Diversity of music videos

A diverse music video is vital to the success of marketing to a vast target audience. Although diversity allows record labels to experience freedom in the industry in terms of mis-en-scene, props and various types of settings, it isn't common for a diverse video to appeal to anything more than what can be labelled as a niche audience. 

Directors including Chris Cunningham and Michael Gondry are perfect examples of directors succeeding in fabricating music videos of a diverse nature. Artists can be labelled as diverse too however including Lady Gaga, Ke$ha, Rihanna and Will.i.am. Lady Gaga is recognised as the most diverse and 'out there' artist currently in the industry, shocking audiences worldwide with her quirky personality and wacky costumes demonstrated in her abstract art form: music video. An example of a diverse music video by Lady Gaga is Bad Romance directed by Francis Lawrence and Judas directed by Gaga herself and her choreographer Laurieann Gibson. By Gaga expressing a passion for assisting to direct videos to her own songs, it allows her to inject her own 'art' and ideas without being dictated by professionals or her record label which again makes her a more relatable artist and allows her to develop a relationship with her audience. Although Gaga is a diverse artist demonstrated through her lyrics, backing music and videos, she is known as an artist of the pop genre which is mainstream whilst her videos are often shown on mainstream channels such as MTV and KISS TV. This is evidence that diversity can succeed and become mainstream! 

An artist is likely to discuss their vision with their chosen director for a video before shooting it. This may relate to their vision of a narrative which follows the lyrics. However, diverse videos do not specifically use a narrative or support the lyrics, therefore subverting conventions which may eventually alienate huge/mainstream audiences. Videos to mainstream music genres including pop, rap and R&B display traditional characteristics to assure the target audience which genre they are listening to and watching. To gain mass market appeal, a music video may follow certain genre characteristics or theories including the two practitioners we have studied: Goodwin and Dyer who composed a number of elements to dictate what people expect to see in a music video of a certain genre. For example, if watching a music video to a song of the dance genre, the audience may expect to see bright colours, alcohol and a club location. 


However, diverse directors including Chris Cunningham and Michael Condry (to name just two) go against these typical genre characteristic's, conventions and expectations and  have arguably broken boundaries in the industry. Although Cunningham and Gondry create diverse and innovative videos which may attract a niche audience, their videos would not be played on mainstream music channels such as MTV or Heat TV because they may alienate other audiences. Both Cunningham and Gondry produce unusual, unique and unconventional videos and completely ignore major and more mainstream theories of creating videos. Dance is a popular genre of music, especially in recent years where it is seen as more mainstream than previously with artists emerging into the dance scene including the popular Avici and Calvin Harris who work with pop singers and remix their work. Although dance is a popular genre, Cunningham directed the crazy Come To Daddy video for Aphex Twin which would not be popular if shown on mainstream music channels. The diverse nature of Cunningham's work is demonstrated with the two major videos of this career.  Both videos completely differenciate each other and sell each artist as an individual rather than a product which Dyers Star theory suggests.

Mainstream videos tend to follow a music theory rather than experiment with diverse features to appeal to a target audience therefore "playing it safe", a phrase Cunningham and Gondry would certainly ignore. 




Chris Cunningham

Chris Cunningham, a British director produces and directs diverse, abstract and unique music videos. Therefore does not conform to the stereotypical genre characteristics. Artists he has worked with include Madonna and Aphex Twin of which videos I will be analysing. 

Aphex Twin, Come To Daddy

The video to Come To Daddy is very much urban and heavily focused upon a narrative.
As a video of the dance genre, this video does not conform to the generic conventions expected by audiences. Rather than a club scene or a scene filmed in the back of a taxi after a night out, we witness odd images of an elderly woman walking her staff dog in a deralict estate to be frightened by a group of "school girls" who are indeed midget men dressed in uniform. This is generally unseen in music videos!


If an audience member was to turn on the television, unaware it was a music channel playing they may expect it to be a short film rather than a music video. This lack of recognition again echos the diversity Cunningham created as it does not conform to genre characteristics or even general music theories. 

