The Virtual Space Theory

Following the post on the the roles of architecture in music videos, I would like to elaborate on the difference between the roles of ‘background’ and ‘setting’. Basically, what marks that difference is whether the architecture is just located behind the performing band (or other visual subject of the video) while showing little or no interaction with it, or whether the architecture gives the impression that it actually surrounds the performers and defines the space in which they are located.

In the case of static images, the role of architecture as a setting is usually achieved by a careful choice of the image’s viewpoint, or by placing the architecture not only behind the image’s subject but also along the sides and even in front of it. A clear example of this is Tintoretto’s painting The Discovery of the Body of St. Mark, which presents its theme inside of an architectural setting as well as directly interacting with it. This may be easier to achieve in the case of an interior space, but a sense of an architectural setting can of course be achieved also in exterior locations.

Dynamic mediums such as music videos, however, have the added advantage of being able to use the dimension of time in order to provide a sense of setting. That is, even if at each single moment the architecture may practically be seen only behind the performers, the continuous movement of the camera’s point of view provides the experience of an architectural setting which the performers are surrounded by.

One of the simplest ways to achieve this is probably to just have the music performer walk through an architectural environment, and the most straightforward example of this I can think of is The Verve’s music video of their song Bittersweet Symphony. Filmed along Hoxton Street in London, its location is seen mostly out of focus and is of secondary visual importance, but it still provides an unmistakable sense of setting:

A more sophisticated example is the music video of Pharcyde’s song Drop, which was directed by Spike Jonze. Here too, the viewpoint moves backwards as the performers keep walking towards it, continuously revealing the urban environment they are located in. Yet the sense of setting is enhanced even further by their multiple interactions with it, as well as the playful effects that were made possible by filming the video in reverse:

Finally, probably the most ingenious example of providing a sense of setting by having a performer walk through it is the music video of Kylie Minogue’s Come Into My World. In this video, director Michel Gondry found a particular street intersection in Paris which allowed for a continuous shot going in circles, during which the singer interacts with her environment in different ways each time around. The result is a visual equivalent of a musical canon with city streets as its architectural setting, allowing for the discovery (and duplication) of further details of it on every round:

Throughout the history of the pictorial image, architectural content has been used to perform various roles. A thorough analysis of these roles and their evolution over the ages can be found in the book, focusing on both the medium of painting and the newer medium of film. In this post I will present a short overview of the roles of architecture in pictorial mediums by centering particularly on examples of music videos.

Architecture as frame – In medieval art, which was often made to accompany a written text, an architectural frame was commonly used as a visual separation between the surface of the paper on which the text was written and the visual content of the painting, which was usually a depiction of a character. Sometimes a series of such frames were also combined to create a larger architectural setting. Remnants of this use could also be seen in the art of the Renaissance, but gradually less so in later periods, and hardly ever in moving images.

A rare example of a contemporary use of architecture as a frame is the music video of Massive Attack’s song Protection (from about 1:05 on), which can be interpreted as echoing the use of the architectural frame in medieval art. It features a series of views of people in their homes seen from outside their windows, presented in a single continuous shot moving in and out of an apartment building. The building’s windows serve as the visual frames that define each scene and the space of the character depicted in it:

Architecture as background – Any music video where a city is seen behind its band as they perform their song could be considered to be an example of architecture fulfilling the role of the visual background of a music video. Though this may sound rather straightforward, I am actually aware of only few examples of this kind and welcome further suggestions from readers. One such music video is Beirut’s song St Apollonia:

Architecture as setting – The role of architecture as a setting refers to cases where architecture is not only seen behind the performing band (or other visual subject of the music video), but is actually used as a visual means of defining the space where the band is located. Many of the music videos of the band U2 make such a use of architecture in them, such as in the example of Beautiful Day, filmed at the Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris, which was designed by architect Paul Andreu:

Architecture as subject – In a few rare cases, architectural content serves the role of the actual subject of a music video. These are cases in which the visual content is either purely architectural, or those in which architecture is of primary visual importance even though the song’s performers are seen as well. In even rarer cases, such architectural content is created especially for the music video, as in the example of the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ song Otherside. It features a highly imaginative environment made in the spirit of German expressionist films from the early 20th century. Additionally, even though the band members are also included in it, their performances as well as their musical instruments are totally defined by the virtual world they are located in – which is the true visual subject of this music video: