Tuesday, 3 November 2009
One Day Lip Sync Project
How The Music Video Was Made:
Above you can see my One Day Lip Sync Project video, the aim of this short project was to be given a piece of music and construct a lip synced film to go with it in all essence a basic music video.
The project began at 8:45 when a small brief was given about the task, following this at 9:00 all groups where given their songs our track being Vanilla Ice- Ice Ice Baby. We then thought it would be most appropriate to gather lyrics so we used the Internet to print off three sets of lyrics (one copy each).
After this the group need a camera and the track itself. Therefore we got a camera from the media department and retrieved the song from the computer, unfortunately we had to record the entire song on a phone leading to very poor quality of audio.
Next came the filming we shot in two locations, the first was an old abandoned ice cream factory, behind this was a lot of graffiti we felt this position was appropriate for the video and fitted the genre of song the genre being Rap. The second location was just simply a park we didn't want to over do it with the whole "Ghetto" feeling that is given off from the graffiti, however the group set off around the park and found some interesting locations which where used well in the video.
After gathering all the footage we headed back to the college to edit our work, all editing was done on Final Cut Pro, we tried using some basic effects such as fades and colour changes as you see in the video.
I believe it is a good idea to use some effects in this project so that we can get a feel for more effects when out final music video comes around.
Finally the group compressed the file and uploaded to memory sticks so the videos could be taken home and place on here the blog.
Evaluation:
Overall I am extremely happy with what was produced we all worked very well as a group and had a lot of fun creating the video. I believe the finished product is very accurate in terms of lip syncing also the video doesn't feature too many locations so it is a basic/ fun music video to follow.
If this where to be done again I think I would have tried to find some sort of mobile device that can be linked to a computer so i could get the song. The audio of the recording was low and poor, I was left with the phone in my hood while recording verses.
One of the most difficult aspects for me was memorising lyrics, seeing as how this was a rap video there where alot of lyrics, the group got around this dilemma though by doing one verse each as there where three verses in total. I think the one verse idea made the music video rather more unique as there wasn't just a singer, we where all singer so it seemed more like a team effort and leads to variation within the video.
Overall I am proud of the video, it was a good challenge to film/ edit all in one day. But the finished product is something to be proud of i look forward to working with the same people again in the future, as i feel we make a good team, and together have produced an exceptional one day lip sync music video.
Task 1- Purpose of Music Videos
Music videos sometimes referred to as Pop Promos have one simple reason and that is to promote a bands, image, song and/ or album. Music videos are now very common where they were once a seen as something for chart topping bands music videos are now easy for everyone and can be viewed on various websites, helping more and more bands get recognised. Bands for example like artic monkeys have proven how good a resource the internet is although they did not produce music videos they did sell their music online leading to their success. People like the Artic Monkeys have giving bands a new way to help get their music out there. However using the internet is now a common thing and once again everyone is back to square one trying to get notice out of a mass of people. Music Videos can help many bands if they wish to get noticed if they have a fair budget and make an outstanding music video that could be their new rise to fame so as you can see music videos are a fantastic tool for all bands.
Music Videos began to appear in a well known form during the 1980’s when MTV launched showing music videos day and night. This new era of music channels sparked huge popularity with audiences all over the globe, the first music videos recorded where very simple but are now cult classics in the music video genre some cult videos may include Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody, and even earlier and more simple perhaps Bob Dylan’s Subterranean Homesick Blues. Soon enough stars where splashing millions on their music videos, for example Michael Jackson created the 14 minute music video for thriller not cause he need to simply because he had the money. Thriller was released as a song in 1982, yet the video came out in 1983 and album sales increased by an astronomical amount when the video was released showing just how much a video can help promote, a music video can give a song a whole new lease of life.
Along with this music videos are also a fantastic place for upcoming directors to start, many now famous music video directors have gone on to become popular film directors a good example would be Michel Gondry. With a small budget and simple editing software anyone can create a successful music video, it is just a case of being creative and creating an image that stays in peoples minds.
So as you can see everyone benefits from music videos, the bands get the popularity to be able to break into the mainstream. Budding directors get a chance to show their work and maybe eventually go on to live their dream and finally of cause the record companies are kept happy with the money that keeps rolling in. Where music videos where once almost non-existent or a luxury they are now a must have and large promotional device for all bands. Music Videos are an extremely important area of media and keep new talent flowing in the world.
