Why would an artist choose to make a diverse music video? Miss Miller

Diverse means going against the normal conventions of a music video, for example to make an indie music video diverse there will be unconventional features such as strobe lighting. Diverse also means being very different. Artists may decide to make there music video unique as they want to promote to the audience their own personality which allows the audience to understand them as a person. There are many ways to make your music video unique and diverse. Many directors can make there music videos diverse and unique through just not following typical conventions of that music video and going against goodwins theory. For example in a pop music video you expect to see a club scene and everyone dancing however directors who wants to be diverse may go against the typical conventions and have a music video you would expect to be in the rock genre. Also if an artist decides to break censorship the music video is likely to be more unique and different however may not be shown on TV or music channels as it may be unsuitable which is a disadvantage of creating a diverse music video. Furthermore a theme of a music video can make a music video to be diverse and unique as directors or artists try to incorporate odd ideas into their music video to make is more entertaining for the viewers. Being diverse interests audiences as its different to other music videos which will interest them and would want to find out more about the artist. The music video will also stick in the audiences head meaning that the music video is more likely to be successful.


I analysed two directors Chris Cunnigham and Michael Gondry whoms creates music videos that do not confrom to stereotypical genre characteristics.
Chris Cunningham is a British Director whos worked with Aphex Twin, Autechure and Madonna. He's mainly directed music videos for ambient music and electronica. He's a controversial director, people either love his videos or do not understand them as they dislike abstract videos. However due to his different and unique videos he stands out from other directors and is widely known and also won some awards because of it such as MTV breakthrough video and nominated for a Grammy award for best short form music video . He produces quite gothic, dark music videos which produces a gloomy atmosphere. Many of his music videos resemble scary films. Also many of his videos are narrative based and goes against typical conventions of electronica music. He does this so people remember who he is and sticks in the mind of audiences. 
- Chris Cunningham




'Come to Daddy' music video is in the dance/techno genre and is constructed like a short film. As its a dance/electronic video you would expect to see a club scene and girls dancing around however its set on a council estate and is quite a disturbing video where younger audience may find it offensive. Its set in a dark gloomy location and therefore creates fear for the audiences as they cannot see the location clearly and also confusion as they wouldn't expect a dance/techno song to be set in a dark place. The artists within the music video have scary faces which puts the audience on edge when watching the music video. The artists are short men who are dressed as school children. This element is very diverse and can be seen as disturbing. It also could be breaking the censorship laws. Due to having children within the music video shows he's an unique artist and very different. Therefore the location and people within the music breaks the typical conventions of a dance/techno music video which makes the video diverse.

'Come to daddy' only has one element of Goodwins Theory featured within the music video. The lyrics match with visuals for example ' come to daddy' with children running around. As a result of not many features of Goodwins theory not present in the music video shows how unique and diverse the music video. It also shows evidence that it was not allowed to be shown on music channels such as MTV due to the content as it could be harmful.

Aphex Twins music video follows the style of a short film therefore has an aspect of a narrative running throughout. However this is unconventional to the dance/techno genre therefore showing the audience that the director is unique in his work. You would expect to see a performance aspect within a dance/techno video. On the other hand it does follow some conventions of dance such as flashing lights and fast paced editing. The narrative means that the music video is structured with a beginning, middle and end which therefore allows the music video to flow consistently for the whole duration. Therefore the audience can watch the music video with ease.

Throughout the whole of the music video the representation of the artist is not provided to the audience. This is because the artist is not present with the music video. So that the audience have to build there own opinion of the artist from what they perceive from the music video. Due to the fact that the music video is inappropriate and diverse it may result in a negative view of the artist so that they do not wish to watch any more of their music videos.

Chris cunninghams diverse directing style is evident within Madonnas 'Frozen' music video. Madonnas music videos are usually performance based and typical of the pop genre with her mainly dancing. However within this music video it deviates from the typical genre characteristics for an electronic/pop music video.  Which also subverts the typical representation of Madonna and she is seen as dark within this music video. Dark colours are a main focus throughout the duration of the music video. Madonna is dressed in all black which comes across as quite gothic, shes standing in an alone deserted location which produces and eerie atmosphere and shows Madonna as a gloomy person. Within the video she turns into black birds which connotes to death. The setting is quite dark and appears to be in an isolated land which creates an eerie atmosphere. The dog within the music video makes the video look like a scary film. Therefore overall the elements within this music video subvert the typical characteristics of a pop music video which may scare audiences.

