Diversity - Miss Miller

What makes a music video diverse and unique?

A music video is diverse when it breaks away from the average expected music video, this could involve breaking the stereotypical codes and conventions of the artists genre as well as becoming controversial through restricted footage such as  nudity, swearing or any other inappropriate behaviour/language.

Chris Cunningham is a music director responsible for many well known controversial music videos. Madonnas music video Frozen is a prime example of his controversial work, within the video Madonna is represented in a very morbid and gothic way, for example the black loose clothing that covered her whole figure. This portrays Madonna to be a very dark and mysterious character, which is very unlike Madonnas original and previous personality, which was known to be very jubilant.  This is most likely a strategy to help gain a wider and different audience, as it will attract more alternative and rock as well as Madonnas existing fan base.
 Within the music video 'Frozen' there are many aspects of Goodwins theory, in particular the use of close up. Many close ups are used whilst Madonna is singing into camera, this is used in demand of the record label to develop motifs which may recur across their work, as well as to familiarise the audience with the artist to create awareness. The video is also primarily performance based, this is because Madonna is featured throughout the whole video either singing to the camera or dancing, this shows viewers of her skill and talent as an artist. However there is a small fraction of concept within the video she repeatedly turns into a bird, this is meant to be perceived as promoting a free spirit.

Another artist Cunningham has worked with is Aphex Twin, where he continued to create controversial videos such as Window Licker and Come to Daddy. Within the music video 'Window Licker' the artist is represented in a very crude way as he chose to use characters who use a lot of swearing and offensive language. Aspects from Goodwins theory are also used for example how a voyeuristic treatment of the female body is used, when they are verbally sexually harassed by the men within the video. The video is primarily concept based as it attempts to show the message to the audience that women prefer to go for men who have more money.
 Then within the video 'Come to daddy' the artist is represented in a much more antagonistic light. The visuals match the lyrics as the children are all heading to the TV screen with the artists face, this is used to help bring the lyrics to life and capture the viewers attention and carry on viewing. Many closeups are used of the artists face, which has been edited onto the bodies of the children within the video, this is used to help promote him, as it shows the audience what he looks like. However this could also be portrayed as slightly disturbing to some viewers as it associates him as very unusual therefore could negatively effect him. For both of these videos by Aphex Twin a strange and abnormal perception is forced onto viewers, however the dissenting reputation does create a lot of publicity and therefore the main focus of being diverse from the stereotypical electro/house genre.

Gondary is another music director who is responsible for many controversial music videos. 'Push the button' by The White Stripes is a video Gondary produced, within this video the artists were represented as very conventional to the rock genre this is shown through many micro elements for example mise-en-scene-costume. The artists wear very bright colours to show their vibrant personalities, however very casual which coveys that they're chilled and laid back, the iconography of the drum set and guitar used is also very conventional as stereotypically instruments are used in rock music videos. From Goodwins theory the main point used is the relationship between the music and the visuals, as each time there was a change in tempo the artists would change in position, this is used to help keep the audience in beat with the pace of the song as well as enticing them into carry on viewing the video. The video was mainly performance based, as they were playing their instruments as well as singing into the camera, this helps promotes there talents within the music industry.

Another artist Gondary has worked with is Kylie Minogue on her music video 'Come into my world', within this Kylie is represented as an ordinary person living a normal life, this is shown through her walking through the streets holding her dry cleaning. This is used to make Kylie look more relatable to the audience as she is doing what they do in everyday life, this positively helps her image and can also improve her fan base as viewers love to feel connected to the artists they listen to. Within the video the visuals match both the music and lyrics, when the chorus repeats itself the same image will appear on the screen, this is used to link the words to a specific part of the video. The lyrics 'Come into my world' also are in sync with the video as she is walking around in a circle to portray the area she is in is her world. Both these techniques are used to help the audience remember the video as they have repeatedly seen the visuals and have the music and lyrics to link what they have seen with.

There are both negative and positive elements of using both Cunninghams and Gondarys directing styles, both have an aim to create a lot of awareness for the artists they are representing however take different approaches in doing this. Cunningham reaches wider audiences by mixing the artists typical genre with others, which is very effective as it creates a larger fan base as existing fans will watch as well as viewers of the mixed genre. Whereas Gondary sticks to using conventional elements of the genre of the artist, this means he does not reach out to a wider audience in particular. Both styles have the similarity of aiming to make their videos as rememberable as possible, Cunningham does this by making his videos unique using weird and unusual narratives, characters and concepts which creates debate. Whereas Gondary does this by being extremely repetitive, which causes interlexal appeal as viewers enjoy working out the hidden meanings of the songs. However both of these approaches can cause either disturbed and dissatisfied fans or become annoying, therefore not all the publicity and awareness created is positive.

As an artist I would consider using either director styles, however would have to base my final decision on what I wanted to gain out of the music video I was creating. For example if my aim was to reach a wider audience I would be more likely to chose Cunningham as he successfully merges several genres together within one video. Whereas if I wanted to create a very conventional and simple video that would appeal to my existing fans, I would more likely chose Gondary as he is successful in creating videos that appeal to a specific genre by using the stereotypical elements of a music video.