A representation of the artist cannot be explained as Aphex Twin are not present throughout the entirety of the 5:55 minute long video. The fact that the artist is not present in this video adds to the diverse nature Cunningam intended on achieving. Because of this, the song may be less successful as the audience may want to physically see the artist behind the song perform or at least appear in the video. In many other music videos, the artist are present due to the demands of the record label wanting many close-up shots of them performing which follows Goodwin's theory. Moreover, many other music videos have the artist present to follow Dyers theoretical point of obtaining the target audiences interest. Due to the absence of Aphex Twin, the audience are unable to develop a relationship with them, therefore attracting more of a niche audience who do not care about image. However, this is similar to Daft Punk, an artist with a masked identity. This benefits Daft Punk however because they create mainstream music which is more popular amongst audiences in comparison to this dance track which essentially ignores generic conventions of a dance music video. Daft Punk fans may feel curious as to what they look like, however, is the physical identity really that fundamental to an artists success? Sadly it is. In the modern day music industry, it matters almost equally as to what the artist looks like and how they perceive themselves to be and reinvent themselves as fundamental as it is to have a raw talent expressed through their voice and ability. Daft Punk, however are an example of successful artists, despite their hidden identity. 

Daft Punk say in an interview: 

 "We don't believe in the star system. We want the focus to be on the music. If we have to create an image, it must be an artificial image. That combination hides our physicality and also shows our view of the star system. It is not a compromise."

The idea of the artist not being present in the video is very similar to a recent BBC singing contest named The Voice which use blind auditions to select people with raw talent. Therefore, the artists physical exterior is not judged but their singing ability is.

The artist may have chosen Cunningham due to his diverse style which in turn harmonises with Aphex Twin's diverse music style/genre. The reasoning behind Aphex Twin using Cunningham is more understandable than the reasoning as to why Madonna would use him to direct a video of hers. This is because it is less obvious for Madonna to have a diverse video in comparison to Aphex Twin who are also known for diversity embedded within Window Licker, an arguably odder video (believe it or not)


The artists logo is shown at the beginning of the video and is the symbol of the 11th letter in the Greek alphabet: Lambda.

"I want your soul. I will eat your soul. Come to Daddy"  are the only lyrics repeated throughout which are very direct and may be referring to the  


The video to Come To Daddy music avoids elements which do not coincide with Goodwin's Theory. The audience are only presented with Goodwin's theoretical point of the relationship between the music and visuals which is shown when the men dressed as school girls are running riot in the desolate estate. The editing style used is fast-paced once the elderly woman is spotted by the group which creates a tense and eerie atmosphere which harmonises with the poverty stricken area. Because Goodwin's theory is a theory used in most if not all mainstream songs played on MTV and is not evident throughout Come To Daddy informs the audience of how diverse the video is. 

In conclusion, the music video to Come To Daddy has a disturbing nature and holds distressing content which may upset vulnerable audiences. This therefore decreases the artists target audience because the video is not enjoyable (for many) and many may choose not to continue watching. Therefore, Cunningham could be perceived to have achieved his objective of being diverse. 

Madonna, Frozen

Despite the diversity of the video, Frozen became an international hit and won Best Special Effects Award at the VMA's in 1998. Although Madonna as an artist is known as an artist of the pop genre, the video to Frozen directed by Cunningham follows an abstract style in regards to special effects added in the editing process, cinematography and mise en scene. Therefore, this video is known to be diverse because it subverts the traditional genre characteristics of what an audience would expect from pop.

The overall  presentation of the artist is gothic esque due to Madonna being dressed in black head to toe which compliments a purposeful pale face of make-up which is almost transparent, allowing the audience to see through her image and any falseness previously presented. An audience watching this video may not expect this from a typical pop artist as they are conventionally presented to be happy, performing to the camera and traditionally dressed in vibrant colours. As a deserted location is used and is the only location noticed by the audience, it employs the idea the artist is alone therefore vulnerable as expressed through the lyrics "If I lose you. My heart will be broken" which conveys the imagery of a struggling relationship. 

The theme the video is illustrated by classic black and white colours which is typical of a typical of a thriller film rather than a music video of the pop genre. However, the two colours contrast which could be arguably symbolic of Madonna juxtaposing audiences expectations and generic conventions developed from music videos of the pop genre. Overall, the use of dark colours and goth like clothing may hold significance of the artist mourning over the death of someone beloved in her life or in fact a broken relationship, conveyed in the lyrics:  "Now there's no point in placing the blame. And you should know I suffer the same" This therefore relates to Goodwin's theoretical point of displaying a relationship between the lyrics and visuals as the artists general image harmonises with the lyrics.

Special effects are used which transform the artist from herself to both a dog and crow. This presents her as a mythical creature rather than an ordinary person with an extraordinary talent which follows thriller conventions and achieves a sense of mystery amongst audiences. It could be argued this special effect illustrates the artist to adopt a split personality which may be unpopular with her target audience and does not make her an idyllic or relatable figure. Within the video to Frozen, the artist subverts the generic image of what the audience may traditionally expect from an artist of the pop genre. It is not common to witness a pop video in which the artist performs almost half-heartidly or is presented to be scary and in mourning in contrast to the upbeat music audiences expect from pop with a confident performance which emits happiness amongst their audience. 
The music video to Frozen could be classed as 90% performance based and 10% narrative focused as opposed to a typical pop video which is typically a divide of 60% performance and 40% narrative. Throughout the entirety of the video, the artist is seen performing to the camera and the only narrative present is the illustration of the artist turning into animals (bird and dog) which represents her personality, making her a more relatable figure to audience members. Fundamentally, the animals are used to represent the artist as well as the gothic and eerie atmosphere of the video.

Madonna may have considered using Cunnigham and his diverse directing style to shock audiences, something Madonna enjoys, is famous for and succeeds at. Although this video adopts diverse qualities, it still has a loyal mass target audience due to the artist being very popular previous to the release of Frozen. This particular video is most likely to appeal to a rather niche audience due to it's diversity which arguably alienates audience members due to it lacking a narrative, concept or any genre characteristics often associated with pop music. 

Frozen follows Dyer's theoretical point of being sold as a commodity rather than an individual with talent as the audience would not expect a gothic approach for Madonna. The artists lack of engagement with her audience in this video also effects it's popularity when ignoring the fact it is very diverse. 

As a video of the pop genre, this video does not conform to the generic conventions expected by audiences. Therefore, Cunningham succeeded in creating a music video with a diverse edge by adopting unconventional genre features throughout. However, although the diverse nature may attract some audiences and engage them and almost manipulate them to watch the entire video, the diversity may contrastingly alienate others, therefore a disadvantage for towards the artists success. 

Goodwin's theory is only evident by the relationship between the lyrics and visuals when the artist sings "love is a bird" When the audience hear the lyric, we are presented with an image of the birds. Birds in the context of this video represent the love and freedom of the diversity achieved by Cunningham as he was not dictated or told what to do by the artists record label. In addition, the song title "Frozen" further refers to the artists pale face throughout the video whilst simultaneously presenting the static nature of the artist as she is struck by a wave of emotion in which the video focuses on most. Although Goodwin's theory is present it does not conventionally appeal to the target audience due to the many diverse elements embedded  throughout. 

Michael Gondry 


Gondry, a French director produces diverse, abstract and unique videos. Therefore, his style does not conform to the stereotypical genre characteristics. Artists he has worked with include Kylie Minogue and The White Stripes of which videos I will be analysing. 

Gondry on the other hand is not half as much of a diverse director in contrast Cunningham in my personal opinion. With Gondry's videos to Kylie Minogue's Come Into My World and The White Stripes The Hardest Button To Button, there is an element of normality although both still diverse and would not appeal to a mainstream audience/ the mass market. He is more neutral to genre characteristics and his work is not too diverse or overpowering, therefore the audience are still able to make sense of the video easily.





PRESENTATION
GOODWINS THEORY
STRUCTURE AND STYLE
REPRESENTATION OF THE ARTIST 


The White Stripes, The Hardest Button To Button

 The White Stripes are an American duo consisting of a married couple who produce and perform their own material of the rock genre. The pair are most known for their song Seven Nation Army of which guitar riff has worldwide recognition. The Hardest Button To Button however is not a hugely successful song which compliments the diversity of the video. As a video of the alternative/rock genre, this video follows to the generic conventions expected by audiences which corresponds to Goodwin's theory too. This video, although claimed to express diverse qualities follows certain genre characteristics often used in rock videos. This includes the frequent focus to instruments used to construct the song as it relies mostly on the use of drums and electric guitar which are shown and duplicated throughout. Two band members= low-key profile= not highly recognisable

Frozen, Come Into My World and The Hardest Button To Button all use special editing techniques in regards to duplicating images to create the desired effect upon the artists/bands target audience. In The White Stripes music video, the audience witness nothing else other than numerous shots of duplicated images of the duo performing with their instruments being the motif. 

Editing is hugely important throughout the video to The Hardest Button To Button. The song follows 2 beats (drum beats/bass guitar plucks) per second and is consistent throughout. This follows Goodwin's theory in relation to his theoretical point of the editing being parallel to the beat/lyrics and is evident throughout. With each beat, an instrument shot is introduced therefore engaging the audience because....

The Hardest Button to Button is 100% performance based. No narrative or concept is present or indeed necessary because... The audience draws their attention on the band and their music performance rather than following a narrative which is parallel to the lyrics. 

Various locations are displayed throughout including a train station and an open outdoor space. Due to the locations being easily accessible to the public/target audience, it makes the video more appealing because people who enjoy watching this music video may choose to visit the locations to relate to their favourite artist.

I personally believe this video is the least diverse out of all I have analysed. 

Kylie Minogue, Come Into My World 

Gondry's directing style is highly evident throughout the video to Come Into My World. Despite the fact the song is of the pop music genre it succeeds in breaking boundaries of a typical pop music video for many reasons. Firstly, an audience member may expect a pop video to have a high performance element with many close-up shots of the artist, commonly dressed provocatively/in vibrant colours which are eye-catching and hard to ignore. Furthermore, pop artists are represented to be easily relatable therefore liked/idolised by their youthful target audience  through dance routines or the clothes they wear because they follow the upmost recent trends. Gondry makes this video diverse because he doesn't follow stereotypes embedded within many videos of the pop genre which has its different advantages and disadvantages.

Gondry shot the video in the busy streets of Paris as he wanted the the video to capture an ordinary everyday experience of people getting on with their day-to-day routine with the exception of the extraordinary person entering the scene: the artist, Kylie Minogue. It starts with a panning shot of the artist leaving a dry cleaning store after picking up her clothes like an ordinary person but then she drops a package. We as an audience may expect a cut from the panning shot to another shot, possibly static. However, our expectations are proven wrong because the whole video uses a long-shot which pans around the location which in all honesty presents the audience with an illusion (and an eventual migraine!) The choice of cinematography in itself is rather unusual and unique therefore diverse but serves the purpose of catching the audiences attention. The gradual motif of the artist reappearing is at first engaging and interesting but then becomes repetitive. Because of this, the audience may become disinterested and not entertained and many may chose to not continue watching as the entertainment value is detained. Audiences may not expect a diverse music video from a huge international artist because conventionally artists big in the music industry serve a purpose of being an easily relatable figure rather than how Kylie is represented in this video. Although we as an audience are presented with duplicated images of the artist throughout and she is represented by Gondry to be an ordinary individual the way in which Gondry has chosen to capture it almost diminishes any ordinary attributes. 

Similarly to Cunningham's Frozen, this video relies heavily on special effects to engage the target audience as opposed to a general narrative, performance or concept. The only narrative present is the fact that the artist has collected her dry cleaning and has dropped a package of which is picked up by the second Kylie and so on. No concept is present in this video although it is classified as diverse which breaks conventions because many diverse videos have a high concept embedded throughout. Come Into My World follows Goodwin's theory in relation to the style as it is 90% performance focused as the artist mimes her song throughout, occasionally glancing at the camera. Despite this, it does not follow Goodwin's theoretical point of the record label demanding close-up shots of the artist. This is because no close-ups are present whatsoever throughout the entirety of the diverse video as it is captured through a long-shot which pans, further displaying the final end number of artists produced by special effects. As a video of the pop genre, this video does not conform to the generic conventions expected by audiences. Many pop videos use green screen to insert backgrounds relevant to the song to follow Goodwin's point of the relationship between the lyrics and the visuals. This video does not use green screen although it is classified as a special effect, however, the special effect used throughout the editing process is the duplication and motif of the artist walking around the busy streets of Paris... and around... and around. 

To conclude, Gondry's style is more commercial in comparison to Cunningham's works therefore his directing style/products (videos) are deemed by many audiences as less diverse. 

There are positive aspects of creating a diverse music video. Firstly, if shown on the correct channel with a  huge audience it can rely on word of mouth in order to spread it as many audiences may be curious. By having a diverse video it may also attract a different audience to target which may correlate to presenting new opportunities for the artist whilst promoting the director to other artists too. Furthermore, the artist can work closely alongside the director which gives the artist freedom to inject and interact their own abstract ideas. 

