Research Into Diversity Of Music Videos - Miss Miller

Music videos are typically very generic to the particular genre and artist and the image they are aiming to display. For example artists like Britney Spears have also appeared very generic to the solo pop artist. She is often seen wearing very revealing outfits, followed by performing very sexualised dance moves to accompany the music video, This allows her to be 'safe' going along with typical expectations the audience would expect to see in a pop genre music video. The opposite to being this typical generic character in the music industry is being diverse. This is when the portrayal of the artist and there performance is displayed in a very abstract way that differs to the typical act of being a girly female pop artists or a typical dance boy band. It all differs in the way the artists aims to be ported in a particular music video, but there can be advantages to how diverse a music video is. This could be because audience members are able to watch a diverse video and like the different elements that the artist has included, for example if the audience are able to see a new side to there artist it may create a lot of press and attention on the artist for being very abstract. Furthermore it could also go the complete opposite way and create a very certain future for the artist, because if the audience does not favour to a 'different' and unconventional music video then the sales may not be successful. Two very abstract music video directors are Chris Cunningham and Michel Gondry. Chris Cunningham was born on the 15th of October 1970. He is known best by directing the music videos for Autechre and Aphex Twin. Michel Gondry however is a French director, born 8th of May, 1963. He has directed some feature length films but his main music video directions are for the music talents The Chemical Brothers and The White Stripes.  

Madonnas video of her song frozen was directed by Chris Cunningham, he doesn't rely on the typical conventions of the modern music industry to make his music videos very individual and specific to his own vision of the artist. Madonna is a typical pop artist that consists of very happy and upbeat songs. Usually classed as being the queen of pop, seen in very revealing outfits and bright, inviting songs. This is very different to her song Frozen. This is because the ideology of Frozen is very dark whereas the actual type of music and song that is normally represented with Madonna is very different. She is normally very mainstream and displays a happier atmosphere compared to a dark, depressing way of performing.

In continuation from Madonna being typically known as being more bright and inviting in her clothes. In contrast to this in the particular video of frozen, she is seen in head to toe black. The mise-en-scene, in particular the costume and make up is not as bright and inviting as her usual music videos and goes against the common conventions by being very cold and unwelcoming. Due to it being a different type of music video loyal fans that follow Madonna may find it harder to approach her or relate to her as they have to think about whats going on in the video more then another typical pop video. Although it may also turn the other way, as Madonna is known for not being very serious this powerful ballad may be an eye-opener to the audience and they may be able to relate to the heartbreak in this music video and this will allow them to be more understanding to her and relate to her emotion that she has decided to be brave enough to release to the audience on a more personal level. 

The repetition of the crows create a very dark and gloomy atmosphere. The particular bird is associated with bad luck and darkness. Which are a good connotation to add to her music video as she is trying to include things that relate to the storyline of her being heartbroken and 'frozen.' Her video is being portrayed as very mysterious and frightening rather then the typical happy and uplifting pop song where she is able to perform to the audience directly by adding dance moves and having a more clear narrative. The location of the particular video is not in a bright area with lots of people which immediately makes it different from any type of specific pop music video, that Madonna may have been inclined to make before, this makes it immediately more inviting if there are bright lights and a lot more people which differs to Madonnas 'frozen' location as the area is very isolated and darkly lit which creates a very erie atmosphere for the audience. In addition to this it doesn't display a very warm or inviting atmosphere like a common pop music video would. The audience may expect to see more valuable objects in the music video, as pop genre may typically try to show off the wealth and property that they own, but here Madonna has tried to stick to the more dark and mysterious atmosphere.

The cinematography, in particular, the close ups of her face display how Goodwin's theory is demonstrated in this diverse music video. The audience are able to see how her facial expressions can account to her emotions, overall helping to show her true feelings to the audience by building up a relationship in this very cold song. The audience see themselves being able to relate to the artist as she is now not just showing off her body and her talent but she is letting herself be displayed as someone who is willing to let her audience see a true insight into her life. The majority of this song is performance as she is ultimately singing to the audience, which fits in with the typical conventions of the song, as the lyrics can be very relateable as it is about having a broken heart, something that many people will experience in there life, although the particular dance moves are very majestic and almost witch like, which can resemble to the audience what love and heartbreak can do to a person, even a celebrity who is typically very pop and happy in her music videos.