Music Videos began to appear in a well known form during the 1980’s when MTV launched showing music videos day and night. This new era of music channels sparked huge popularity with audiences all over the globe, the first music videos recorded where very simple but are now cult classics in the music video genre some cult videos may include Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody, and even earlier and more simple perhaps Bob Dylan’s Subterranean Homesick Blues. Soon enough stars where splashing millions on their music videos, for example Michael Jackson created the 14 minute music video for thriller not cause he need to simply because he had the money. Thriller was released as a song in 1982, yet the video came out in 1983 and album sales increased by an astronomical amount when the video was released showing just how much a video can help promote, a music video can give a song a whole new lease of life.
Along with this music videos are also a fantastic place for upcoming directors to start, many now famous music video directors have gone on to become popular film directors a good example would be Michel Gondry. With a small budget and simple editing software anyone can create a successful music video, it is just a case of being creative and creating an image that stays in peoples minds.
So as you can see everyone benefits from music videos, the bands get the popularity to be able to break into the mainstream. Budding directors get a chance to show their work and maybe eventually go on to live their dream and finally of cause the record companies are kept happy with the money that keeps rolling in. Where music videos where once almost non-existent or a luxury they are now a must have and large promotional device for all bands. Music Videos are an extremely important area of media and keep new talent flowing in the world.
Task 2- Contemporary Music Video Research
Placebo-36 Degrees:
The first music video I shall be analysing is Placebo’s 36 Degrees directed by Chris Cunningham. This video was shot mostly is a scuba diving pool, however other parts where shot in a swampy area. According to Chris Cunningham he made Brain Molko (lead singer) cry during the shoot after keeping him in freezing cold waters for long periods of time, perhaps suggesting that Cunningham’s directing style can be ruthless and hard working. More evidence to support this comes from the band themselves who confessed the video was extremely hard to shoot and that they would never do an underwater video again was the band perhaps not happy with the finished product or where they simply put off by Chris’s way of filming?.
In terms of Genre the music fits the video; the Genre is Grunge an underground style of music. The essence of the video is dark, dank and strange reflecting the Genre as it is rather unheard of, often left behind when it comes to the mainstream media. Lyrical themes in Grunge are often topics including suicide, depression and other personal feelings and in the video the lead singer is shown committing suicide by drowning himself in a swamp, linking to the actual lyrics which talk about going one degree under body temperature and fighting for your life.
Mise-En-Scene is used to reflect the situation in this video for example there is fire falling from the sky perhaps to represent that the character within the lyrics life is falling apart leading to in the end their death, another major part I found from the video is the people kicking the water in the swamp, I feel this is trying to show that the lead singer is or was being bullied that is why he is doing what he ends up doing killing himself. Cunningham also picked an exceedingly good location for the shoot; the swamp is dank, muddy, secluded and a rather disturbing place tying in with the mind of the subject in the video, even the pool is cleverly filmed as it seems that the pool is the swamp there are no mess up that give away the location making it all seem like one.
Lighting in the video is to high contrast giving off a sinister, disturbing feel, if the lighting was not like this then the video would probably seem very boring also I feel it wouldn’t get the narrative across in such an effective way. Costume/ make is very basic in the video, there is on specialist theme, probably to show the raw image of the band.
The shots in the video are very snappy, with some camera movements for example the camera sometimes pans over the band when they are underwater, but most of the shots above water are static. The camera seems to float when they are underwater and perhaps it is supposed to be like this as it give off a better impression that they are situated underwater, and also give a more exciting performance aspect to the video itself.
The camera movements and cuts are a lot more snappy underwater to fit with the pace of the music where as above water the movements are slower to keep with the slower pace kept within the verses of the song.
Close Ups are a regular occurrence in the video, close ups make everything seem so much more mysterious so this is probably the reason, to add more mystery to the video. Some shots are also out of focus adding the mystery element of the video the lyrics also hold a mystery as a meaning has never been uncovered by the band although my interpretation is mentioned earlier in this analysis.
There are many editing techniques within this video, Cunningham relies more or special effects as appose to camera trickery, one unique technique used is that of bleaching this is common in most of his work 36 degrees is certainly not an exception the technique is called bleaching.
