Research: Gondry and Cunnigham's Diverse Music Videos

Gondry and Cunnigham's Diverse Music Video

What are diverse music videos?

The term diverse music video is the term usually to describe music videos that don't follow the traditional conventions, they are often targeted at niche audiences rather than mainstream audiences. There are certain music genres of music that are prone to creating diverse music videos for example, rock, alternative, indie, tech and some dance genres are more likely to create music videos that are likely to create a response from the audience for their different characteristics. This is more likely to create music videos that are likely to create a response from mainstream audiences because it goes against the norms and values demonstrated by mainstream music videos and they might respond in confusion and uncertainty because of the unfamiliar music video conventions.

Diverse music videos are also more likely to be concept and performance based, with the concept being unclear that may cause the audience to find difficult in identifying them.

These diverse music videos are directed by specific directors that are able to make the music video have their own unique twist or style, differing from the mainstream conventions from mainstream music videos. Famous directors of diverse music videos include:

Chris Cunningham

Chris Cunningham is a British video artist who has directed many diverse music videos for many
popular artists such as Madonna, Aphex Twins and Bjork etc, also winning a proud amount of awards for their music videos.

For example:

• The Aphex Twins'Windowlicker' was nominated at the 2000 Brit awards for the 'Best Video'
• Cunnigham has also directed Madonna's 'Frozen' music video which became an international hit and won the award for 'Best Special Effects' at the 1998 MTV music video awards.

Cunnigham has been extremely successful in his work and because of this, he has transitioned towards 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 the cultures in their own rights and beliefs.

Some examples of popular videos Cunnigham has directed include:

• Bjork - All is Full of Love: In this music video directed by Cunnigham, the narrative revolves around a female robot being built and then finding love with a male robot. This star image is particularly unique although it is focused on the artist demonstrating a pure and honest representation of her. The relationship between the visuals and audience is uncommon as it leaves them mesmerised by the unique narrative. Mainstream viewers are more likely to react with the uncertainty and confusion as you don't usually see this in mainstream music videos however, Bjork's loyal fans are likely to watch the video and appreciate her work to the fullest as they have a distinctive style that they are able to identify her from. Bjork decided to work with Cunnigham as she believed that his unique style was similar to hers and therefore they are able to work together a create something they both can watch enjoyably. She further explains that her music video has the theme of love and lust which is evident throughout the video as the two robots find and make love to each other which also highlights their feelings they have for each other. This music video certainly goes against traditional music video conventions as Cunnigham did have his doubts due to the lack of common characteristics that draw audiences in. This happens because of the music videos niche approach, trip hop. Through the unique and pleasing to the eye visuals, I believe that the music video is able to intrigue audiences as it could leave them in awe and wonder. Moreover, it also fulfils its purpose of the theme love which is portrayed in an unconventional manner which could potentially be key to it being more interesting and successful.

• Aphex Twins - Come to Daddy: Cunnigham also directed Aphex Twins' music video 'Come to Daddy' which also comes from a niche sub genre. It is purely concept based as it there is no evidence of a specific artist or star image. In addition to there no signs of a narrative with a clear beginning, middle and end. In the music video there are dwarfs running around in a rebellious manner and are reunited to their 'daddy' at the end. The characters include an old woman, her dog, male dwarfs dressed as females. This is confusing and may be perceived negatively from mainstream aduiences as they may see the content as disturbing or uncomfortable to watch. The music video was still successful despite it not appealing to mainstream audiences, after its release in 1997, it was nominated for the 'Best Video' at MTV Europe music video award and for 'Best visual effects' at the MTV video music awards. This music video fits into the category of diverse music videos as it doesn't consist of popular conventions that would attract a mainstream audience. Instead there is no real message behind the video and the pure purpose of it is to please the audience visually. The video is very confusing and can be interpreted differently by others and because of this, this can cause controversy.

Michel Gondry

Michel Gondry is a French director, screenwriter and producer and has been responsible for creating
many diverse music videos for popular artists such as Chemical Brothers, White Stripes, Kylie Minogue, Sheryl Crow, Sinead O'Connor, The Rolling Stones, Gary Jules, Daft Punk, Beck etc. These artists wanted diversity portrayed evidently within their music videos to make a change, which relates to McCracken's Theory which states that people change with age and become part of different cultures. This theory particularly fits Kylie Minogue who is a mainstream artist attracting mainstream audiences however, she decided to take a different approach with her music videos and seek help from Gondry to attract a different audience culture. Gondry's work has been successful as his work with Bjork led to him directing seven of Kylie Minogue's music videos including 'Human Behaviour' and 'Bachelorette'.

Some examples of diverse music videos directed by Michel Gondry include:

• Kylie Minogue - Come into my world: Minogue's 'Come into my world' has a rather different approach comparing to her other music videos as it can be considered as a diverse music video. It can be considered as a diverse music video due to the repetitive performance and star image being very unique and not following the common conventions of a mainstream music video. The characters consists of a female artist who is performing her song, singing and dancing and then is being cloned numerous times with the narrative continuously repeating itself each time. The artists image and representation is much more subtle in this music video than her other ones as she looks less glamorous, instead more preppy and casual. There is a prolonged use of cinematography making the video very diverse, followed by special effects which actually required 15 days for the producers to fully complete. Despite Minogue's niche approach to this music video, it also attracts mainstream audiences as well as niche audiences as the music genre pop she is categorised in is very popular. In addition to her already having a huge fan base who will take this unique music video into consideration. This music video was very successful as it was awarded with  a Grammy Award for the best dance recording in 2004 soon after its release. Evidently its success was able to gain popularity among a mass audiences including niche audiences too. I think the video is very unique and I like the way its cleverly able to attract two different types of audiences and as a result it was a big success. The video is heavily diverse due to the music genre being pop which is known by almost everyone and the special effects that enhanced the video making it very different to other mainstream music videos yet is still likable.