 Her behaviour appears very insecure which may relate to the lyrics by portraying a darker side to the relationship she is in. She continuously covers her face in this video which is also very mysterious as it continuously displays her as being very closed and hidden. This displays to the audience that even though she normally is very happy, that money isn't everything as it doesn't always get you a happy ending. This is reassuring to the audience as most of them wont have access to this sort of money and then they will be able to build a relationship with her as they see themselves on a similar level to her for once as she seems to be very dark and insecure with herself which can be related to mental illnesses such as depression that a lot of people can suffer with, this means that as a result the audience will most likely enjoy this new side to Madonna as she turns away slightly from her typical vibrant and confident presentation in her other videos.

Madonna was only one example of Chris Cunningham's creations. Apex Twin has a number of videos that where available to Chris Cunningham's imagination. Being a trance video you would typically expect bright neon lights and other standard club settings such as strobe lights and loud sound effects, followed by visual effects of crowds of people. This is not necessary the case in this music video as the beginning of the music video contains a conversation of two men in a car not a typical convention of a particular trance video as it had aspects of humour not so much the very liberating party atmosphere which is typical in these particular videos. 

The weird sexual gestures are very shocking to the audience as they may either find this humorous or find it too weird for there liking. This is what overall will be the thing that will cause a lot of publicity towards the music video. Even if people don't like it and find it very strange they are still more likely to talk about it and this will ultimately lead in it spreading and becoming a lot more popular to talk about. There is a hidden narrative within this music video that responds well with the diverse nature of the music video. This is seen through the representation of the girls only wanting to associate themselves with rich men. This is seen through the girls attitude change when they are presented with a huge limo and other more expensive things seen in the music video. They appear as being able to be manipulated by the artist making him appear as someone who is very powerful. This ultimately shows what type of image the artist is trying to give off, not only is he trying to display himself in a better way but he is giving his opinion of women that follow this way of life and almost making fun of the whole situation just through creating a very diverse music video.

The high class lifestyle in the video such as the limo may be liked and admired by the audience and result in a very exciting relationship being formed. The artist in this video is represented as very sexual due to the moves he performs to the camera being apart of Goodwin's theory the actions he actually performs correlates to him being very sexual after all as it fits in with the beat of the music. This again contrasts with the typical trance videos. The diverseness of Chris Cunningham's particular abstractness can be seen through the portrayal of the artist. You are able to see the particular artist with a photo shopped picture on his face. 

Another one of Chris Cunningham's videos is another one of Apex Twins performance. This video 'Come To Daddy' is a very strange and some what twisted video as you are able to see children being portrayed in a trance type of genre. You wouldn't expect to see children at such a young age to be displayed in a mature song and video. This will straight away cause more attention over the video as it is not very conventional or expected from the usual audience. This is overall used in a effective way as it is able to create a dysfunctional representation of the children and create more hype for the video itself. The lyrics 'Come to Daddy' is also another aspect that Chris added to create a very disturbed atmosphere. The audience will then see the artist as someone who is willing to take risks and be able to adapt to the crazy setting and if they like it they will be inclined to learn more about the artist and this will overall increase his audience and improve his chances of making more money.

The particular genre that this artist is not as easily recognised in this music video as he is not focusing so much on the partying and raving type of people, in fact the artist shows an elderly woman in his video. This is unconventional and very diverse as you would not expect to see this particular type of age in the music video and you would eventually be shocked by it. This is also continued by the children running. Again not a particular age group that would be suitable in a place that played this type of music e.g a club or rave. Although there is a main reason for this as the artists inner message is to display the children as being manipulated by technology and so forth. This allows the audience to be opened up to his message but in a particular way that isn't normally expected. 

The repetition of the photo-shopped faces is also present in this video of Apex Twins. This acts as a very diverse concept for the audience as it will be rather unique to see an adult face on a child's body, this particular type of combination contribute to the very diverse presentation of the music video. The lyrics ' I Will Eat Your Soul' is another thing that adds to the tension of being very disturbing it is something that the audience will not really be able to relate well with in the music video and it will result in them investigating the lyric meaning, this relates to good wins theory as the lyrics have a particular meaning and much the diversity of the music video. The adding of the television screens is also very in particular frightening as it displays real issues such as social media and the effects it has on the audience and the children in the video. This is a common convention of a diverse music video, as it is common for it to be displayed as very concerning to real life problems as well as just advertising for the artists own good.

