Diverse music videos are videos that usually go against conventions and are targeted at niche audiences rather than the mainstream audience. Particular genres of music are prone to creating diverse music videos, for example, rock, alternative, and some dance genres are likely to create music videos that are likely to create a response from the audience, and the mainstream audience are likely to react with confusion and uncertainty due to them being familiar with conventional music videos that include common themes and easy narratives.
Diverse music videos are also likely to be concept and performance based, with the concept being unclear, causing the audience to find it difficult to identify with.
Famous directors of diverse music videos include:
Chris Cunningham:
Chris Cunningham is a British video artist, and has directed many diverse music videos for popular artists. He has worked with the likes of Madonna, Aphex Twins and Bjork etc, with their videos winning music video awards. For example, his video for Aphex Twins, 'Windowlicker' was nominated for the 'Best Video' award at the Brit Awards 2000. He also directed Madonna's 'Frozen' video which became an international hit and won the award for 'Best special effects' at the 1998 MTV Music Video Awards. Cunningham has been extremely successful in his work and as a result he has transitioned between the film and TV industry. Cunningham's music videos can be associated with Hebdige's theory which states that there are subcultures evident within our society, which are little cultures in their own rights and beliefs. Cunningham's music videos reflect his as they appeal to a niche audience.
Examples of popular videos Cunningham has directed includes:
Bjork- 'All is full of love'
Cunningham directed this diverse music video, which included
robots, and a distinctive narrative which consisted of a two robots finding
love. The star image was extremely unique, however focused on the artist and
was a pure and honest representation of her. The relationship between the
images and the audience is uncommon as it leaves the mainstream audience react
with uncertainty and confusion, however, Bjork's loyal fans are likely to watch
the video and appreciate her work and her as an artist due to them identifying
her as a unique artist with a unique style. Bjork explains that the music video
revolves around love and lust which is evident throughout the video, as the two
robots find love and make love to each other. This video challenge common conventions
due to lacking characteristics, such as real characters being evident in the
video and the music matching the visuals. I believe the video is different and
intrigues the audience because it shows obscure and experimental imagery,
leaving them in awe and wonder, it /also fulfils its purpose which is to
revolve around love. The theme of love and lust is portrayed in an
unconventional manner, which is more interesting and was thought out well.
Aphex Twins- Come To Daddy
Cunningham directed Aphex Twins' music video 'Come to daddy'
which is a niche music video, that is based on rebellion and riot. There is no
sign of a narrative with a clear beginning, middle and end. The characters are
obscure and surreal which consist of an old woman, her dog, and male dwarfs
dressed as females, which is confusing and may be perceived negatively by the
mainstream audience, as they may see the content and images as disturbing.
Therefore, this music video is targeted at the Aphex Twins' loyal fans and a
niche audience who are able to understand their work. Although the music video
does not appeal to a mass audience the video was still perceived as successful as
it was nominated for 'Best video' at MTV Europe Music Award and for 'Best
Visual Effects' at MTV Video Music Awards. I believe that the music video fits
into the category or diverse music videos as it does not consist of popular
conventions, instead it does the complete opposite and there is no real message
behind the video. The music video can be considered as controversial due to
particular images, such as the dwarfs being dressed as females, and their
'daddy' wearing almost nothing.
Aphex Twins- Flex
Cunningham also directed Aphex Twins music video 'Flex'
which is also a diverse music video made for a 15-minute film loop. The characters
of this video are a couple who seems to be deformed and naked, in a curled up
position. There is no clear narrative or performance, as there is no star image
visible. The couple are fighting and having sex at the same time which
reinforces uncertainty for the audience. The images create a confused response
from the mainstream audience, and they react by feeling uncomfortable by the
images displayed. However, the Apex Twins loyal fans are likely to see this as
normal than his other music videos due to a lack of exposed content. This video
also causes controversy due to the content being inappropriate for the
mainstream audience, as it consists of naked people and physical contact.
Therefore, the film was given an 18 certificate by the BBFC.
Cunningham has reoccurring characteristics within his work which are evident in the above music videos, these include:
- Unclear star image
- Deformity
- Low key lighting
- Lack of star image
- Weird locations
- Works with niche genres of music (Rock, Indie, Alternative)
These characteristics are not likely to be found in mainstream music videos, and therefore, this is what makes these diverse music videos different. Despite receiving criticism for particular choices he has made in the music videos, Cunningham is also seen as a successful director as his videos have been appreciated and nominated/ rewarded for their effects and outcomes. In my opinion, Cunningham's work proves an important point, that music videos do not have to make sense and stick to conventions in order to be successful, he proves that being different, unique, and reflecting are enough to make a music video successful. Although some of decisions are weird and do not make sense, I believe his work is artful.
Michel Gondry:
Michel Gondry is a french director, screenwriter and producer and has been responsible for creating diverse music videos for popular artists. He has worked with mainstream artists including; Chemical Brothers, White Stripes, Kylie Minogue, The Rolling Stones, Daft Punk, etc. These artists wanted diversity evident within their music videos to make a change to appeal broader audience. This theory particularly applies to Kylie Minogue who created music videos that were mainstream and appealed to the mainstream audience, but then decided to seek help from Gondry to target her video at a different audience culture. Gondry's work has been extremely successful, for example, the successful collaboration with Bjork led to him directing seven of her music videos, including 'Human behaviour' and 'Bachelorette'.
