Diversity of music videos - Miss Miller

 Diversity 

Diversity of a music video is being unconventional of the typical music video you would expect of a genre. Two music video directors that are diverse are Chris Cunningham and Michael Gondry, they both create music videos that do not fit the expected characteristics of a music video. Artist that are diverse create a lot of publicity and popularity due them differentiating themselves

from the other artists. An example of a diverse artist is Lady Gaga, she is seen as diverse because of her appearance and rumours about her being a man.



Chris Cunningham is a diverse music video director, he is known and paid for creating music videos that do not match their genre and are very bizarre and different. The advantages of having Chris as a director are: it creates a memorable music video that people will remember, may appeal to a wider/different target audience, it also stands out and gets publicity, helps the artist stand out from other artists in the same genre, attracts audience attention making it more popular, show different sides of the artist and their true selves, it can give the artist an intellectual appeal, introduce themselves to a niche audience. There are also some disadvantages to having someone like Chris as a director: it is difficult to build a relationship with the audience, it may turn people off there work and potentially lose fans, hard to understand so people may lose interest, may become unsuccessful if it is too out there, could be seen as confusing or boring, won't gain much publicity, existing fans may except a certain image, fans may feel let down if the usual standard is not achieved .

Chris cunningham is a music producer who creates diverse music videos he has worked with artists such as Madonna who is within the pop genre and aphex twin who works within the electro dub step mix genre.


Madonna




Chris Cunningham worked with Madonna on her music video frozen. This song would be shown on music channels such as MTV as it would appeal to the pop genre target audience as that is Madonna typical style. However because the artist is Madonna it would appeal to an older target audience as well. Madonna is a pop artist and usually creates songs that are upbeat and happy because of the themes being portrayed. Also the stereotypical Madonna music video would have included bright colours in her outfits and backgrounds. However Chris Cunningham being diverse he has made this music video go against all the conventions of a pop genre music video. The first micro element Chris Cunningham challenged was the mes-en-scene in particular costume because Madonna wore a full black dress, which portrays to the audience that the song is going to be dark and evil.


Having the music video unconventional makes it harder for the audience to relate to because it is not what they would expect, therefore struggle to understand what the song means. Also it goes against Goodwin's theory of the visuals matching up with lyrics, as now they do not match and the audience will have to work out what it means without the visuals. The second micro element that is diverse is the editing because during the music video Madonna turns into a crow. This restricts the audience as they wont be able to relate to the crows, as the crows symbolise death, which is extremely unconventional to the pop genre. Her video is shown in a possessive light which makes the video quite scary, when the audience would usually expect a Madonna video to be: fun, sexy, happy. The scary and possessiveness is shown through the location being empty and gloomy. Goodwins theory was presented through the close ups of the artist performing. This allowed the audience to see her better and be able to relate to her facial expressions and pale make up. This helps the audience to understand how the artist is feeling and therefore build up a relationship with the artist which is important for the music video to succeed.




The style of the video is mainly performance based due to singing and small dance moves from Madonna. Concept is shown by presenting relationships as dark and possessive because partners can be controlling. This is evident through the isolated location and dark costume. Also the artist is portrayed as mysterious because of the way she keeps hiding her face through out the music video. The video does portray the theme of being possessed which is evident when the artist is crouched down and has clones of her around herself, and when she is floating in the air.






Aphex Twin

Chris Cunningham also produced the music video window licker by Aphex Twin. Which is in the dance genre. Dance music videos are usually performance base and have repetitive dance moves. However in this music video there is a narrative, which is unconventionally for the genre. This song would be played on music channels such as aka because of the genre it falls under. Firstly iconography is used to portray the artist as being rich, the prop used is a extremely long limo. This helps the audience relate the artist as the audience are aware that limos are expensive so this artist must be wealthy due to he's success. This can then help for the audience to build up a relationship with the artist as they can get an understand of he's lifestyle, and this helps to portray he's personality. The artist is then represented as being superior because he talked better than the two men that pulled up to the girls before him. This helps the audience build a relationship as they see him as a outstanding individual. However, because of Chris Cunningham the artist is also portrayed as being vein, because the girl he fancies actually turn out to has he's face on their bodies. This then presents him as being obsessive and scary, which helps the audience to remember the music video as it stands out and is unconventional of the music genre. The conventional side of the music video is the dancing as it suits the beat of the song and the expensive lifestyle fits the genre.