Goodwins theory is present within the music video. The lyrics match to the visuals. For example 'You only see what your eyes want to see' which links to the fact that the music video contains diverse characteristics. Also the lyrics 'love is a bird' matches with the visuals on screen as she turns into birds, this makes the music video more easier to watch for the audience. It also tells the audience that the birds are a symbol of love which will help them to understand the narrative better. 

Frozen music video is 90% performance and 10% narrative. Its mainly performance as Madonna is seen singing towards the camera. The narrative element of the music video is only made clear due to the birds which symbolizes love and death. The animals within the music video represent a gothic atmosphere. The dark colours represents that maybe love is like death and she is upset over a breakup.Therefore this music video wouldnt really appeal to her typical audience due to the dark colours and dark topic. 

Overall the representation of Madonna within this music video is not herself, she is represented as dark and gothic whereas usually in her other videos she's is happy. Her clothing is dark which makes her seem dull and boring. The setting of the music video links in with the song title 'frozen' as its an isolated location which links in with the idea of being alone.Viewers may view Madonna as scary which may prevent them from watching the music video.

I think that Cunningham has created this video as Madonna wants to show to her audience that she can sing different things not just her usual style which will open up her target audience. I believe she has changed her image to keep people interested in her as she has been in the music industry a long time therefore people could be getting bored of her usual style.

Michael Gondry is another director whose music videos are diverse. Micheal Gondry is french whom also is a film-maker, film director as well as music director. He is diverse when producing music videos as he doesn't follow typical conventions. Michael Gondry creates music videos using illusions and unusual visuals that aren't scary.  A artist he worked with is the white strips and produced their song 'The darkest button to button'This group produces music in the alternative rock section.

Within the music video there were typical conventions of rock music as the instruments that were being used in the video are guitars and drums. The artists wore rock like clothing which were red and black in colours. The colours within the music video are typical of the rock genre which is red and black. The shots are also conventional to the rock genre such as straight cuts which make the video jumpy. 

There is very little Goodwins theory present within the music video. The lyrics match up to the visuals as the artists are singing about a red box and presented is a red box in the video which makes the music video more interesting to watch. However by having little elements of Goodwins theory within the music video audiences may find it boring and repetitive.

The music video is just performance based which is typical of the rock genre. The women artist is playing the drums whereas the man is on the guitar. Therefore this will build a relationship between the audience and artists however it may bore them as there is no hidden meaning or concept. 

The representation of the artists is not very clear as the audience can just see them performing which may disinterest them into watching the music video as a relationship isn't built. 


- Michael Gondry
Gondry also worked with Kylie Minogue producing the song 'Come into my world' Even though that Gondry is a diverse director the characteristics within this music video were conventional to the pop genre. It was located in a town which was typical and kylie was wearing conventional clothing such as jeans and boots. This is very typcial of the pop genre which will attract audiences. It will also build a relationship between the audience and the artist as they will be able to relate to her. 

The only point of goodwins theory was that the lyrics link to the visuals. The lyrics came onto the screen and kylie popped into her world. This will make the music video more easier to watch and easier to understand. However as there is little evidence of goodwins theory audiences may get bored and not engage with the music video. 

Kylie walks around in circles within the music video which will leave the audience confused and may disinterest them into watching it. Its also performance based therefore the audience may get bored as there is no hidden meanings behind the lyrics.

Both Gondry and Cunningham are both dirverse directors but both have there own different style. Cunningham produces more dark gothic videos which will probably be banned on music channels whereas Gondry produces unique videos but less explicit then Cunningham and viewers wont find them offensive. They use similar editing technique for example both uses fast paced editing, in Gondrys video 'the darkest button to button he edited the drum and guitar to move quickly and in Cunninghams video 'Come to daddy' he used fast paced editing when the tempo got quicker. The benefit of working with a diverse actor like Gondry and Cunningham is that your video is likely to get a lot of publicity meaning that it promotes you as an artist. However not all there songs would be on music channels unless they were censored.

The advantages of creating a diverse video is that the video will be unique and stand out to the audience which will gain publicity and the artist may gain more fans. However disadvantages of creating a diverse video is that it may not be shown on a music channel due to censorship therefore less people see it. Also audiences may find it offensive which will deter them away from watching the music video. Also they may find it strange therefore the representation of the artist will go down. 

I wouldn't want to make a diverse music video as its hard to appeal to a target audience, they also come across a bit scary which will make the artist look bad.