Clint EastwoodThe Gorrilaz

AudienceThe animated and surreal nature of the video supports the idea of a constructed or false reality. If we apply the uses and gratifications theory to this, it can be considered both escapism and identification the audience can relate to the lyrics and identify with the underlying meaning but also escape to a fantastical, false reality- the combination of these two gratifications enhances the appeal of the music video greatly.

The target audience for the Gorrilaz will be vast because they conform to the conventions of a vast amount of genres; hip hop, rap, rock and indie. However, in terms of age the target audience would be young adults who would be able to understand and relate to some of the themes, which include drugs, death , sex and mental illness.

“Now squeal and remember that it’s all in your head.”

“I got sunshine in a bag”- not only is this phrase another example of intertextuality in that if references a line from Clint Eastwood’s “ The good, the bad and the ugly” but “sunshine” also slang for marijuana.

Demands of the labelThe Gorrilaz have a unique take on the music video; both in form and style. The use of distinctive animations which present characters consistently throughout their videos is key to the construction of their star image. Signed to several major labels such as UMG; Virgin, Def Jam, Parlophone and EMI, the Gorrilaz is a fictional band constructed by Jamie Hewlett (artist) and Damon Albarn.(vocals and instrumentals. Albarn and Hewlett created distinctive characters to represent each band member: Murdoc, 2D, Noodle and Russell.  One of the most successful "virtual bands", The Gorrilaz- or rather, Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett have proven to be incredibly deft in their manipulation of star image.

What is most effective in establishing star image and synergy across a range of Gorrilaz products is the distinctive character design and the establishment of a strong visual style. This includes motifs that can be seen in this video such as the writing on title screen above, and the character of the ghost- both of which appear in many other pieces by the Gorrilaz. Star images is also established in this video by the wide spread use of close ups and mid shots not only of 2D, the front man, but also of Murdoc, the lead guitarist.

Genre characteristics Genre is ambiguous; but includes elements of alternative rock such as rejection of mainstream culture as is displayed by the non-conformative nature of the video in its style and presentation.  In actual fact; the fictional band was established after the artists behind it had been watching MTV, as the artist Jamie Hewlett said: "If you watch MTV for too long, it's a bit like hell – there's nothing of substance there. So we got this idea for a cartoon band, something that would be a comment on that".  Musically, the use of distorted; off key singing and a repetitive beat combines to create a more unconventional tone; which would support the fact that the band belongs to an alternative genre. It's difficult to assign a genre to something which is designed to parody. 

However, representation is interesting to consider; once again the nature of the animation has a great role to play here. It would be very easy to say that as surreal as much of the Gorrilaz work is; there is a great deal of difficulty in applying normal expectations of regulation.However, the Gorrilaz are a kind of parody of reality rather than an abstraction. So we can still apply basic ideas of representation to it.As such, we can separate each band member and associate them with a different music genre. Russell represents rap/percussion. 2D very much resembles the typical image of a male indie artist. It's almost certainly something to do with the bowl-cut hair. Murdoc is the archetypal rock star. Noodle-being a cyborg- can arguably be considered a representation of the electronica genre. 

Intertextuality Intertextuality appeals to audience; with references to "T virus" on clothing and "Thriller" by way of choreography. This intertextual imagery supports lyrics with ideas about life and death in lyrics creates surreal effect  video is an example of amplification- video supports lyrics, but not in a literal sense.  This creates a surreal; fantasy world despite the fact that by the lyrics they are commenting on realistic themes such as social constructs, and their places in society. 

The opening shot is the first example of establishing star image. The band title is written out in their recognizable font, while the vocal intro plays. Acts as a build up, or introduction to the song. Smaller text in the same font then fades in; at first in Japanese which then dissolves to English: "Every dead body that is not exterminated, becomes one of them. It gets up and kills. The people it kills, get up and kill." This is a famous quote from 1978 horror "Dawn of the Dead"; and is the first example of intertextuality throughout referencing "zombies" in pop culture.

The intertextuality is prominent- I would argue that the reason behind this is that by its nature, animations create a separate reality within themselves. To provide the piece with some grounding, intertextuality is used. I would suggest that it is this juxtaposition of the fantasy of the animation with the honesty of the content plays a large role in audience appeal; in that it is both escapism, and relevant to the target audience’s experiences.

NarrativeAs previously mentioned this video is an example of amplification; within this there are narrative and performance elements. Mise en scene devices such as instruments and microphones are used to create this performance element- along with segments in which one character appears to be speaking the lyrics throughout and a large rap portion in which not only facial movements but also with body languageThis should be something which I utilise in my own work to support my chosen track; to a.) strengthen the connection between lyric and video and b.) to establish star image through the use of an effective performance element.

Link between music and visualsThe audio heard during this opening is a sample taken from the theme for "The good, the bad, and the ugly." in which Clint Eastwood starred. There is then a dissolve cut to an extreme close up of the character Murdoc. Immediately, an ominous, near threatening atmosphere is established by the intensity of the extreme close up, the fact that the face shown to the audience is shadowed and laughing , which is supported by the continuation of audio from the title shot. This is highly effective in building tension. The audience is immediately aware that this song is not light-hearted. From here the camera zooms out and pans left revealing the rest of the band members. Rather than appearing stationary as you would realistically expect, they appear to move, passing behind and in front of each other without turning or walking. The disorientating nature of the two different movements of camera and characters adds to the sense that there is something off key. This effectively supports the music at this point which is slow, and a repetition of one key chord. The zoom and pan not only follows the rhythm of this chord, but also builds on the ominous, foreboding tone that the repetition within the music creates.

Additionally, a sense of continuity between music and visuals is established in the sense that at the same time as the drumming begins in the song, Russell slides into shot.

Arguably another example of intertextuality; the extreme close up of Murdoc closely resembles this close up of Clint Eastwood from “The good, the bad and the ugly.”

Link between lyrics and visualsLifelessTo those the definition for what life isPricelessTo you because I put you on the high shitYou like it?Gun smokin' righteous with one tokeYou're psychic among thosePossess you with one go

The adjective “psychic and the verb “possess” both denote the supernatural- this forms a very strong link with the visuals in that the rapper is depicted as being a ghost, in possessing Russell.

The adjective “lifeless” is supported not only by the setting, which is a graveyard and metonymous with death, but also by the use of mise en scene: the lack of natural imagery and the black and blue palette describes a setting a which is cold, isolated- and lifeless. This is furthermore supported by the use of intertextuality, which as previously mentioned makes reference to the zombie genre of film.

The link between lyrics and visuals is very strong in this piece; but not illustrative. As a result, the audience has to really listen to the lyrics to understand these links- in effect, visuals are used as a means of enticing the audience into listening to the song- so that while the imagery and style of the video might appeal to the audience, it is the strength of the lyrics that is the real selling point.