Directors study - Hype Williams

My first director's study is on an American music video and film director Harold "Hype" Williams.
Life and work:

- Hype Williams was given his stage name by writing partner Muse One, who taught him the ins and outs of the graffiti culture.
- Williams is notable for creating a number of music videos for hip hop and R&B artists such as Jay Z and Missy Eliot.
- In 1998, he directed his first feature film, Belly and in 1999, Hype signed a 2 year overall deal with New Line to produce and direct feature films.

Awards
- Hype Williams the Billboard Music Video Award for Best Director of the Year in 1996- The Jackson Limo Award for Best Rap Video of the Year in 1996 for Busta Rhymes' "Woo Hah,"
- The NAACP Image Award in 1997
- The 8th annual MVPA Award for Black Music Achievement in 1997
- MTV Video Music Award in the Best Rap Video in 1998 category for Will Smith's "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It,"
- MTV Video Music Award for Best Group Video in 1999 for TLC's "No Scrubs"
- The BET Award for Best Director in 2006 for Kanye West's “Gold Digger”.

Style
- A signature style used by Hype Williams throughout the vast majority of his videos was the Fisheye lens which distorted the camera view around the central focus. This was used in "Gimme Some More" by Busta Rhymes and "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" by Missy Elliott; however, it was dropped by 2003, when he experienced his lowest level of production activity since the beginning of his career as a music video director.
- Another signature style involves placing shots in regular widescreen ratio, while a second shot is split and placed in the upper and lower bars. Videos that use this style include "Diamonds on my Neck" by Smitty, "I Ain't Heard of That" by Slim Thug, "So Sick" by Ne-Yo, "In My Hood" by Young Jeezy, "Check On It" by Beyoncé, "Snap Yo Fingers" by Lil Jon and many others.
- Since 2003, Hype Williams has adopted a signature style combining a center camera focus on the artist or actor's body from the torso upward and a solid color background with a soft different-color light being shown in the center of the background, so as to give a sense of illumination of the background by the foreground subject. This has been displayed in "Gold Digger" by Kanye West, "Digital Girl" (Remix) by Jamie Foxx and Beyoncé's "Video Phone".

Missy Elliot - 'Rain'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHcyJPTTn9w

Missy Elliot - 'She's a Bitch'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opkRF3UZSJw&feature=channel

Sorry there is no embedded videos are it has been disabled. However, these are the links to it on youtube.

These examples of music videos by Hype Williams have many visual features of elements that have become typical of a big-budget, black music video. William's emphasis on the fantasy landscape comes into play in 'she's a bitch' and 'busta move'.

In 'Rain', there are some direct illustrations of the lyrics (mainly in the presence of rain pouring onto the dancers towards the end of the video) and particularly in the second and third verse where the video is dominated by the relationship between visuals and rhythms. The camerawork, with the use of fisheye lens, has become William's trademark and in the music video, it is used to establish an image of the star as powerful. The sense of the human face looming into the lens, as the background shrinks away, exaggerates a felling of her dominance. Missy's solo dance in the tunnel-like room is accompanied by two giant industrial cogs on ladders swinging either side of her. This contrasts with the rural exterior shots of the final verse which perhaps shows the reality and fantasy of love. In this, Missy is seated on a bright green hill against an unreal looking blue sky, which is like a character out of a nursery rhyme.

In 'she's a bitch', Missy appears for most of the video with a bald head ans in a highly masculine leather and spiky costume. Like the other video, there are links to the lyrics, as in the second verse where she is seen in a futuristic sports car as she sings about driving. Missy seem to display a male persona, strutting through the set, apparently addressing the lyrics at herself. In this music video there is reference to American male heroes from the West, through the cowboy hats Missy and her dancing posse wears as she sings lyrics which clearly reference the language of the Western - "Yippee yi yo, yippee yi yi yay." In the final sequence, a huge dance spectacular led by Missy emerges from the ocean with stormy black clouds overhead. The dancers are on a giant plinth in the shape of the letter 'M' for Missy which is her logo which appears in most of her videos. The crane shots emphasise (and used in 'rain'), the stage-like spectacle of the dance performance, while tracking shots move in for closer shots of the star's face, notably encrusted with jewels, the 'bling' of the hip-hop lifestyle.

Both of these music videos can be read as representations of black female power in terms of performance, camerawork and especially mise en scene.

Director Study - Joseph Kahn

A short Biography...

Joseph Kahn (born 12th November 1972) began his directing career in his teens, shooting skateboarding videos of his friends while juggling an array of part time jobs to fund these early ventures into the industry. A heavily ambitious Kahn eventually enroled at NYU, only to drop out a year and a half into studies in order to fully embrase the emerging market of hip-hop videos.
Within two years, Kahn executed dozens of low budget videos where, alike Samuel Bayer, he served as a one man army; acting as his own cinematographer, editor and production designer. During this time he was able to develop his self-taught filmmaking skills that would launch him to the forefront of a new generation of emerging directors.
In 1991, Kahn set up his own production company, 'Supermega', which is now housed under HSI Productions.
Today, he is credited with launching and expanding the careers of many of the artists he works with; moulding a public image as well as delivering a popular video.

Awards and Recognition...

Kahn won several MTV Music Video Awards with nominations for Best Video for Brandy & Monica-"The Boy is Mine" and Britney Spears-"Toxic". Eminem's "Without Me" video earnt him his first Grammy and a further two MTV VMAs for Best Director and Best Video of the Year.
In addition, Kahn's video for Muse's "Knights of Cydonia"also won the Los Angeles Film Festival Audience Award.

A Note on his Style...

From my exploration of Kahn's work I have noticed that a prodominant number are performance based, with loose threads of narrative running throughout. The artists are ususally involved with the underlying 'story' and self-contained versimilitude of the music video.
Today, Kahn is best know for his eccentric use of expression and elements of surrealism in his work, however his style was not always this zany, as these examples of his earlier work will show;

Bryan Adams - "On a Day Like Today" -



Enrique Iglesias - "Hero" -



These two early videos, emphasised by their use of sepia tone, are comparitively subdued for Kahn.
The following examples clearly present his sharp shift to the surreal style we know and love.

Gwen Stephani - "Sweet Escape" -


Eminem - "Without Me" -


Kahn's music videos portray many conventions coherant with Goodwin's theory, particularly that of voyeurism and the representation of female artists and dancers. This can be seen most notably in the videos "Toxic" and "Womanizer", that he produced for Britney Spears (hence the fact that I decided STRONGLY against posting them!!)
I really like Kahn's almost 'over the top' pieces as although the video looks professional and stylised; they also possesses a strong element of fun and an attitude that doesn't take itself too seriously.

Director Study - Samuel Bayer

Short Biography...

Samuel Bayer (born 17th February 1965) is an American film and music video director with a career in the industry spanning almost 17 years.
Bayer graduated from New York City's School of Visual Arts in 1987 with a degree in Fine Arts. He originally specialised as a painter, but after moving to Los Angeles in 1991, identified film and video as the perfect medium to deliver his art to a broader audience. Subsequently, he became a prominant and popular director within the up and coming 'Alternative Rock' era.

Awards and Recognition...

His 2005 video for Green Day's 'Boulevard of Broken Dreams' swept the MTV Music Awards; in total collecting 7 Moon Men including Best Director, Best Cinematography and Best Rock Video, as well as the coveted Viewer's Choice Award.
In 2005, Bayer was also the recipient of the Kodack Lifetime Achievement Award for his work and cinematography in the field of music video production.
Additionally, in 2006, he was honoured with his second Lifetime Achievement Award by the Music Video Producers Association.
In 2007, Bayer's video for Justin Timberlake's 'What goes around.../...Comes around' ranked as itunes' fastest selling music video in history and went on to earn Bayer his second MTV Music Award for Best Director.

A Note on his Style...

"I love film like I love my wife and I'll never cheat on either of them" - Samuel Bayer.

It's clear from his own statement above that Bayer fiercely rejects the 'HD revolution' that has taken the media industry by storm. Infact, he has defiently decided to shoot every music video he has ever constructed on film stock, and perhaps this is what makes him so unique as a directer in this era of technology.
When discussing his impact as a director, Bayer is quick to stress that leaving a collection of tapes or digital files is not his desired legacy. Instead, a box of 'real' film and tangible negatives is what he strives to leave behind.
However, this style is not merely a question of principle or the preservation of film heritage.
Bayer really does love capturing his ideas on film and the unique quality it produces that is unmatched by digital.

"I wanna hear the shutter moving, I wanna hear the film running through the gate. I wanna open up the camera and feel the emulsion in my hands"

Bayer's very hands-on approach to filmmaking is another prominant part of his style as a director. On a frequent basis, he chooses to light, photograph and opperate the camera in his work, therefore giving him the upmost control over the feel and look of the final product.

In Nirvana's 'Smells like Team Spirit' video, (which first launched Bayer's career and is still heralded by MTV as one of the most influential music videos in history) Bayer's decision to photograph the footage himself infused it with a distinct attitude that started him on a path he has blazed ever since.

This unique style caught the eye of many prestigious artists;

The Rolling Stones, Sheryl Crow, John Lee Hooker, Marilyn Manson, Metallica, Smashing Pumpkins, David Bowie, Aerosmith, Lenny Kravitz, Green Day and Justin Timberlake to name a few!

However, personally I wouldn't say that Bayer's style is particulary static or rigid, but infact that it fluctuates with a diversity equal to the range of artists he works with.

Some strong themeatic or asthetic parallels can be drawn between them as well as stark contrasts.

For Example.....

Good Charlotte - "Keep Your Hands Off My Girl" -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZRfBixCO_k&ob=av2n

Green Day - "Boulevard of Broken Dreams' -



Apart from the obvious fact that they are primarily performance orientated music videos (which is a fitting convention of the rock genre); both are similar in the fact that they display Bayer's passion of manipulating film stock and his experimentation with frames and footage.
The jumpy, almost disjointed nature of 'Boulevard of Broken Dreams' applifies the poignancy of the lyrics perfectly, whereas the special effects used in 'Keep your hands off my Girl' simply add to the video's edgy image.

Although a large quantity of Bayer's music videos revolve solely around the artist performing; there are a handful of his videos which break the trend and become a hybrid of narrative, performance and short film (Postmodern in itself!!) which provides yet another level of depth to this director's fascinating style...

Justin Timberlake - 'What Goes Around.../...Comes Around' -



Green Day - 'Wake me up When September Ends' -



It's now clear for you to see the difference in style between these two videos and the previous pair!

Bayer has decided to opt for a cinematic, theatrical style that, emphasised with the use of titles and dialogue, mirrors the finish of a short film rather than a music video. Each also has some big-name actors starring in them; Scarlett Johansson in the case of 'What Goes Around' and Jamie Bell in 'Wake me up When September Ends', again adding to the feel of a slick, hollywood-worthy production.
Despite this, Bayer still remains true to music video convention and continues to intertwine footage of the artists performing the song with the narrative.

The images in 'What Goes Around' are clearly more illustrative of the lyrics than that of 'Wake me up When Spetember Ends'; a song that has no solid connection to the conflict in Iraq other than the visual narrative that accompanies it.

This style of creating short films in music video allows Bayer to really get 'under the skin' of the song, and exploit the emotional threads of the lyrics; therefore, in a commersial sense, being successful in constructing a bond between the audience and the artist (which in turn is pivital for boosting image and record sales...arguably an example of the post modern condition? It's all about the money rather than the art? You decide.)