Bleaching is where the select piece of film is duplicated, then placed on top of the existing footage a colour is then taken from the film and replaced with another in this videos case a grey/ blue tinge is added to the video for an unnerving effect.
On some of the close ups in the video a blur is added however I’m not to sure whether this is done on the camera or in the post production stage, but guessing by Cunningham’s style I would say it was done within editing.
Most of the transitions are simply cuts however, when the lead singer goes under and emerges from the water the camera goes through the water to give the more of a feel that it is the same location. Another transitions is the flashes during the part of the song where the lyrics are “shoulders, toes and knees I’m 36 degrees” this is when the singer is crawling through the mud clearly dying; I personally feel the flashes are added to show that life is flashing before their eyes.
The pace of the video varies it is slower when we are above water when the music is slower but when we move under it speeds up with the music, the shots are also continuous following one after another in quick succession, there are no slow fades in the video.
There is a good relationship between the lyrics and visuals in terms of lip syncing and subject. Most of the song is lip sync with the exception of a couple of scenes but all in all the video is lip synced, the singers expressions also seem to be very much giving a good impression on the lyrics, for example when he is singing the line “1 4 2 9 7 8 feels like I’m guna suffocate” etc the singer looks in pain/ worried reflecting the grim subject matter of the song. Also as previously mention the video is basically the lyrics in visual the video is what the song is about trying to stay alive when your below body temperature, although the video is twisted slightly as it seems the lead singer is trying to kill themselves however this may be a lost translation and maybe they are simply coming to the end of their days.
When it comes to music and visuals there is not much to comment on other than the pace. As I have said when we are underwater the camera shots are short and snappy free roaming, where as the shots above appear more static and less jumpy once again keeping in with the pace of the song.
Marketing of the track is rather simple the record company are trying to market the band as understanding, so that if a member of the target audience watches the video and are having a bad moment in their life they may feel the band understands them and be comforted by listening to their music. This notion of understanding also gives the band a good image promoting them as intelligent, helpful individuals, but at the same time they are represented as outsiders and leaders in the alternative music world, Witch might be a good thing for members of the target audience.
I believe the video is a Performance/ Narrative based video as of course we seeing the band playing underwater and also the lead singer lip syncing, but we also see the lead singer struggling for life and eventually dying or committing suicide due to in my eyes bullying. So as you can see we get a lot of performance visuals from the band actually playing but also a small narrative tied in aswell with the whole survival plot.
Overall I personally think the video promotes the band/ song in a positive light, certainly for anyone who is searching for something a little different. The image of the band is well portrayed and the video certainly sums up the band very well as understanding and helpful.
The audience I think would have good thoughts about this video, I myself think it is a fantastic video and am a big fan of Placebo and Chris Cunningham, the video shows the band struggling and also makes it seem like the band knows what it is like to be in this situation. This may make members of their audience feel they are not alone and that there is something to live for rather than just be depressed or upset all of the time.
All in all I am happy with how I have managed to sum up this video, Chris Cunningham has certainly worked hard on this video and managed to reflect the Genre in the light it should be, with the dark effects, intense performance and short narrative, these are all main parts of most alternative music videos including other alternative genres such as metal and punk.
Aphex Twin-Rubber Johnny/afx237v7:
Here is the second music video I shall be analysing. The video is Rubber Johnny also directed by Chris Cunningham, this video was initially intended to be a thirty second advert for Aphex Twins album Drukqs but before long Cunningham decided to take it further.
The genre of music can only be described as experimental, although it is obviously electronic in terms of instrumentation the genre is one of a kind possibly falling into the genres of drill n bass or maybe even glitch. Due to the genre being so odd it is almost impossible to say the characteristics, however I feel the music and the video go very well together most of Aphex Twin’s music is exceedingly disturbing much like the Rubber Johnny video. The minds of Aphex Twin and Chris Cunningham really do go hand in hand.
Within this video there is a great deal of Mise-En-Scene from location to make up and even costume. In terms of location the video is set in a basement where Rubber Johnny a strange deformed teenager played by Richard D James (Aphex Twin) lives with his pet chihuahua. The basement is obviously very run down as in the beginning of the video we see a rat scurry across the floor giving the impression we are in a filthy place reflecting the music entirely with its distorted random beats which are rather strange by themselves.
