Saturday, 11 September 2010

'The Test' by The Chemical Brothers- Conventions of a video - Laurie Ewen



The music video for The Chemical Brothers' track, 'The Test' follows quite strongly the familiar conventions of rave music videos in the 1990s. In this era, the use of mind altering drugs were quite common in ravers, and the video is similar to the psychedelic videos of the 1960s with the inclusion of varied bright colours.

The video follows a narrative: a girl is experiencing an 'acid trip' as a result of taking a psychedelic drug, and you see the perceptions of the world from her perspective, and in contrast, reality. For example, in part of a reality scene, the girl is walking down a beach with quite dull colours and a dark sky. The perception of the girl in this scene is then shown and the lighting in the shot flashes while her hands are seen to turn into a liquid form as she waves them above her head. She is then confronted with a girl who has one eye, as well as being confronted with several other supernatural elements.

Different effects are also used in the video to enhance the portrayal of the experience that the protagonist is having. For example, blurring is used in some parts to increase the feelings of being 'on an acid trip'. The pacing of cuts also increases in some parts of the video to similarly intensify the rapid movements that are seen by the protagonist.

The video is successful in representing the audience as in the 90s, the term 'acid trip' was a familiar term for most followers of dance music, and the emotions and perceptions created by the use of psychedelic drugs are shown through the use of different techniques. In addition, there is a scene in which a large number of people in a rave are shown, and this is an important aspect of electronic dance music which can appeal to listeners of the genres within.

No comments:

Post a Comment