotyped as "cool"clothing . One may suggest the record company are attempting to market the band as being young, fashionable, and "attractive" by having the performer directly stare at viewer's. The calm performance approach my present the artist as mysterious and may also add to this "cool" character that is presently depicted; he's calm and in control.
After watching other Tesla Boy music video's one may notice a focus on lighting particularly neon lights and strobe lights which can be seen in Thinking Of You, Electric Lady and "Rebecca". This neon look conveys the band as more of a party band ; their music is being marketed as the type which one would listen to at a gathering or a party rather than to listen to by yourself when down.
Througout the video the notion of looking is referenced heavvily throughout as the lead singer has direct eye contact with the auidence throughout the song possibly for the purpose of engaging audiences to watch the video and follow him directly. Moreover the nature of the video is present in a way reminsent of looking through a teleidoscope or a kaleidoscope, with its unique patterns and circular movement. One may suggest that said feature has been employed to make the visuals more hypnotic and mesmerising; our attention is either focused on the lead singer or the female model as we are immersed in the visuals.
In addition throughout the video one may argure that there is a sense of sexual display of the model as well as the lead singer. This can be evidenced by many close up shots of both the model and lead artist pouting and staring directly towards audiences, that said the model's facial expression conveys more sexual connotations.
As you can see in the image above the model is posed in a provocative way as she is staring direclty towards audiences with a lustful look on her face. This feature is repeated throughout the video and may have been possibliy used to market the band and the music as "sexy" and "young" and most of all desirable. Other examples of this sexualised imagery can been seen during the video when we see shots of the models lips as well as shots of her legs moving slowly. Below, the shot of the lips draws audience attention to them as a result of there centre position and also how bright and saturated the colour lips are. One could suggest the the saturated red has has connotations of lustful imagery which further emphasises the sexual display shown during the video. Also the use of close ups of legs and lips shows a sexual display by focusing on parts which are seen as desirable and attractive but also the way these parts have been presented is of significance. During the video said parts are present with slow yet smooth animations and transistions. This slow movement creates emphasis on the provocative presentation of these parts whilst allowing audiences to focus on this parts. Finally in terms of costume the close up of the high heels conveys an erotic look to the model whilst giving her some power in this video; the model is presented as something one desires but does not easily obtain. This sexualised imagery as mentioned before presents the model and the band as desirable and also "sexy" in terms of a social status; If you listen to Tesla Boy you're cool just like them.
When watching the video, one notices the intertextual reference of the 80's styles that can been seen sublty throughout the video; these include the use of geometrical patterns and bright vibrant neon lights. These references relate to the artists image by focusing on the new wave/ synth sounds of the artist's music and illustrating them with graphics that would illustrate the synth artist's of the 80's; in some ways tying the artist's music and image to the decade which synth orignated from. This illustration of tying Telsa Boy's image with the 80's can be seen in the image below. The album cover on the left is artwork for Tesla Boy while on the right is the artwork for an 80's Synth album. One notices how both share the use of bright neon colours as well as brush script font to present there brands as elegant. Moreover in the Album on the right notice how the female figure is the central focal point of the artwork, this is similar to that of the Thinking Of You video as well as the bright lights.
Similar to the relationship of lyric to visual the video also features a relationship of music to visual however not as strong as the previous relationship. Said link between music to visual can be seen during the video at 1:04 when we hear the transition from the verse to main chorus of the song to compliment this we see a graphical animation of neon lights moving frantically in sync with the sounds of the beat. This visual cue illustrates clearly the transition between verse to chorus whilst also allowing the video to transition from animation to animation as we see the close up shot of the artists head transition to a close of the lips.
Another example of this relation can be seen around 1:40, during this time the music have become progressively distorted and have an echo like sound to them. As a result of this during this sequence we the audience notice how distorted and exaggerated the forms have become; the forms are much more abstract as they move into each other and criss-cross looking more like echoes of each other thus clearly depicting the echo sounds visually.
This abstract look is further exaggerated
around 2:59 seconds when we hear an instrumental solo and see the smooth
movement of the forms in a circular motion. The sounds at this point sound much
more hypnotic and thus this hypnotic look is depicted within the visuals with
its circular motion and its bright colours.
Around 3:12 the pace in music increases and so does the pace in visuals as the visuals previous shown i.e the circular motion increases as well as its frantic nature. The visuals start to transition in sync with the beat of the music, not only this but during said sequence the music starts to become more electric in its sounds through the use of strange eerie sounds. These sounds in turn are represent by an array of colour distortions and neon lights to convey the electric feel of the sounds. Near to the tend of the sequence we hear piano noises which are depicted visually by wavelength like movement of the pink neon graphics. To summarise these visuals in conjunction with the music show an electronic and distorted aesthetic.