As for make up and costume you can see a great deal of work has gone into this area with Rubber Johnny there was obviously a lot of effort gone into creating Johnny,s costume just by looking at the video you could maybe be fooled into think Rubber Johnny was an actual person in terms of the costume, all details have been filled to make Rubber Johnny that little bit more scary, and it has certainly paid off, we can see this by reading various comments on video hosting networks where the audience have been tricked into thinking that Rubber Johnny is an actual person this really shows the quality of Cunningham’s special effects and attention to detail.
The lighting or more lack of it is hard to describe evidently only a few small light where used considering the whole film is shot is Infrared Night Vision, the night vision aspect however shows us the Johnny is obviously a very isolated/ ill treated individual more clues to this include when his father opens the door to yell at him, his only real friend seems to be his dog who we see him talking to at the end of the video.
Most of the shots are static almost like Johnny has set up the camera to film himself, although there are a few close ups which make the video flow in a more orderly fashion and add to the disturbing element of the whole video.
The only time we really see the camera move is when Johnny is dashing around behind the walls, but this is to help keep with the pace; however son after this the camera returns to a static position.
In terms of the editing side there are a huge amount of special effects added in the video as we see Johnny morphing as he dances; along with also probably a lot of Johnny’s movements have been created in CGI. One part that really sticks out for me in the special effects side is when we see Johnnys face hitting against the camera lens and every time it hits the shape of his face will change, I found this particularly strange however do not know how this was done. Personally I would speculate that Cunningham made Richard D James hit his face against the camera and then Cunningham has added an exceeding amount of Special Effects onto to distort Johnnys face. The lights are another aspect of the special effects, the thin lines of light that flash up with the beat in the music, I think this is represent lights that Johnny has on while he is dancing to the music.
The entire video is based on music moving to visuals as you can see and Cunningham’s intention was to show a raver (Rubber Johnny) morphing as he danced to the music, every time something happens within the video it may be the start of something else for example at the beginning everything is silent but as soon as Johnny begins talking this sets off the notion of the music. All the movements of Johnny correspond with the music in a perfect fashion. Another good example is when Johnny is dashing behind the walls this is a more ambient section of the song but whenever the laser noise comes in one of the small stripes of light flashes in unison with the music.
Rubber Johnny is an extremely odd video to help promote a band or artist, I believe the idea here is to disturb the viewer making them want to watch it again and again. Or perhaps the record labels company was to make it something of a video viral, with the video spreading entirely by word of mouth. The video really sticks in your head as it is so vastly different from other more well known music videos, although this seems to be a running theme in Aphex Twins’s videos most of which have dark and disturbing concepts.
This video is certainly not a performance based video, I would say it is a narrative based video as the plot of the video is about a deformed isolated teenager who enjoys dancing to his music, but seems to always get told off by his father. The video tells the story of a very lonely person’s life and what it must be like to always be neglected or tossed aside.
All in all I feel the video is a phenomenal idea and really does promote the artist/ song, it sticks in your head and is a video you just have to make others watch and of course if you keep watching it the music will grow on you, Rubber Johnny is like a virus once you have seen it you have to spread it and look deeper into the director and artists work.
Overall this video should fulfil anyone’s expectations as it is just indescribable every scene is strange, dark and disturbing, Cunningham and Aphex Twin have work so hard to come up with what I see as one of the most incredible music videos of all time.
The first music video I shall be analysing is Placebo’s 36 Degrees directed by Chris Cunningham. This video was shot mostly is a scuba diving pool, however other parts where shot in a swampy area. According to Chris Cunningham he made Brain Molko (lead singer) cry during the shoot after keeping him in freezing cold waters for long periods of time, perhaps suggesting that Cunningham’s directing style can be ruthless and hard working. More evidence to support this comes from the band themselves who confessed the video was extremely hard to shoot and that they would never do an underwater video again was the band perhaps not happy with the finished product or where they simply put off by Chris’s way of filming?.
In terms of Genre the music fits the video; the Genre is Grunge an underground style of music. The essence of the video is dark, dank and strange reflecting the Genre as it is rather unheard of, often left behind when it comes to the mainstream media. Lyrical themes in Grunge are often topics including suicide, depression and other personal feelings and in the video the lead singer is shown committing suicide by drowning himself in a swamp, linking to the actual lyrics which talk about going one degree under body temperature and fighting for your life.
Mise-En-Scene is used to reflect the situation in this video for example there is fire falling from the sky perhaps to represent that the character within the lyrics life is falling apart leading to in the end their death, another major part I found from the video is the people kicking the water in the swamp, I feel this is trying to show that the lead singer is or was being bullied that is why he is doing what he ends up doing killing himself. Cunningham also picked an exceedingly good location for the shoot; the swamp is dank, muddy, secluded and a rather disturbing place tying in with the mind of the subject in the video, even the pool is cleverly filmed as it seems that the pool is the swamp there are no mess up that give away the location making it all seem like one.
Lighting in the video is to high contrast giving off a sinister, disturbing feel, if the lighting was not like this then the video would probably seem very boring also I feel it wouldn’t get the narrative across in such an effective way. Costume/ make is very basic in the video, there is on specialist theme, probably to show the raw image of the band.
The shots in the video are very snappy, with some camera movements for example the camera sometimes pans over the band when they are underwater, but most of the shots above water are static. The camera seems to float when they are underwater and perhaps it is supposed to be like this as it give off a better impression that they are situated underwater, and also give a more exciting performance aspect to the video itself.
The camera movements and cuts are a lot more snappy underwater to fit with the pace of the music where as above water the movements are slower to keep with the slower pace kept within the verses of the song.
Close Ups are a regular occurrence in the video, close ups make everything seem so much more mysterious so this is probably the reason, to add more mystery to the video. Some shots are also out of focus adding the mystery element of the video the lyrics also hold a mystery as a meaning has never been uncovered by the band although my interpretation is mentioned earlier in this analysis.
There are many editing techniques within this video, Cunningham relies more or special effects as appose to camera trickery, one unique technique used is that of bleaching this is common in most of his work 36 degrees is certainly not an exception the technique is called bleaching.
Bleaching is where the select piece of film is duplicated, then placed on top of the existing footage a colour is then taken from the film and replaced with another in this videos case a grey/ blue tinge is added to the video for an unnerving effect.
On some of the close ups in the video a blur is added however I’m not to sure whether this is done on the camera or in the post production stage, but guessing by Cunningham’s style I would say it was done within editing.
Most of the transitions are simply cuts however, when the lead singer goes under and emerges from the water the camera goes through the water to give the more of a feel that it is the same location. Another transitions is the flashes during the part of the song where the lyrics are “shoulders, toes and knees I’m 36 degrees” this is when the singer is crawling through the mud clearly dying; I personally feel the flashes are added to show that life is flashing before their eyes.
The pace of the video varies it is slower when we are above water when the music is slower but when we move under it speeds up with the music, the shots are also continuous following one after another in quick succession, there are no slow fades in the video.
There is a good relationship between the lyrics and visuals in terms of lip syncing and subject. Most of the song is lip sync with the exception of a couple of scenes but all in all the video is lip synced, the singers expressions also seem to be very much giving a good impression on the lyrics, for example when he is singing the line “1 4 2 9 7 8 feels like I’m guna suffocate” etc the singer looks in pain/ worried reflecting the grim subject matter of the song. Also as previously mention the video is basically the lyrics in visual the video is what the song is about trying to stay alive when your below body temperature, although the video is twisted slightly as it seems the lead singer is trying to kill themselves however this may be a lost translation and maybe they are simply coming to the end of their days.
When it comes to music and visuals there is not much to comment on other than the pace. As I have said when we are underwater the camera shots are short and snappy free roaming, where as the shots above appear more static and less jumpy once again keeping in with the pace of the song.
Marketing of the track is rather simple the record company are trying to market the band as understanding, so that if a member of the target audience watches the video and are having a bad moment in their life they may feel the band understands them and be comforted by listening to their music. This notion of understanding also gives the band a good image promoting them as intelligent, helpful individuals, but at the same time they are represented as outsiders and leaders in the alternative music world, Witch might be a good thing for members of the target audience.
I believe the video is a Performance/ Narrative based video as of course we seeing the band playing underwater and also the lead singer lip syncing, but we also see the lead singer struggling for life and eventually dying or committing suicide due to in my eyes bullying. So as you can see we get a lot of performance visuals from the band actually playing but also a small narrative tied in aswell with the whole survival plot.
Overall I personally think the video promotes the band/ song in a positive light, certainly for anyone who is searching for something a little different. The image of the band is well portrayed and the video certainly sums up the band very well as understanding and helpful.
The audience I think would have good thoughts about this video, I myself think it is a fantastic video and am a big fan of Placebo and Chris Cunningham, the video shows the band struggling and also makes it seem like the band knows what it is like to be in this situation. This may make members of their audience feel they are not alone and that there is something to live for rather than just be depressed or upset all of the time.
All in all I am happy with how I have managed to sum up this video, Chris Cunningham has certainly worked hard on this video and managed to reflect the Genre in the light it should be, with the dark effects, intense performance and short narrative, these are all main parts of most alternative music videos including other alternative genres such as metal and punk.
Aphex Twin-Rubber Johnny/afx237v7:
Here is the second music video I shall be analysing. The video is Rubber Johnny also directed by Chris Cunningham, this video was initially intended to be a thirty second advert for Aphex Twins album Drukqs but before long Cunningham decided to take it further.
The genre of music can only be described as experimental, although it is obviously electronic in terms of instrumentation the genre is one of a kind possibly falling into the genres of drill n bass or maybe even glitch. Due to the genre being so odd it is almost impossible to say the characteristics, however I feel the music and the video go very well together most of Aphex Twin’s music is exceedingly disturbing much like the Rubber Johnny video. The minds of Aphex Twin and Chris Cunningham really do go hand in hand.
Within this video there is a great deal of Mise-En-Scene from location to make up and even costume. In terms of location the video is set in a basement where Rubber Johnny a strange deformed teenager played by Richard D James (Aphex Twin) lives with his pet chihuahua. The basement is obviously very run down as in the beginning of the video we see a rat scurry across the floor giving the impression we are in a filthy place reflecting the music entirely with its distorted random beats which are rather strange by themselves.
As for make up and costume you can see a great deal of work has gone into this area with Rubber Johnny there was obviously a lot of effort gone into creating Johnny,s costume just by looking at the video you could maybe be fooled into think Rubber Johnny was an actual person in terms of the costume, all details have been filled to make Rubber Johnny that little bit more scary, and it has certainly paid off, we can see this by reading various comments on video hosting networks where the audience have been tricked into thinking that Rubber Johnny is an actual person this really shows the quality of Cunningham’s special effects and attention to detail.
The lighting or more lack of it is hard to describe evidently only a few small light where used considering the whole film is shot is Infrared Night Vision, the night vision aspect however shows us the Johnny is obviously a very isolated/ ill treated individual more clues to this include when his father opens the door to yell at him, his only real friend seems to be his dog who we see him talking to at the end of the video.
Most of the shots are static almost like Johnny has set up the camera to film himself, although there are a few close ups which make the video flow in a more orderly fashion and add to the disturbing element of the whole video.
The only time we really see the camera move is when Johnny is dashing around behind the walls, but this is to help keep with the pace; however son after this the camera returns to a static position.
In terms of the editing side there are a huge amount of special effects added in the video as we see Johnny morphing as he dances; along with also probably a lot of Johnny’s movements have been created in CGI. One part that really sticks out for me in the special effects side is when we see Johnnys face hitting against the camera lens and every time it hits the shape of his face will change, I found this particularly strange however do not know how this was done. Personally I would speculate that Cunningham made Richard D James hit his face against the camera and then Cunningham has added an exceeding amount of Special Effects onto to distort Johnnys face. The lights are another aspect of the special effects, the thin lines of light that flash up with the beat in the music, I think this is represent lights that Johnny has on while he is dancing to the music.
The entire video is based on music moving to visuals as you can see and Cunningham’s intention was to show a raver (Rubber Johnny) morphing as he danced to the music, every time something happens within the video it may be the start of something else for example at the beginning everything is silent but as soon as Johnny begins talking this sets off the notion of the music. All the movements of Johnny correspond with the music in a perfect fashion. Another good example is when Johnny is dashing behind the walls this is a more ambient section of the song but whenever the laser noise comes in one of the small stripes of light flashes in unison with the music.