Some of Bayer's other Music Videos that you may of heard of;

Robbie Williams - "Angels"; My Chemical Romance - "Welcome to the Black Parade"; Blink 182 - "Stay Together for the Kids".

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'.

Director Study - Jonas Åkerlund

Jonas Åkerlund was born November 10th 1965 and he is a Swedish film and music video director, best known for his early work with Madonna, particularly her 1998 video 'Ray of Light' which won the 1999 Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video. In 1998 he won a record 7 awards at the MTV Video Music Awards including Video of the Year for 'Ray of Light'. He is best known for his stylish music videos, which are often mock forms of movie trailers and short films. Recently, he has directed Lady Gaga's video 'Telephone' and Rhianna and David Guetta's 'Who's that Chick?' (both Day and Night versions)

Rhianna's 'Who's That Chick?' according to Andrew Goodwin's theory:

- A relationship between the lyrics and the visuals, with the visuals illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the lyrics. The visuals on screen contain text that matches what Rhianna is singing eg. 'Remedy' flashes up as she sings the same word, so there is a sort of amplifying effect between the lyrics and visuals. However, the rest of the video is mainly a performance-based piece, so the relationship between that and the lyrics is possibly more illustrative, as she sings about 'Who's that Chick', which could relate to people wondering who she is as she dances.
- A relationship between the music and the visuals, with the visuals illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the music. The music and the visuals have a sort of illustrating relationship, as the beat of the song follows roughly the editing of the video.
- Genre-related style and iconography present. Rhianna is a predominantly R and B artist, and the conventional thing to see in an Rn'B video is a female dancing, which is what is happening in this (or maybe these) videos.
- Multiple close-ups of the main artist or vocalist. Close ups of Rhianna are shown throughout.
- Voyeurism often plays a major part, especially in relation to females. Rhianna is seen dancing in a seductive manner, and it could be seen as voyeuristic in the 'Night' version when she is wearing suspenders, typically seen as underwear.
- Intertextual references to other media texts may be present. There are no obvious references to other works, however, this song is advertised through Doritos as having 'augmented reality' which could be an intertextual reference to society and the audience in general (in a roundabout, postmodern sort of way)

'Ray of Light' was Madonna's second single from the album of the same name. It reached the top 5 in the UK, USA, Canada, Finland and Italy. What is immediately notable about the video is it's use of time-lapse footage and it's Koyaanisqatsi-esque theme. It shows people going about their everyday lives, from people riding on a subway, to children in a classroom. However, at least one person in each shot tends to be looking directly at the camera whilst everyone else goes about their business unaware. This video received a total of 8 VMA nominations, becoming Madonna's second most nominated video at the show, after 'Vogue'.

These videos are typical of Åkerlund's more modern style of a short film. The first video could be seen as a comment on our postmodern society, obsessed with the cult of the celebrity (the Lady Gaga money - she is only a celebrity in the video too, not the Queen) and constantly observing her - taking pictures of her when she falls off the balcony rather than helping her. The public also remain fickle about their opinion of her - the newspapers saying 'We love Gaga' followed by 'Gaga hits rock bottom' and finally 'We love Gaga again'. It could also be mentioned that when Gaga could really use public support- when she falls off the balcony - the public turns against her, and yet when she kills someone, the public love her again. There is also a lack of distinction between society and popular culture, as in the video, Lady Gaga plays herself. The theme of the video carries on into 'Telephone' as she is now in a women's prison for killing her boyfriend. There is plenty of intertextuality within the video, from the blatant product placement of the dating website and Virgin mobile, to the links to other media texts, such as the 'Pussy Wagon' from Kill Bill and Beyonce's name 'Honey Bee' which can be seen as a derivative of Honey Bunny from Pulp Fiction. What I like about both videos is how they are short films within themselves, and I also love the theatricality of Lady Gaga's costumes, and of the videos in general.