Along with the positives, there are also a number of negative aspects of creating a diverse music video. This includes the lack of relation between the audience and the video. No relationship can be built between the artist and the audience, especially if it is the artists first video where an attachment is not previously present. However, if the artist is already well established and has a solid fan base, the worse that can occur is for the artist to be criticised on the diversity of the video if it does not follow a pattern from their previous releases. Lastly, a diverse video may alienate the target audience, therefore not fully engaging with them which effects the artist negatively due to the lack of success whilst simultaneously effecting the audience negatively too as they do not have the opportunity to relate to the artist.

By conducting secondary research on diverse videos and directors, it allows me to think about whether certain techniques/styles would be appropriate for our music video production. Although numerous elements of the diverse videos I have explored are deemed inappropriate to involve in an Indie music video, we could consider using Gondry's style more so than Cunningham. This is because Gondry's style is less diverse than that of Cunningham and Gondry is also more commercial. Although we as a group wish to avoid a commercial style due to our chosen genre being Indie which edges away from commercialism present within the Pop genre, there may be various  elements which are rather mainstream to aim to appeal to a more mass audience which we could discuss about using within our creative production.

As a group we belive it is important to stick to and follow the generic conventions of what audiences would expect from a traditional Indie music video including naturalistic lighting, a simple yet effective narrative to follow in addition to the use of the guitar to present the artists raw talents. Because Nina Nesbitt, our chosen artist is presented to be a very natural, down to earth female who is very much focused on her music as opposed to a materialistic/lavish lifestyle much like other artists of her age, we have decided that creating a diverse music video would be wrong because it could possibly alter the representation of the naturalistic and relatable artist we have always intended to present. The main convention of a music video originating from the Indie genre is to be overall very simplistic so that the target audience can relate to it, thus benefitting the artist immensely. Due to the simplicity of their artistic works in regards to their music video, we would like the same desired effect to allow the audience to create a connection between themselves and an artist which enables them to become/feel more involved with the artist, her opinions, morals and most imperatively embedded through her lyrical content: personal emotions/experiences, usually relating to romance.

Juxtaposing this, music videos deemed to be of the diverse nature are not typically of the Indie genre but Pop/dub-step/house/Dance where a concept is usually presented rather than your typical performance or narrative used for the majority of Indie videos. As I have explored through secondary research, artists such as Madonna are like the modern day version of Lady Gaga, who would have arguably taken elements of her controversy and created a brand new image in which audiences become intrigued and fascinated by. This enables the artist to be spoken about within the media on a day to day basis which unfortunately draws more attention to her physical exterior image rather than her interior talents: song writing, piano playing and performing to the extent that no artist has ever before as she presents her frustrations towards the media through her music which is overall extremely diverse. One of Gaga's most diverse videos include Alejandro which is an astounding 8 minute 44 seconds long of... diverse references.

 

Due to the extreme content within most of her music videos, the videos act as a tool of promotion because she isn't afraid to break boundaries of traditional music and create a contemporary madness and hysteria within her art form. This therefore keeps the artist present within the industry at all times, even when she isn't producing new music to offer to audiences. Gaga is a very clever artist in regard to how she interacts with fans and offers them opportunities to engage with not only her music but her extraordinary fashion too which sometimes shocks audiences and keeps journalists writing about her ("all publicity is good publicity")


On the other hand however, Indie is a very recent genre introduced to the music industry as opposed to pop which has been around for decades longer which is now becoming more manufactured and artificial, offering audiences what they really want: a catchy chorus and synthesised music in contrast to the real, meaningful music produced within the Indie genre. Indie as a genre overall is very subtle in comparison which appeals to a much smaller, almost niche audience, despite the fact Indie artists are arguably easier to relate too in regards to their affordable image and meaningful lyrics as opposed to a topic to discuss with an elaborate image which is identified through Pop artists; some of which choosing to create a diverse video.

Diverse music videos have their definite advantages and disadvantages. Although they offer audiences something new and fresh and current to engage with in regards to the innovative concepts used within many, they have the tendency to alienate images; which therefore means they will not become as successful due to the lack of viewers (people supporting it as they may be confused by the content)