Michael Gondry is less of a extravagant performer, the song 'Come into my World'. Kylie is a more girly and feminine performer. Her main focus in the majority of her videos was to be a promiscuous dancer and display  a very appeasing visual atmosphere to her audience. The videos are normally very upbeat and exciting to watch, Gondry follows this theme in this particular video, Kylie is seen performing continuously throughout this video. In a street setting that allows the audience to relate to her strongly. Her character is seen being repeated over and over again during each verse.

One particular recognised unconventional part of the video is seen when she wears very ordinary clothes, Her plain costume allows the audience to see her as very normal and not as some successful celebrity. This works well in advertisement as it allows her to conquer her image as being superior and allows a relationship to be built to her fans as they are able to represent her as a true and down to earth person. Goodwin's theory is also regularly repeated throughout Gondry's video presentation. There are plenty of typical solo pop artist conventions when Kylie sings and performs to the audience, this allows the audience to feel like they have some sort of connection to her. They almost feel heavily involved as they are able to see her singing towards them as well as doing day to day tasks such as picking up her dry cleaning and walking through a normal busy street that the majority of her audience will identify with. 

Overall Godry's portrayal of Kylie allows her to feel like she is able to a normal character in society. Although she is famous and successful, the way she is presented by Godry allows the audience to feel very connected to her even more so then they would in a typical conventional video perhaps. This is due to the fact that he has added a lot of every day normalises that allow the audience to relate with her for example when she is getting her dry cleaning. This is something that lots of people do all the time, they will then feel more connected with her for a number of reasons including the fact that she is able to be seen doing lots of 'normal' things. In addition to this Gondry makes it look purposely like this is what she gets up to all the time this is due to the fact that there are so many of her walking around the town doing the same things 'everyday.'

Although Michael Gondry's does display diverse videos there are not as intense as Cunningham's due to the disturbing nature of his. As a director Gondry also worked with the band The White Stripes. Being a rock band they decided to also have cloning in the video, but this time not of the artist but with the particular instruments used in a rock band. This is conventional to the genre as it is competitive instruments that are constantly repeated. Goodwin's theory is also introduced in the particular video as the main artist is able to sing and perform to the audience. 

Although it is also unconventional to the genre as the typical rock band song is introduced and played in a very compact setting on a stage. This may also have fans and a live audience singing in the crowd to liven up the atmosphere of being very successful and real to the rock genre. In contrast to this we are able to see the two playing in a very abandoned city setting which again is a more diverse aspect of the video and rock genre.

The colours do actually remain fairly conventional to the rock genre as he are able to see the two colours black and red contrast with each other. Both of these colours are seen as either very threatening or dangerous and this fits in with the typical judgements of a rock artist as they are usually very wild and do not stick to the everyday morals of 'normal' people. The performance based element although manipulated to appear diverse is still very stereotypical in the sense that it does show the audience that the band members are very talented and are still able to perform to a particular standard which shows them as being able to play instruments and sing at the same time. Although the setting is very diverse being in a very public but peaceful area the appearance of the artist still remains typical to the rock genre. This is due to the fact that the artist was dark make up under his eyes and this connotes his attitude as being quite rebellious and outrageous to society just like the typical rock genre tend to try and do. 

After seeing and being able to analyse the two videos I have learnt that both Cunningham and Gondry are both talented while trying to produce a diverse video. They both go against the typical conventions of there typical genres. Cunningham is more extreme in his diverseness. He is able to take an inner message and create a very intense visual effect on the screen. For example taking more innocently perceived characters like the children and having them be rather aggressive and intensely violent, not filling the typical innocent child role. This is because of the strong message that media is ruining and consuming the children's life's. As a director and creator he tends to stick to more of the intense side of the diverse scale. He does this to try and create as much attention around the music video as possible and this is what makes them successful and popular. Gondrys style still follows similar guidelines but he is not as diverse when portraying his artists. He remains to go against the conventions but in a way that implies that he is trying to be unique and not too bizarre. For example he will try to lead away from the typical mise-en-scene that matches the conventions like the costume in Kylies video isn't as typically revealing compared to other pop videos and compared to other music videos of her genre although he still tries to show her as being different and relates to the audience. Overall his style is more positive and subtle and a lot easier for the audience to relate to as it is easier to understand as a whole. In my own video I am more likely to follow Gondrys as he less likely to be more extravagant and I believe his way of presenting films is a lot more effective and easier for myself to follow, which is why overall I believe that his style would work better with what I have planned for my music video as my main focus in my music video is to be able to have the audience relate well to the music video and Gondry is able to present a true and genuine image of what I want to achieve in my own music video.