Study Task 3 - Animation Analysis

I have chosen to analyse the music video for Head Splitter, a song by American electronic music producer Getter. The music video relates closely to my chosen quote as it heavily employs a digital aesthetic of glitches, shapes, and visual noise throughout. These glitches are juxtaposed with retro animated images and sequences, as well as live-action footage.

The use of the retro computer graphics from the 80s and 90s are a signifier of nostalgia and create an overall dated feel to the animation. Getter himself was born in the early 90s, so would have just caught the end of this aesthetic being mainstream during his childhood, and so is most likely very familiar with it. This makes the music video accessible to others who would recognise the graphics of their childhood, and creates an overall “throwback” feel to the video. However, the video also uses graphics that are very modern and recognisable to the younger generation of today, who may not be as familiar with the outdated aesthetic of the 80s.

At one point in the video, Getter jumps onto the ground and the whole floor distorts, as if he is creating ripples from his feet. This resembles the idea of virtual reality, that the world can be distorted and changed through a technological lens. With virtual reality so mainstream at the moment, it is no surprise that younger viewers would find elements such as this more recognisable and therefore the music video more accessible. The animations create an overall sense of fantasy and imagination. As Getter explores the derelict streets, the digital aesthetic – whether its using 80s or modern glitches and effects – creates an otherworldly, trippy sensation. It is as if Getter is experiencing some kind of high, with a heavy digital influence.

The piece falls under Wells’ definition of a formal animation – it plays with and manipulates the ideas of what animation is, and uses the form of animation as the aesthetic. By blending all kinds of animation styles and genres, the video manages to create an aura of overall fantasty and other-worldness. Parts of the video are also abstract, as they consist of only shapes, colours, and glitches, rather than disernable images. These elements also add to the sense of illusion, and tie in with the idea that the main character is experiencing an induced high, as there is little continuity in the style of the animation. It could also be said that the video has aspects of paradigmatic animation, as it draws from previously existing pieces of media, such as 90s computer graphics. There are flashes of error messages, the wifi symbol, and other elements that make it highly stylised to the 80s, 90s and early 2000s.