Research into Diversity of Music Videos

WHY WOULD AN ARTIST CHOOSE TO CREATE A DIVERSE MUSIC VIDEO?

'Diverse' means 'to show a great deal of variety.' Some things that make a music video diverse would be; strong narratives, big celebrities, unique clothing, behaviour, setting and iconography etc. Diverse music videos appeal to some audiences because they are clearly breaking typical conventions and inventing something completely original that has never been done before. Some audiences admire this, however the majority of audiences can't relate to it, nevertheless, the music video would always be remembered by audiences whether they like it or not.

CHRIS CUNNINGHAM

Chris Cunningham is a British director music video film director and is know for making extremely diverse and strange music videos which completely go against the theories of Andrew Goodwin and Richard Dyer. Cunningham has previously and primarily directed music videos for ambient music and Autechre and Aphex Twin. His most well-known music video is most probably one that he directed for Aphex Twin called "Come To Daddy."  "Come To Daddy" is a dance music video/short film however it doesn't follow the typical codes and conventions of a dance music video. For example, there is no club setting, no strobe lighting or 'party atmosphere'. Instead it follows a fantasy/nightmare style however still maintains fast pace editing. It is an extremely diverse music video that would not be played on MTV as it could be frightening from some audiences. The entire music video is narrative based therefore has no representation of the artist, this also goes against the theories of Goodwin and Dyer. Although this music video is extremely diverse and is difficult for the audience to relate to, it is however very memorable and makes audiences remember the song.

Chris Cunningham also directed the music video to Madonna's "Frozen". The style of the video comes across as very gothic as there are many black surroundings. For example; Madonna's hair and clothing is black, plus there are black crows which appear to play a big part in the music video.

Madonna's original image.

Madonna's reinvented image.

This music video doesn't really meet the codes and conventions of a pop song, however there is a relationship between the visuals and the song, for example, this is a very dark music video which represents and promotes a very dark song. I predicted the music video to be performance based (90%) and narrative based (10%). Although this music video goes against most of the theories of Andrew Goodwin, it does prove one of Richard Dyer's paradox's to be correct. Dyer believes that a star's image is incoherent, meaning that it is incomplete and open, therefore, stars are constantly changing their image to please their audience. In fact, Madonna is famous for constantly changing her music and her image, attaining popularity by pushing the boundaries of her lyrical content and her imagery in her music videos. Far from the rebellious and glamour rock image that she displayed in the 80's, Madonna presents a very dark, emotional, and disrupted image in her music video 'Frozen.' She does this to widen her fan base and to attract audiences who like darker songs and music videos. It is evident that Chris Cunningham admires and continues to rebel against the codes and conventions of pop music videos.

MICHEL GONDRY

Michel Gondry is an Academy-Award winning French filmmaker who specialises in commerical directing, screenwriting and music video directing. Like Cunningham, Gondry is also well-known for his inventive visual styles and his manipulation of mise-en-scene. Michel Gondry has directed many music videos for Bjork and The White Stripes. A well-known video of his is "The Hardest Button to Button" by The White Stripes. This is a completely performance based music video.

Unlike Cunningham, Gondry's videos do display some of the theories of Andrew Goodwin, however is is still nevertheless a very unique and diverse music video as it is still not what you would expect from a popular rock music video. "The Hardest Button to Button" follows Goodwin's belief that a music video  should demonstrate genre characteristics. This music video is a stereotypical rock music video as it contains iconic 'rock' colours such as black and red. The artist's also display a very rough and edgy style with dark messy hair and skinny jeans, which is conventional to the rock genre. Another Goodwin theory that is used is the relationship between the music and the visuals as the instruments that are being played in the song are the same instruments that appear on screen. However, it doesn't have much of a range in cinematography, editing styles or performance/narrative elements. The music video is very repetitive, purely made up of short clips that are cut together where the drummer moves slightly each time. Another theory of Andrew Goodwin that is demonstrated is how the music matches the visuals.  This is evident through the jump cut transitions that are used - they are precisely in sync with the beat of the song. Even though this video demonstrates some of Goodwin's theories, it still doesn't have much of a range in cinematography, editing styles or performance/narrative elements. The music video is very repetitive, purely made up of short clips that are cut together where the drummer moves slightly each time. The repetition is not conventional to a rock music video, however the colours, clothing, instruments and 'heavy vibe' are.

Michael Gondry also directed the music video to Kylie Minogue's "Come into my World." Again, this music video follows a few of Andrew Goodwin's theories but still maintains a unique edge. Unlike Cunningham's unconventional music videos, this video demonstrates genre characteristics that are related to the pop genre, such as; realistic locations and characters, typical clothing, and an overall sense of normality. I estimated the music video as 90% performance based and 10% narrative based. The music video follows Kylie strolling around a city block. Every time she completes a circuit of the area another Kylie appears. This happens everytime she sings "come into my world", therefore relates to Goodwin's belief that the visuals should link to the lyrics. By the end of the music video there are four Kylie's - also the background extras are depicted four times. Even though the music video consists of a diverse narrative, it still maintains a sense of normality as the mise-en-scene is very ordinary. This sense of normality and demonstration of typical genre characteristics allows the target audience to relate to this music video.

There are advantages and disadvantages of using Cunningham and Gondry's methods of creating diverse music videos. The positive outcomes of creating such a diverse music video is that is extremely memorable, meaning that audiences will remember the song, the artist and the director, ultimately promoting them. Not only does their style of music video grab a lot of attention, but because of it's individuality, diverse directors like Gondry and Cunningham become trend-setters. However on the other hand, the diverse work from Michel Gondry and Chris Cunningham can be difficult to understand, therefore audiences can't relate to it and consequently have no interest in the music video, director or artist. This is why music videos that follow Goodwin's theory are so popular as audiences can relate to them, ultimately being classed as 'mainstream'. I personally believe that Chris Cunningham's intentions are to rebel against the mainstream as the diversity within his music videos is so severe. However, I think that Michel Gondry's outcomes are to create new ideologies within his work in order to come across as original and unique. In conclusion, I believe that whether diverse music videos come across as weird or unique, or whether they are relatable or not, I still believe that they are memorable and promote the directors as well as the music. I think there is a place for diverse music videos in the music industry they would entertain a certain subcultural audience who prefer music videos that don't follow the mainstream.