FEATURE:
Directors Cut
IN THIS PHOTO: Acclaimed French director Michel Gondry has directed multiple classic videos during his career
Have We Passed the Age of Music Video Innovators?
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I have been thinking about this…
PHOTO CREDIT: Donald Tong/Pexels
for a while now. I have been immersing myself in some great and hugely innovative music videos from the 1990s and 2000s. Maybe as a way to get featured on MTV or the early days of YouTube, there was this defined wave of directors putting out amazing video after the next. My favourite is Michel Gondry. The French director started out in the 1980s but his classic period I think was from the early-1990s to the early-2000s. Directing videos for artists like The White Stripes, Kylie Minogue and Radiohead, perhaps he is best known for the videos he directed for BjörK. Such mind-blowing and eye-opening videos. This very distinct style. A huge imagination. Gondry also directed one of the best music videos ever: Daft Punk’s Around the World. He is still directing, though I think his finest years were back in the 1990s and the early part of the past decade. He is not the only one. Hugely creative and exceptional directors like Sophie Muller, Hannah Lux Davis, Spike Jonze, Chris Cunningham and Melina Matsoukas. Between them, they have this portfolio of videos that stay in the mind and will endure for years. I have highlighted Michel Gondry as I always love his videos. How they need to be watched over and over again so that you can work them out. Alongside the more arty and intellectual directors, there are those who have made huge productions. I guess music videos were essential for people to notice the song. A way of marketing this track so it would reach a larger audience. More than being part of the promotional process. The best directors made videos that were more enduring and powerful than the songs themselves. I have discussed this before. How these directors created timeless videos that inspired other filmmakers.
Many would point out how social media means artists are promoting their music in different ways. Music T.V. is not really a thing anymore. It also can be expensive making videos and most artists have a very limited budget. So many videos from major artists are liked and shared because of the artist and not necessarily the quality of it. I am thinking about the best videos of the past decade and how many could stack up against classics from a few decades back. Do we have modern-day directors who have their own style and have built up a reputation. We have film and T.V. directors who have a varied and long C.V. Less common when it comes to music videos. It is a pity that there is far less stock in music videos now. I guess it is fair to say that the culture is different. However, as physical formats like C.D.s and cassettes are back and could well see a boom, what is to say music T.V. cannot stage a revival? There are some great music videos released each year, though we tend to see fewer standouts. A director with their own mark and personality. Running together a string of brilliant videos that engages the senses and stays in the memory. Every time I write about this, I do wonder whether music videos are valued. I don’t think it is as simple to say tastes have changed or the digitisation of music has impacted that side of things. With so many rising and major artists putting out music, there should be this opportunity for directors with the vision and brilliance of Michel Gondry or Sophie Muller to break through.
Even if it won’t have the same impact and legacy of those directors’ videos, often music video directors go into film. It is this gateway where a director can flex their creative muscles. In so many cases, I remember an artist and an album because of a music video. Money remains an issue. To mount something quite ambitious and technical, it can take a lot of time and money. There is not really a big return. I feel it is a shame that the visual side of music is perhaps not as celebrated or important as it once was. The more I revisit these wonderful music videos from the past, it is more than the visuals. It is the memories. The way videos opened my music world. I think videos were more important than the actual music in a way. I long for the day when we get these ambitious and new directors emerging that take music videos in a new direction. Maybe people can name some who are doing that already. I am always keen to discover amazing directors. I also fear for younger music fans who might lack curiosity when it comes to music videos. This unique artform that has produced works of genius through the years. Perhaps I am old and stuck in the past. It is not as though music videos have disappeared. I feel there is a real absence of directors pushing things. Music videos not as regarded as they once were. A golden time when videos ruled. I seriously hope that this time has…
NOT gone forever.