Rubber Johnny is an extremely odd video to help promote a band or artist, I believe the idea here is to disturb the viewer making them want to watch it again and again. Or perhaps the record labels company was to make it something of a video viral, with the video spreading entirely by word of mouth. The video really sticks in your head as it is so vastly different from other more well known music videos, although this seems to be a running theme in Aphex Twins’s videos most of which have dark and disturbing concepts.
This video is certainly not a performance based video, I would say it is a narrative based video as the plot of the video is about a deformed isolated teenager who enjoys dancing to his music, but seems to always get told off by his father. The video tells the story of a very lonely person’s life and what it must be like to always be neglected or tossed aside.
All in all I feel the video is a phenomenal idea and really does promote the artist/ song, it sticks in your head and is a video you just have to make others watch and of course if you keep watching it the music will grow on you, Rubber Johnny is like a virus once you have seen it you have to spread it and look deeper into the director and artists work.
Overall this video should fulfil anyone’s expectations as it is just indescribable every scene is strange, dark and disturbing, Cunningham and Aphex Twin have work so hard to come up with what I see as one of the most incredible music videos of all time.
Task 3- Music Video Director Research
Here is my director analysis, here I will be covering all aspects of my chosen directors life and work. the director I have chosen is Chris Cunningham who has been working within the media since 1989.
Cunningham was born is Reading on October 5th 1970 however later grew up in Suffolk. Chris was always very good with technology and robotics in 1989 he work on various projects including Spitting Image and later on Alien 3.
It didn’t take long before Cunningham was noticed in 1994 Stanley Kubrick hunted down Cunningham to work on the film A.I. which kept Chris occupied for another year of his life in the media.
After the success of A.I. he left to pursue a career as a music video director to date Cunningham has produced numerous music videos, but perhaps his most famous work would be for the artist Aphex Twin.
Chris directed Windowlicker, Come To Daddy and Rubber Johnny for Aphex all of which are exceedingly popular, Cunningham’s directing skill has proved so popular he has even released a DVD of his work.
Chris Cunningham however has not just stuck to working as a music video director; he has also branched off into a small amount of music production, photography and even commercials.
All of which are still dark much like most of his work along with all these areas of media he is still very much at large for his robotic skills and special effects, he is frequently called by many companies asking for his help when it comes to special effects.
Cunningham has even attended live events including a performance in Japan where he played a 45 minute audio/ visual piece of media art there was a phenomenal audience of over 30,000 fans showing the extent of Cunningham’s popularity in the media world.
Perhaps Cunningham’s most famous moment would be from 1997 where he released Come To Daddy, this very odd music video gave us a great incite into the mind of Chris Cunningham. The music video for Come To Daddy came from Cunningham’s past where he was chased by a large group of kids as we see in this video although evidently twisted this story to make it ever so more disturbing.
Come To Daddy really landed Chris on the map from then onwards he found it much easier to find work, even directing videos for Madonna and Bjork. Cunningham’s video for All is Full of Love by Bjork is another famous video the robots featured within the video where entirely designed and made by Cunningham himself we see from this video that Chris likes to much almost every detail perfect, the video seems immaculate it really is spotless, a true spectacle in the music video world.
Moving on to 2005, Cunningham produced possibly one of the strangest videos ever, Rubber Johnny. This video is so very disturbing, the mise-en-scene, the narrative, the camera shots/ effects it is all very odd, anyone who has watched this video will understand that Chris Cunningham’s mind is an extremely dark place. Rubber Johnny is a six minute epic of pure genius and it has certainly sparked a lot of attention bout online and in the media.
So after all this is Chris Cunningham appreciated I would say he is judging by these comments from the popular video hosting website youtube,
“I love chris's videos and music. Their quite interesting and unique.”
“Chris Cunningham he just got it!! such a genius in visualisation”
“video is done really well (it is cunningham though) works with the song“
So as you can see Cunninghams work is being well appreciated I gathered these comments each from different videos to get a wider spectrum and found his work is exceedingly appreciated however there where so many people commenting on the music. Obvoiusly I’m not complaining it is a music video but it seems like sometimes people aren’t taking into account the people behind the video, this goes for all music video directors I feel more people shoul be aware of the likes of Chris Cunningham, Michel Gondry and many others.
