Michel Gondry is a French film director, screenwriter and producer. Gondry has directed both film and music videos and his noted for his unique innovative style and trademark manipulation of mise-en-scene. He directed 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' for which he won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay - moreover, the film is often regarded as one of the best films of the 00's. In regards to his direction of music videos, he is best known for his collaborations with The Chemical Brothers, The White Stripes, Kanye West and Bjork.
My favorite music videos directed by Gondry are 'Heard 'Em Say' by Kanye West, 'Star Guitar' by The Chemical Brothers and 'Around The World' by Daft Punk. I noted similarities in all three music videos in that there is a consistent theme and miss-en-scene present throughout the video. The music video for 'Star Guitar' is one single shot taken from a train, the video offers a minimalistic approach to direction however due to the obscurity of one single shot throughout, it captivates the viewer and is effective in promoting the video as it leaves the viewer thinking about the film and the song regardless of whether they enjoy and appreciate the video itself. 'Heard 'Em Say' is also an effective music video which displays a consistent theme - the video is divided between performance by Kanye and Adam Levine, and animation; the entire music video is filmed in black and white including the animation. The animation is interesting due to adult themes and connotations which juxtaposes the animations which at first seem child friendly (an example of this is the animated child smoking a cigarette).
Gondry, along with David Fincher and Spike Jonze, are examples of the influx of music video directors that have ventured into the direction of feature film as well. Gondry is also noted for his direction of commercials; the commercial 'Drugstore' for Levi's 501 Jeans holds a Guinness World Record for 'Most Awards Won by a TV Commercial'. Gondry has been particularly successful in this industry and his ability to promote products and brand identity is an extremely valuable trait that he has transferred into his direction of music videos. Ultimately, the purpose of music videos is to promote songs and artists in order to increase their number of sales. and Gondry has been successful in promoting artists through his music videos.
No comments:
Post a Comment