Some diverse videos Michel Gondry has directed includes:
Kylie Minogue- Come into my world
Gondry directed Minogue's music video, 'Come into my world'
which was diverse due to the repetitive performance and the star image being
unique. The characters consist of the female artist who is performing, by
singing and dancing and then cloned numerous times, with the narrative
repeating itself each time. The artist’s representation is subtle and stripped
back which differs from her other music videos, in which the artist looks more
glamorous and dressy. The prolonged use of cinematography also makes the video
diverse, along with the special effects which required 15 days for producers to
complete. Despite the video being different it still appeals to the mainstream
audience due to being from a popular genre: pop. This music video was honoured
with a Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording in 2004. I think the video was
diverse, and resulted in a successful outcome as the effects enhanced the video
making it likeable and unique.
Gary Jules- Mad World
Gondry also directed Gary Jules's music video 'Mad World' which is portrayed as a low budget video due to the lack of mise en scene and basic editing. The video is repetitive, rhythmic and subtle with the pace of song matching the editing, which involves no cuts. Star image is evident with the artist singing from the top of a building looking over the people creating the different pictures, although the camera does not specifically focus on him. The music video is concept and performance based, with no narrative evident. The music video proved to make success as the song was included in the commercial to the video game, 'Gears of War' in 2006, and also peaking to third in the UK Singles (official chart company). Despite a basic location and a lack of glamour involved, the video is portrayed as diverse due to being different from mainstream videos, and the repetition that occurs.
Daft Punk- Around The World
Gondry directed Daft Punk's music video, 'Around The World' which is a concept based video that consists of various groups of dancers dressed up in different outfits and dancing to the song. There is no star image evident, however, the video intrigues the audience due to the various colours that make the video look bright and upbeat. The video is diverse as it is from a niche genre: french house, and differs from mainstream videos which usually consist of a star image and are performance based as well as concept or narrative based. Gondry used 'Around the World' as his first attempt to bring organised dancing to his music videos, and he portrayed each group of dancers as representing a certain musical instrument, for example, he claimed that the skeletons represented a singing voice and the mummies represented a drum machine which is an intelligent idea and reinforces the diversity of the video. This music video was extremely successful as it reached number one in the dance charts and was awarded an MTV music award for 'Best Video' in 1997 and a Grammy Award for 'Best Dance Recording' in 2000.
Reoccurring characteristics evident within Gondry's work includes:
Out of the two directors, Gondry is my favourite one as his work is diverse yet can still appeal to a niche and mainstream audience, due to it not being overly controversial or overly inappropriate. He uses simplistic location and clever narrative or ideas which appeal to me and find it interesting, whcih is also effectively portrayed to an audience, giving it more emphasis and allowing excitement to build for an audience.
- Low budget locations
- Clever visual twists
- Visualisation of instruments
- Repetition
- Concept based videos
- No/ Simple star image
Out of the two directors, Gondry is my favourite one as his work is diverse yet can still appeal to a niche and mainstream audience, due to it not being overly controversial or overly inappropriate. He uses simplistic location and clever narrative or ideas which appeal to me and find it interesting, whcih is also effectively portrayed to an audience, giving it more emphasis and allowing excitement to build for an audience.
Advantages and disadvantages of diverse music videos:
Advantages:
- Creates hype for the audience
- Portrays individual style- Allows directors and artists to be creative and unique when making the music video.
- Visually appealing- Diverse music videos are likely to be more appealing to the eye due to their different characteristics and effects contrasting with mainstream music videos.
- Infinitive film making style
- Reinvent an artists star image- If an artist feels their music career is in jeopardy, creating a diverse music video is likely to reinvent their image, forming their popularity again. For example, Kylie Minogue turned to Gondry to reinvent her image, and to seek popularity again.
- Entertaining- Diverse music videos are more likely to be entertaining to watch due to them differing from mainstream videos, and containing artful effects.
- Mentally challenging
- Gives the artist an intellectual sense
- Artist can have a niche audience
- Abstract comes to life
Disadvantages:
- Controversial content- In order to make particular music videos diverse, directors may add controversial content that could cause criticism, and could lead to the music video failing.
- Some people may not understand- If the video is diverse and does not make sense, some people may not understand the content or themes.
- Videos may not gain viewings from a mainstream audience- Diverse music videos usually appeal to the niche audience, due to them being from niche genres.
- Risky- Diverse music videos can be expensive to create and it could be risky as it may not be successful.
- Video can be at risk of getting censored- If the video contains controversial content the video may be at risk of getting censored, preventing it from being viewed by a mainstream audience.
- Distressing visuals- The music videos may contain distressing images that the audience may be uncomfortable watching. For example, this is evident in Apex Twins, 'Come to Daddy'.
- Can ruin an artists reputation- If the music video is to diverse for the audiences liking, and it proves to be unsuccessful, an artists reputation can be ruined rather than enhanced.
- Certain audiences may find the diverse videos bizarre
Should diverse music videos stay away from mainstream music culture?
People argue that diverse music videos should stay away from
the popular culture and mainstream audiences. This because of the many
disadvantages that come with the diverse music videos. However, I believe that
diversity in the mainstream music video industry deserve to be identified for
their unique nature, rather than being categorised as mainstream. Right now,
the mainstream music videos dominate the charts, which makes the niche audience
feel neglected. In addition, many mainstream music videos still have aspects of
diversity therefore it is hard to label these and shouldn’t be banned from the
mainstream culture as they take an active part in the evolution of music
videos.
Conclusion:
Overall, I have learnt that diverse music videos exist and contain niche characteristics which distinguishes them from mainstream music videos. After researching Cunningham and Gondry's work, I have identified certain similarities they portray within their videos which is using their imaginations to create diverse videos. I believe that in my music video I will make sure that i will try to follow Gondry's techniques and video style-making since I find it interesting and will appeal to my target audience. I will also ensure that I challenge some of the conventions of the rock genre to allow me experiment for my final product. This is because i would like to create something different which stands out from mainstream music video as well as appealing a broader audience.
No comments:
Post a Comment