Organisation!

Within our media course work we have a lot of work to do and very little time to do it in. These are the deadlines that have been set for us:

1. All planning and research tasks completed by Friday 26th November


2. All principle photography/filming completed by Tuesday 4th November


3. All construction work (including ancillary texts) completed by Friday 4th February


4. Evaluations completed by Friday 18th February

Firstly, we are all concentrating on the planning and research tasks. Here is a list of what we all have to do as individuals and the deadlines in which we have set our selves.

• 2 directors case studies - complete by Thursday 11th


• 3 textual analysis - complete by Tuesday 16th


• Analysis 2 previous student examples - complete by Thursday 18th


• Research and textual analysis for ancillary texts - complete by Friday 26th

'Fight Club' - Postmodern Analysis

DISCLAIMER; If you have not seen the film Fight Club I strongly, STRONGLY advise you to refrain from reading this blog post, as for the purpose of analysis, some of the plot twists have been highlighted!

David Fincher's 1999 film, 'Fight Club' displays a number of aspects that affiliate it with post modernity...

Self Reflexivity - Edward Norton who plays the unnamed protagonist (arguably a postmodern feature in itself!) provides a narration throughout the film, and therefore breaks down the 'fourth wall' between the text and the audience.
In addition, there are a number of times when particular characters draw the audience's attention to the construction of the text. This in turn destroys the sense of a self-contained verisimilitude of which we as the viewer are expected to consume as 'reality'. The most notable example of this is the scene in which Tyler Durden discusses the art of film editing with a combination of special effects.


The Postmodern condition and Self Involvement - The examination of human nature and behaviour is a key concept within the film. It relates to post modernity because it shows that the director not only considered the thematic conventions, but also what the contemporary age has 'done' to society. The belief that we have all become selfish is personified through the actions of both Marla Singer and Norton's character, who exploit community support groups (meant for the terminally ill etc) for their own personal and emotional advantage.

Intertextuality - There are many examples of intertextuality in the film, but the most prominent and my personal favourite, is that of the Ikea sequence. Not only does it convey a strong link to capitalist consumerism (and arguably style over substance depending on your view of Ikea!) but the graphics used also destroy the realism of the text.

















Confusions over Time and Space - This confusion is largely caused by the pivotal twist of 'Fight Club' when the audience discovers the Tyler Durden - a major character throughout the film - never really existed at all and what they were really viewing was the alter-ego of Norton's character. This throws the chronological order of the narrative into turmoil because we are forced to reevaluate the sequence of events in a different pace. The form of the twist is also extremely ironic; yet another convention of post modernism.

Decline of the Meta Narrative and Baudrillard's Theory - The decline of the meta narrative is a major player in the plot of the film as the concept of - or lack of - idols is one that is introduced frequently. Additionally, the fight club also becomes a form of meta narrative in itself. It originates from a minor, underground gathering of suppressed individuals, but soon spills over into mainstream society and mutates into a far-reaching cult, which members fully absorb themselves in.
Perhaps this was Fincher's method of conveying his anxiety surrounding the shift away from the tradition institutions (religion, the family etc).
As a result, 'Fight Club' shares a strong affiliation with Baudrillard's first core principle that the 'truth' needs to be deconstructed. In particular, this links to Durden's rebellion against the American authority and the Capitalist institutions. However, Durden's preaching proves hollow and just as deceiving in the end; relating to Baudrillard's opinion that one meta narrative shouldn't simply be replaced by another, but rather ALL truths should be considered with suspicion and scepticism.

Surrealism - Fincher has incorporated many aspects into 'Fight Club' that destroy the realism of the piece. Not only are graphics such as text and images layered on top of the footage during post production, but there is also a sequence which depicts the narrator's daydream during a Support group therapy session. He finds himself in an ice cave with Marla Singer, who is subsequently replaced with a computer generated penguin...completely tearing down the facade of a 'real world' behind the silver screen.