Goodwins theory is shown through the vouyeruristic theme of the female bodies and how they are being used sexually in the limo, because of the controversial objectification the music video could stand out to the target audience and it could receive free advertisement due to people talking about the themes shown and how different it is. Also, the visuals and lyrics match when the umbrella is opened. This is also a promotion of the artist as the logo is presented on the end of the umbrella. The style of music video is mainly a narrative based music video due to the two men failing to chat up the females at the beginning and then the artist coming along being successful due to he's fame.




Another song Chris Cunningham has directed is Come to daddy by Aphex Twins. The music channel that this song would be present on would be MTV rock and AKA  this is due to the style of the song. The style of the music video is a narrative based as it is about an old women who is walking her dog and then being violated by the young children. Also, the music video has a performance side to it due to the vocals on the screen. Finally the concept is that we are controlled and influenced by what we see on the tv and how we rebel against society through
violence. The drum and bass genre is conventional due to the flashing images that are fast paced. This helps the audience relate as they can keep up with the beat of the song.

The age of the characters is unconventional because it features young children and an old women. This is unconventional because you would expect the characters to be the same age as the target audience because then it helps the audience to build a relationship with the characters better as they can imagine themselves in their position. However the subversive characters are used so the video is abnormal and this will lead to it being remembered. The artist is also promoted through the logo and credits at the beginning of the music video. This is diverse as credits are usually conventional to a film not a music video but it is used to make the artist more memorable. Also the TV being in the video with the artist on promotes him even further as it shows him to be well known. In a music video the artist usually wants to be represented in a good light and to be idolised, however this is not the aim in this music video as the artist is represented, as creepy and scary due to terracing the old lady. Chris has planned to the opposite with this artist so he stands out and becomes more memorable.


Michael Gondry has directed another music video. He has worked with the white strips that are a rock band, he does a lot of cloning work, similar to Cunningham. The song would be played on music channels such as MTV rock as it suits the style of music that is played on that music channel. The music video is "the hardest button to button" within this music video goodwins theory is evident through the performance of the artist playing the drums. This helps the audience build a relationship with the audience as they can see he's talent and have more love for them as an artist knowing the artist has made the song themselves. Goodwins theory is also present when the visuals match the song, this is clear when drum being hit by the artist on every drum beat of the song.

The genre conventions of the rock are the drums and the electric guitar being played as it shows the audience how the song was played. The costume of the artist is also conventional as the dark colours also appeal to the target audience as they are likely to wear them too. This allows the audience to relate to the artist through the same dress sense.

The style of the music video is mainly performance based due to the the instruments being played and the singing. it also has a narrative about a baby being born and the life of the child. This allows the audience to relate as they would have had similar circumstances in their life themselves. The artists are also represented as mysterious, this is due to the lack of visuals on the artist so the audience can't get much representation of their personality, which makes it hard for the audience to relate to the artist in the music video, and therefore hard to build a relationship.


In conclusion an artist would choose directors such as Chris Cunningham and Michael Gondry to create a music video that would be diverse and stand out from other artists in their genres. A list of reasons why the artist might choose these directors are as followed:

•  To make their video more memorable
• To increase their publicity 
• To get higher recognition
• To create a buzz and interest around them
• To make their music video stand out
• To get their name talked about
• To appeal a wider and different target audience
• To show different sides and personalities of the artist
• To show a true representation of the artist
• To appeal a niche audience  

There are some drawbacks to having these directors construct an artists music video, the draw backs are that the video may become confusing for the audience to understand, which could lead to being put off the the artist and overall lead to a loss in fans. The artist could pick up negative publicity and lead to a bad name and image around the artist. The music video could flop and cost the artist a lot of money. When i come to make a music video i think i will try to stick to a normal conventional video as i found these videos weird and creepy, but i do think by making the video weird and creepy it does create a lot of publicity, so i am undecided weather i will include some of the unconventional representation that Chris and Michael used in my music video.