Director Study - The Malloys

The Malloys is the working name of brothers Emmett and Brendan Malloy, who are film and music video directors, and have worked with bands such as Vampire Weekend, The White Stripes and The Jonas Brothers. Notably, they have also worked with Jack Johnson, as Emmett Malloy and his cousin Chris co-own Johnson's record label - Brushfire Records - with him.

The Malloys main aim is to create surf films such as 'Thicker than Water' in 2000 with their production company Woodshed Films, and, as Emmett puts it: "I still have to sit and do a tonne of commercials and music videos to afford myself the privilege to keep the Woodshed films real clean and simple."

Jack Johnson and The Malloys have a close personal relationship, both part owning Woodshed Films and Brushfire Records, as well as Emmett and Chris being Jack's Managers. This video was made in 2005 for Johnson's album 'In Between Dreams'. The album art features in the video as well, making up the montage we see being created on the back wall of the room. This video is relatively unusual in that it is in reverse, however it is not unique.

'Afternoon Delight' by Will Ferrell according to Andrew Goodwin:

- A relationship between the lyrics and the visuals, with the visuals illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the lyrics. The lyrics and the visuals are either illustrative or amplifying, as the song sings about 'afternoon delight' (as in, sex in the afternoon), and we see some of the characters either having sex or preparing to.
- A relationship between the music and the visuals, with the visuals illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the music. The music is bouncy and upbeat, and this is illustrated in the visuals of the piece through use of setting and costume - the set is a lush green park, where everyone is happy and smiley (even when things go wrong!)

- Genre-related style and iconography present. This is obviously a parody or comedy music video, so the typical genre styles are partially subverted and replaced with comedic moments. However, we do see group shots etc, which you would expect from a band such as the type they are impersonating.
- Multiple close-ups of the main artist or vocalist. Close ups of the characters from the film are seen throughout, with focus on Will Ferrell, as he plays the main character.
- Voyeurism often plays a major part, especially in relation to females. The scene where we see the news van rocking, implying sex could be seen as voyeuristic, particularly the shifty way they leave the van.
- Intertextual references to other media texts may be present. Obviously, this music video is based on the film 'Anchorman' and has references throughout to this, with Ron Burgundy's jacket with his catchphrase 'Stay Classy' written on the back.

Say Anything and 'Hate Everyone' was the first single from their self-titled forth album. It was released on August 25th, 2009. I mainly put this video in because me and Roisin (another contributor to this blog) saw Say Anything live in December 2007, so that's pretty cool. However, it can also be seen as intertextual, as the song includes a section listing some things that singer and lyricist Max Bernis specifically hates, including 'the rapper in the Lexus' (thought to refer to Kanye West) and 'the singer with the denim skin', meaning Brandon Flowers from The Killers. The song has also appeared on American Idol, which could be seen as a form of intertextuality.

The video itself is relatively straightforward in that it is a mainly performance-based piece where the band are playing their instruments in a variety of locations, and also destroying their instruments and the set - which could represent their anger at 'hating everyone'.