• Gary Jules - Mad World: The music video 'Mad World' is quite repetitive in rhythm and subtle pace to match the song and editing which incudes no cuts between it. Its portrayed as a low budget music video because of he lack of mise en scene and basic editing that might not 'wow' the audience. The star image of the artist shows him singing from the top of the building and looking over the people in addition to creating different pictures along with it although the camera doesn't specifically focus on him for too long. The music is a mixed combination of concept and performance based as there is no clear narrative. Despite the basic editing and low budget, the music video has been proved to be a success as the song was also included in the commercial for a video game called 'Gears of War' in 2006. It also reached itself into third place in the UK singles. The lack of glamour and fancy editing has proven itself to be successful without these traits and is therefore considered as a diverse music, being far different from mainstream music videos.

• Daft Punk - Around the World: Gondry also directed the popular music video 'Around the World' by Daft Punk. This music video is concept based as it includes various groups of performers in different outfits dancing to the song. There is no clear star image however, the video intrigues the audience through the bright colours that make the video appear brighter and upbeat and as a result also makes the audience feel good when watching it. The video is considered niche as the genre French house is not as mainstream as other music genres out there that have a star image, performance based as well as narrative based. This music video is diverse as it doesn't follow common conventions of a mainstream video for example, Gondry used 'Around the World' to attempt to bring organised dancing to the video as he demonstrated each group of dancers as representing a certain musical instrument like the skeletons as the singing voices and mummies as the drums. Although its differences from mainstream videos, the music video was highly 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.

Advantages and Disadvantages of diverse music videos:

Advantages:

• Creates hype for the audience - As its different, it creates hype and could make the audience react in a positive way making it more successful than other music videos.
• Portrays individual style - Allows directors and artists to work collaboratively and create a unique video which is different to mainstream videos.
• Visually appealing - Diverse music videos tend to capture peoples attention through their stunning and unique visuals and is what makes it diverse.
• Infinitive film making style - You can never run out of ideas when making a diverse music video as the limit it as high as the sky, allowing directors and artists to literally come up with anything to make it diverse and entertaining. Mainstream music videos are very limited in making something that a mainstream audience would like whereas diverse music videos target a certain audience that they want.
• Reinvent an artists star image - If an artist feels like they want to take their star image and representation into the next level, they can reinvent their look by creating a diverse music video to allow audiences to understand their transition into a new music style. This can help form their popularity again and target different audiences too. For example, Kylie Minogue turned to Gondry for a new reinvent her look and make her popular again.
• Entertaining - Diverse music videos are more likely to be more entertaining than mainstream videos as they're so different from your everyday video containing artful effects and concepts.
• Mentally challenging - A diverse music video can be entertaining yet mentally challenging as well. Due its different approach on representing their music, it can sometimes have a deeper meaning which actually engages the audience more making it more popular and successful.

Disadvantages:

• Controversial content - In order to a particular music video diverse, it has to go against the mainstream conventions and because of this, it could potentially turn out controversial and sometimes offensive. Directors may add controversial content that can cause not so positive criticism leading to a unsuccessful video.
• Videos may not gain viewings from a mainstream audience - Going against the conventions of a music video is always risky and can sometimes fail to gain viewings from a mainstream audience as it usually may not appeal to them but niche audiences.
• Distressing visuals - Diverse music videos can sometimes be visually appealing due to its extravagant and unique concept however other times it may contain distressing and uncomfortable visuals. For example, it is evident in the Apex Twins - 'Come to Daddy' music video, many found it uncomfortable and 'scary'.
• Video can be at risk of getting censored or removed - A diverse music video doesn't goes against the norms of a traditional music video and so is naturally different from the other videos you see in mainstream media. Because of this, it could be at risk of being censored of removed as it could offend certain people.
• Can ruin an artists reputation and look - Some of these music videos can sometimes fail and as a result, having a negative response from the audience can ruin an artists reputation.

Should diverse music videos stay away from mainstream culture?

Despite its positive attributes it brings to the music community like having extravagant and unique visuals that can sometimes be visually appealing, it goes against Goodwin's theory of a mainstream video and most of the time the audience rejects it. In my opinion I think that diverse music videos should stay away mainstream culture because it does well independently as a niche genre, it can sometimes offend people and it does go against norms and values and so as a result they should maintain their niche audiences as they are able to understand it how the director and artist wanted it to interpreted.

Conclusion:

Overall, this research has allowed me to understand what diverse music video is about and what it contains which distinguishes itself from mainstream music videos. After researching two famous directors Cunningham and Gondry, it has allowed me to identify particular similarities they both shared in making a diverse music video. As a result, I want to put a little bit of diversity in my music video to allow it to gain different types of audiences but not too much as it could go against Goodwin's theory and offend people.