The Virtual Space Theory

One of the most fun aspects of writing this blog is that when I begin to research some topic I do not always know in advance where it might lead. The current series of posts on architecture in music videos is probably the most obvious example of that. As I was browsing the Internet (and my own memory) for interesting music videos to discuss and analyze, it first seemed that all I could find were random unrelated examples.

Eventually, however, some recurring patterns started to reveal themselves. One of these, as discussed in the previous post, is music videos in which the performers are presented as they walk through a city. A whole other pattern that became apparent is music videos in which the performers are presented on the open back of a vehicle as it rides through a city. This may seem like a mere semantic difference, but as the following examples will demonstrate, the sense of space that they create is quite different.

One example of this is the music video of Bjork’s song Big Time Sensuality. In this video she is seen performing on the open surface of the back of a truck, while the camera is located at the rear of the truck looking forward. As she sings and dances, the view moves along New York streets, which, due to the dynamic changes of view, serve as much more than just a background, but rather as the architectural settings for her performance:

The music video of U2’s song The Sweetest Thing provides yet another variation on this principle. Presented as a husband’s grand apologetic gesture to his wife, whose birthday he forgot, the video puts the viewer in the place of the wife for whom the song is performed. The band’s singer, Bono, is seen seated in a horse-drawn carriage, and the camera view is directed towards the back. Accordingly, as the carriage rides on, the city’s changing views (Dublin in this case) are now revealed in the opposite direction as before: Coming in from the sides and moving away behind him. This is enhanced even further by the inclusion of other band members, performers, and various props that join in as they enter into view:

A more peculiar and playful variation on the theme of a city ride is the music video of Dizzee Rascal’s song Bonkers. In this case, the back of a truck is presented as a wall-less bedroom riding through a city, while the point of view is variable. One of the most dominant points of view in this video, however, is a polar panorama showing the performer from above while distorting the view of the city. This creates the impression of a self-contained, strange world of its own, whose dynamic structural changes are determined by the streetscapes coming towards and moving away behind the truck. Additionally, as the video proceeds, the form of presentation of its urban environment evolves as well, from daytime to nighttime, and ending in a graphic abstraction of itself:

What I find interesting in the above examples is the particular sense of space that can be created when presenting a music performer on a ride through a city: A simultaneous combination of two apparent opposites. Such videos engage the viewer with a dynamically changing architectural setting, all while providing the most natural environment for music performers – a static stage. And yet, they each manage to create a different variation on this principle, resulting in a particular experience of space of their own.