Diversity - Miss Miller

"Why would an artist choose to create a diverse music video?"

There are many contributing factors which make a Music Video diverse and unique. First the video needs to stand out from the crowd not following any of the standard conventions of the genre it belongs to. For example if the music video was pop it wouldn't sexualise women and would do something completely out of the ordinary.  If it was to be a series of random clips or something that cannot be explained it would be considered unique as some artists may not be daring enough to attempt this as it may break down their relationship with there fan base, on the other hand artists starting out may consider this a easy way to break into the mainstream charts as more audience watch their music video due to the fact they are intrigued by what they are viewing and may replay it multiple times to try and figure out what the artist is trying to convey to them, if it is that unique. Some artists that are considered like this are Miley Cyrus, Lady Gaga, and Robin Thicke and Sia.

Chris Cunningham, born in 1970, is one director of music videos who works in this way. Cunningham most produced music videos for ambient music and eletronica genres which include such artists as Autechre and Aphex Twin. He is best known for his videos for Aphex Twin which include "Come to Daddy" and "Windowlicker", which was nominated for the best video award at the Brits in 2000. He also directed Madonna unique, "Frozen", which went on to be a international hit and winning an award for Best Special Effects at the 1998 MTV Music Video Awards. Aphex Twins (AT's) videos produced by Cunningham have a very complex and unique narrative that is hard to  understand for audiences, making it appeal to them as they are constantly trying to figure out what is being display by the artist/director. Both videos have an unconventional manner through there narratives Windowlicker starts with two guys looking to pick up girls, when a rich man shunts their car out of the way and reveals himself the video takes a dark turn as the actor who plays the man dances (performance element) randomly and has the actually artists faced edited over his in a still position with the girls following in the same way. While similarly come to daddy displays the same weird narrative which keeps the audience entertained as it follows a group of young girls following the order of a devil like character in a old TV screen, yet again the artists face is edited onto all the characters faces. AT's videos also feature a considerable amount of explicit language which limits his target audience to 18 plus.

Madonna's Frozen also follows similar themes to AT's video as it also is unconventional from both artist and director. Madonna is highly regarded as a pop artist instead released a electronic genre song which doesn't fit into the conventions of its genre at all. Frozen is about human being that has been drained of all emotions so again like previous references is quite dark. The music video presents Madonna as quite a Gothic person which completely subverts the pop genre. Frozen is a combination of Performance and Concept which is also seen in his other work as the artists perform in the centre of the screen and promote ideas to the audience.

Cunningham's work features many close ups of the artist face which is in order to promote the artist further which is due to the demands of the record label. They also tend to follow the same pattern of beside being unconventional to similar videos in the same genre they all rather have very dark/evil theme which keeps new audiences out of there comfort zone, which in turn could make them more likely to listen to there work more often as this new experience may change there attitudes/influences as it is different from the conventional music of the same genres. Another common theme of Cunningham's work is that lyrics match the visual seen by the audience which can be seen be the children running to their 'Daddy' in AT's music video and in a cold emotionless state of mind being presented by Madonna in Frozen. Chris Cunningham's work has a limted amount of music channels that it can be broadcast on, it wouldn't be on music channels such as MTV as it doesnt fit in with the channels target audience. But it may be on a top 40 countdown programme if it made it onto the charts. But may only be played after the watershed, with Frozen maybe being played in the watershed as it doesn't promote as extreme themes. 

Micheal Gondry, born in 1963 is a French director who manipulates the main element of music videos being Mise-en-Scene. He has won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay which was for some of his work in the film industry beside Music Videos. He has collaborated with such artists as Daft Punk and Radiohead but the two artists I will be looking at are the White Stripes 'Push the Hardest Buttons" which falls under the Rock genre and the Kylie Minogues "Come into my world" which is Pop. Gondry's videos are more conventional to the genres but stand out from the crowd as well, obviously not the the extreme of Cunningham but nonetheless do.

Push the Hardest Buttons is conventional to the music genre as it sticks to the common themes of rock bands i.e, the use of instruments such as the guitar and the drums, casual clothes (red and black). The video also follows Goodwin's theory particularity that visuals are linked with the music as every time there is a beat the frame of the video changes to more or less drums/guitars/amps on the screen. Also there are many close ups throughout the video to promote the artist due to the demands of the record label. The overall style of the video is performance as throughout we see the band on screen with there instruments singing. The overall video is quite a conventional as it is very realistic, relatable video for audiences as it is set in city location/ on the subway somewhere in America.
Again another one of Gondry's music videos "Come into my world" by Kylie is a conventional pop video that differentiates from others under the same genre, it would be considered strong to some audiences. The location of the shoot for the video is not in a glamorous location such as LA but in a Italian town, Kylie is rather wearing causal clothes and not fancy outfits like her previous videos

The video doesn't contain any dance routines but instead follows the motif of routine as she get duplicated doing the same task to reflect the concept of the song "come into my world". There  is a direct link between lyrics and visuals as just explained with music doing the same. There are also so many inter-textual references such as the display of the smart car etc. This music video follows the Narrative/Performance segment of Goodwin's theory as the artist is performing to the camera in a series of close ups and mid-shots and if following the same continuous routine which is relatable to audiences as it is a normal lifestyle unlike the artist which is laid back i.e. picking up the drying cleaning/ doing shopping. Michealn Gondry's work would be played during the censorship of music videos on music channels as his work is suitable for all audiences as it doesn't have complex themes that younger audiences may not understand such as depression/emotionless but rather reflects modern life and his videos are relatable for all audiences.

There are various similarities and differences between the style of the two music video directors. Cunningham has a more extreme approach while Gondry has a more moderate as he does follow some conventions of the genre, but manages to find the balance between the two as some unconventional methods are used, to the genre. Cunningham's videos have a less structured narrative and seem to be darker in emotion while on the contrary Gondry's is the complete opposite as it is more life like, uses motifs and friendly to audiences and leaves them in a good mood rather than being disillusioned, this could be down to the fact of the two genre types. They both use a massive amount of editing techniques are Cunningham edits the artists face on to people and Gondry time elapses and edits Kylie into the footage five times doing different movements.

There are many reasons why any artist may choose to create a diverse music video as listed below:
-it will be remembered by audiences
-it may appeal to a wider  audience
-the audience may continue to watch to get a greater understanding of the meaning/purpose of what the artist/director is trying to convey
-a new fresh style  for artists that repeat themselves

On the other hand there are many negative outcomes that can come from an artist making a diverse music video;
-if  repetitive it can become boring if the same content is repeated
-no emotional impact on the audience
-may not  be broadcast by mainstream TV services.