During the music video one notices how there are many close up shots of the lead singer; this may be becaue Tesla Boy are not a well known band and thus the record company behind them may be using the lead singers face to not only sell the band to audiences to do not know who they are but to also depict them as fashionable or "cool". This can be evidenced in the artist image throughout the video as he calmly performs the song with a hypnotic stare towards viewers as well as his general costume consisting of a sunglasses black leather coat and fashionable hairstyle which are types of clothing that can stereotyped as "cool"clothing . One may suggest the record company are attempting to market the band as being young, fashionable, and "attractive" by having the performer directly stare at viewer's. The calm performance approach my present the artist as mysterious and may also add to this "cool" character that is presently depicted; he's calm and in control.
After watching other Tesla Boy music video's one may notice a focus on lighting particularly neon lights and strobe lights which can be seen in Thinking Of You, Electric Lady and "Rebecca". This neon look conveys the band as more of a party band ; their music is being marketed as the type which one would listen to at a gathering or a party rather than to listen to by yourself when down.
Througout the video the notion of looking is referenced heavvily throughout as the lead singer has direct eye contact with the auidence throughout the song possibly for the purpose of engaging audiences to watch the video and follow him directly. Moreover the nature of the video is present in a way reminsent of looking through a teleidoscope or a kaleidoscope, with its unique patterns and circular movement. One may suggest that said feature has been employed to make the visuals more hypnotic and mesmerising; our attention is either focused on the lead singer or the female model as we are immersed in the visuals.
In addition throughout the video one may argure that there is a sense of sexual display of the model as well as the lead singer. This can be evidenced by many close up shots of both the model and lead artist pouting and staring directly towards audiences, that said the model's facial expression conveys more sexual connotations.
As you can see in the image above the model is posed in a provocative way as she is staring direclty towards audiences with a lustful look on her face. This feature is repeated throughout the video and may have been possibliy used to market the band and the music as "sexy" and "young" and most of all desirable. Other examples of this sexualised imagery can been seen during the video when we see shots of the models lips as well as shots of her legs moving slowly. Below, the shot of the lips draws audience attention to them as a result of there centre position and also how bright and saturated the colour lips are. One could suggest the the saturated red has has connotations of lustful imagery which further emphasises the sexual display shown during the video. Also the use of close ups of legs and lips shows a sexual display by focusing on parts which are seen as desirable and attractive but also the way these parts have been presented is of significance. During the video said parts are present with slow yet smooth animations and transistions. This slow movement creates emphasis on the provocative presentation of these parts whilst allowing audiences to focus on this parts. Finally in terms of costume the close up of the high heels conveys an erotic look to the model whilst giving her some power in this video; the model is presented as something one desires but does not easily obtain. This sexualised imagery as mentioned before presents the model and the band as desirable and also "sexy" in terms of a social status; If you listen to Tesla Boy you're cool just like them.
When watching the video, one notices the intertextual reference of the 80's styles that can been seen sublty throughout the video; these include the use of geometrical patterns and bright vibrant neon lights. These references relate to the artists image by focusing on the new wave/ synth sounds of the artist's music and illustrating them with graphics that would illustrate the synth artist's of the 80's; in some ways tying the artist's music and image to the decade which synth orignated from. This illustration of tying Telsa Boy's image with the 80's can be seen in the image below. The album cover on the left is artwork for Tesla Boy while on the right is the artwork for an 80's Synth album. One notices how both share the use of bright neon colours as well as brush script font to present there brands as elegant. Moreover in the Album on the right notice how the female figure is the central focal point of the artwork, this is similar to that of the Thinking Of You video as well as the bright lights.
When considering the Music video's style its adopts features from performance based music videos by featuring the band performing the song, however the video takes a more concept based approach by employing abstract graphics and animations with the performance to create a srange yet engaging video with no cohersive narrative.
Overall the music video to Thinking Of You use music and visuals to emphasises and exaggerate meanings by using sexual display to exaggerate the lyrics and present the band as desirable. Not only this but the video uses concept based styles to tie back Tesla Boy's image to the 80's . Finally the video features imagery of the bands performance due to the fact that Tesla Boy are not as well known as bigger artists and therefore must star in there video's to gain awerness and sale themselves.
An absolutely fantastic response, Chris. You have worked excellently through the Goodwin structure, adding detailed analysis and reference to other texts where appropriate. Well done.
ReplyDeleteI like the fact that you have also picked out themes and similarities with Telsa Boy's other videos and linked to them in this post.
ReplyDeleteT: consider factors that have influenced your own production.