Artist: La Roux
Title: Quicksand (2008)
Director: Kinga Burza
Mise-en-scene is the absolute basis of “Quicksand” and has been exploited wonderfully. Elly Jackson’s costumes are very reminiscent of the 80’s; large shoulder-pads, oversized statement jewelry and a clear theme of animal print as noticed in her leopard print scarves and blazers, the dancers’ snake-skin-dresses and Elly’s turtle-shell-glasses.
I really liked how the cinematography was kept simple in this music video; there are no unexpected shots or angles and the camera moves little, if at all. One notable shot is the very first though, as the video opens with a close up on her lips as the vocals begin - a technique I think really just ‘worked’. This minimalist approach to the cinematography was enhanced thoroughly by visual effects and post-production though; 90% of the shots use a green-screen. The location is a variation of animated sunsets on a tropical beach which looks fantastic (and surprisingly convincing) with the warm lighting they used on the artist. Some visual effects that I thought were extremely effective though were; the second shot which is a mid-close up of (a hugely oversized) Elly lying down in the ocean as the sun sets, her face reflecting in the water; the use of props, such as when she sits on the oversized pineapple and cocktail; the acrobatics on a (yet again, oversized) woman and finally the closing shot, another mid-close up where Elly looks up and in to the camera and slowly her face turns in to a leopard (following in the theme of costumes.)
The music has a beat nearly identical to Prince’s When Doves Cry, accompanied by steel drums, a strong synth bass-line and other synths throughout the song. This music video accommodates all of these components as it has a very tropical feel to it (the beach, colours, cocktails/fruit etc). The typicalities of music videos, such as a cut for a new line or a beat, are also apparent in this video as well as miming the lyrics which surprisingly aren’t displayed with a narrative in this video. The colours in the video darken, the pace slows down and shots are longer in the slower bridge before the final chorus and cinematography takes advantage, using closer shots to display emotion before returning to the warm colours, visuals and normal cuts for the remainder.
This particular music video has no narrative which is quite disappointing considering the nature of the song - It is largely concept based. This being said, the fact that this is entirely conceptual, promotes La Roux to an extreme level as their 80’s ‘look-and-feel’ as well as their aesthetic style are expressed extremely powerfully. Elly Jackson’s retro-androgyny is what strikes me most in this video in terms of ‘the band’ which is clearly intentional as that very fact is the image they’ve tried to build up and is infinitely now prevalent. I think the fact this video does rely heavily on editing and visual effects is to actually highlight that point; it’s band promotion to the fullest - especially considering this was their first video. Her androgyny (short, quiffed hair, masculine attire and natural make-up) provides a mysterious allure among viewers and just gives her that ‘cool’, ‘edgy’, ‘different’ factor.
Audience-wise, there aren’t too many limits; I’d say this video makes La Roux appeal to a huge audience. The video its-self is fun and colourful for younger viewers, the music, fashion and image will appeal to the teenage/young adult crowd and surprisingly, I think the middle-aged to older generation will enjoy this too as it’s seen as the first creditable 80’s revival which is clearly expressed through not only the music, but the MES in this video.
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