Michel Gondry has worked with some very big artists, including Bjork, Beck and Daft Punk and I will be evaluating his style and the conventions that he uses in his music videos. Gondry has directed many music videos and is mostly known for creating a surreal setting within videos or using special effects.
The first video that I will be looking at is Let Forever Be by The Chemical Brothers. The music video for ‘Let Forever Be’ was directed by Gondry in 1999. The music video is a depiction of a young woman’s nightmares and was innovatively directed with the video featuring no cuts, instead, transitions by using special effects. In the video there are some references to the dance sequence ‘Dames’.
When the music video starts, it’s a handheld shot looking down on a street. Immediately, the camera pans over to a man who starts to play the drums, linking the music to the visuals. The camera then focusses on what is going in in the flat where it is being filmed from. We see repetition here, seeing several of the same alarm clock and woman. The women then starts dancing in sync with each other. A lot of the special effects are done on the camera, for example, when it shows the same clip several times on the screen however some of the visuals later on are done by clever prop and set design. I like the music video I think that it goes well with the genre of the song and the special effects were ground-breaking for the time, and show the same thing happening to the same person multiple times.
The video uses a lot of tracking shots, and tripod shots. Not many of the shots are handheld and although the concept is a women’s nightmares, the video doesn’t seem scary, however sometimes a bit delusional with the special effects that Gondry used. A lot of the colours are dark with the women’s clothes being a contrast to background colours. For example, there is a scene where she is wearing bright pink and silver and the background is black. There isn’t really any significance in lighting in the video, particularly as the video is fast paced and cutting between different shots. The video is mainly concept based as the band are not featured performing in it. The audience would be for ages 16-30, in particular, fans of pop.
The next video that I will be focussing on is Kylie Minogue’s Come Into My World, released in 2002. The lyrics of the song talk about how she would like a man who she likes to come in her world, hence the title of the song. The repetition is also visible in this song, making it a trademark for Gondry. Gondry got the idea of magician and decided to film it with motion control to depict different perspectives on one person’s world. The song has some of the normal conventions found in other pop songs such as a positive atmosphere, lyrics are based around love, it applies to young people and the artist is the main focus. The promotion of the song also follows the trend of pop music and music videos, being promoted on TV, radio and in magazines. The music video would be used to promote the song. Gondry’s unique style in this video increased the popularity of it and made it one of Kylie’s most notable hits making it the 14th best music video of the 2000’s. The theme of the song is about her world and her love going into her world. As the camera was motion controlled, the shots are the same throughout, which is a mixture of close-up shots and wide angle ones. The speed of the camera and the pacing of the video, is quite slow. No shots are fast paced despite Kylie running at one bit, as she has to run around a car. There is no particular colour scheme as some of the buildings are bright colours whereas some are quite bleak. Kylie, making it concept based, is wearing a pink top with grey trousers. She is quite clear from the other actors. There is no voyeurism with her outfit, which although is a young person’s style, is still not sexually attractive. This would attract younger people more, who the target audience is.
The final video that I am evaluating is Hardest Button to Button by The White Stripes. Gondry directed the music video for this song in 2003. He stuck with his theme of repetition in this, making it immediately identifiable as one of his works. The song talks about a child who tries to find a place in a dysfunctional and troublesome family, until a new baby comes. The video used the pixilation animation technique to create the effect of dozens of drum kits and guitar amplifiers multiplying to the beat of the song as Jack and Meg perform. For example, in one sequence, Meg is seen playing the bass drum at a train station. On every beat, a new drum appears and she instantly appears behind it to play that beat, leaving all the previous drums vacant.
The final video is edited to include the drum beats with the sequence reversed, making it appear as if the drums are being added to the beat, appearing out of thin air. Gondry used 32 identical drum kits, 32 identical amplifiers, and 16 identical microphone stands during the shoot. Although the theme of the video isn’t the happiest, the visuals don’t particularly deceit this.
The main colours are red and black which are associated with danger and trouble, however the visuals are scary or disturbing. The video doesn’t have a lot of close-up shots and they are always on a tripod. It would have been a lot harder for Gondry to achieve his effect with a handheld camera. The majority of the lighting is natural, particularly as it is mainly set outside. The pacing of the video is quite quick as it is in time with the beat of the video. The video is a mixture of narrative and performance based, however it is mainly performance based as we see the band playing in the video. This video would be for marketing the song however it would also promote the artist as they are in the song. The target audience would be 20-30 year olds who like this style of rock.
In conclusion, I like the work that Michel Gondry has produced as it is innovative, unique and different. The music videos are really engaging and because of this, you watch them again and remember the song. The videos all promote the song and fit well with them. He has a unique style of being repetitive which is shown in the videos that I looked at. As they are different, they will promote the song, artist and Gondry more.
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