Overall it has been a pleasure studying Cunningham, I have admired his work ever since I saw Rubber Johnny back in 2006, he is a strange individual with a unique mind and that is precisly why I like him. All of Cunninghams videos set themselves outside the box and explore the darker avenues of life. Cunningham is also reported to release a feature film for the cyberpunk novel necromancer I am egerly awaiting this as who knows what a Cunningham feature would look like, will it become a cult classic or none the less fade away I guess only time will tell, we will have to wait and see what the future holds for Cunningham.
Cunningham was born is Reading on October 5th 1970 however later grew up in Suffolk. Chris was always very good with technology and robotics in 1989 he work on various projects including Spitting Image and later on Alien 3.
It didn’t take long before Cunningham was noticed in 1994 Stanley Kubrick hunted down Cunningham to work on the film A.I. which kept Chris occupied for another year of his life in the media.
After the success of A.I. he left to pursue a career as a music video director to date Cunningham has produced numerous music videos, but perhaps his most famous work would be for the artist Aphex Twin.
Chris directed Windowlicker, Come To Daddy and Rubber Johnny for Aphex all of which are exceedingly popular, Cunningham’s directing skill has proved so popular he has even released a DVD of his work.
Chris Cunningham however has not just stuck to working as a music video director; he has also branched off into a small amount of music production, photography and even commercials.
All of which are still dark much like most of his work along with all these areas of media he is still very much at large for his robotic skills and special effects, he is frequently called by many companies asking for his help when it comes to special effects.
Cunningham has even attended live events including a performance in Japan where he played a 45 minute audio/ visual piece of media art there was a phenomenal audience of over 30,000 fans showing the extent of Cunningham’s popularity in the media world.
Perhaps Cunningham’s most famous moment would be from 1997 where he released Come To Daddy, this very odd music video gave us a great incite into the mind of Chris Cunningham. The music video for Come To Daddy came from Cunningham’s past where he was chased by a large group of kids as we see in this video although evidently twisted this story to make it ever so more disturbing.
Come To Daddy really landed Chris on the map from then onwards he found it much easier to find work, even directing videos for Madonna and Bjork. Cunningham’s video for All is Full of Love by Bjork is another famous video the robots featured within the video where entirely designed and made by Cunningham himself we see from this video that Chris likes to much almost every detail perfect, the video seems immaculate it really is spotless, a true spectacle in the music video world.
Moving on to 2005, Cunningham produced possibly one of the strangest videos ever, Rubber Johnny. This video is so very disturbing, the mise-en-scene, the narrative, the camera shots/ effects it is all very odd, anyone who has watched this video will understand that Chris Cunningham’s mind is an extremely dark place. Rubber Johnny is a six minute epic of pure genius and it has certainly sparked a lot of attention bout online and in the media.
So after all this is Chris Cunningham appreciated I would say he is judging by these comments from the popular video hosting website youtube,
“I love chris's videos and music. Their quite interesting and unique.”
“Chris Cunningham he just got it!! such a genius in visualisation”
“video is done really well (it is cunningham though) works with the song“
So as you can see Cunninghams work is being well appreciated I gathered these comments each from different videos to get a wider spectrum and found his work is exceedingly appreciated however there where so many people commenting on the music. Obvoiusly I’m not complaining it is a music video but it seems like sometimes people aren’t taking into account the people behind the video, this goes for all music video directors I feel more people shoul be aware of the likes of Chris Cunningham, Michel Gondry and many others.
Overall it has been a pleasure studying Cunningham, I have admired his work ever since I saw Rubber Johnny back in 2006, he is a strange individual with a unique mind and that is precisly why I like him. All of Cunninghams videos set themselves outside the box and explore the darker avenues of life. Cunningham is also reported to release a feature film for the cyberpunk novel necromancer I am egerly awaiting this as who knows what a Cunningham feature would look like, will it become a cult classic or none the less fade away I guess only time will tell, we will have to wait and see what the future holds for Cunningham.
Introduction
Welcome to my Music Video Project here I will store all my work for the Music Video Rotation
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