The History of Music Videos

EDGAR WRIGHT Edgar Wright uses music videos as a stomping ground for techniques and concepts to use in future films. I don't have much else to say regarding his MV work...... it's pretty limited. But he's one of my favorite directors and it'd have been a crime not to include this look at how a director can use MVs to experiment.  Mint Royale -  Blue Song   was the basis for Baby Driver. Wright's compulsiveness is on display as every action moves to the beat and each moment lends itself perfectly to the song. We can play the opening chase scene of Baby Driver to this one for a near-perfect match. Charlotte Hatherley -  Bastardo  is a playground for Scott Pilgrim's style. It's an interesting side-by-side. Not because of of Scott Pilgrim's similarities to  Bastardo  but from how different it is. Bastardo (2005) uses the graphic novel/magazine style very literally, as Scott Pilgrim (2010) takes cues from the comic book style. In Bastardo 

CHRIS CUNNINGHAM is a prodigy of special effects and disturbing imagery. He got his start in Hollywood working on the props and effects for Alien 3 with David Fincher when he was a teenager! And he's provided terror to audiences ever since. His videos are visceral in a way that gets under your skin. Disturbing, but captivating like found-footage of John Wayne Gacey at a pool party. His a direction creates actual, physical uneasiness. He uses a library of techniques to execute the distressing videos: Undefined Phenomena -  The focal point of Cunningham's videos is always an unexplained phenomena: a demon bursting from a TV, a humanoid experiment in a cell, a disembodied head on a subway. But the apparition alone isn't what keeps you watching. It's your desire to lean in and learn about the thing. But Cunningham knows giving you those answers will only deplete your fear of it. And so I think it is a consistent choice that he never reveals anything about the crea

MICHEL GONDRY I saw the trailer for Jim Carrey's new TV show Kidding and I was like, "Oh yeah, Michel Gondry is wild." Gondry is a French director who enjoys practical effects and drawing inspiration from his childhood. His work is simple and surreal, whip smart and whimsically childish. His work can make you think and feel complex emotions. Which sounds easy, but earnestly it's difficult to find a movie or music video that do either one as well as he does both. You might know his films: Sunshine of a Spotless Mind, Be Kind Rewind, or The Science of Sleep. He prefers collaboration and practical effects to a polished feel. Many of his more notable works require extensive work from another department, whether its choreography (Around the World, Mad World), set design (Army of Me), or visual effects (Human Behavior, Everlong). Like Spike Jonze, his direction is more to allow collaborator's work to shine through than his own. He has most frequently worked with The C

NIHILISM DEFINITIONS Nihilism -   "a radical skepticism that condemns existence." Nietzsche believed that the corrosive effects of this line of thought would erode morality, religion and other institutions.          - Comes from "nihil" like "annihilate", to destroy completely, to bring nothing.         - " Man is a rope tied between the animal and the superman- a rope over an abyss." - Nietzsche . Everything man does is meaningless. We are only a bridge to something greater (the superman) or to nothing.          Nihilist -   Believes in nothing, has no loyalties. A passive nihilist has no allegiances or  convictions, while an active nihilist seeks to destroy.  The Superman - Neither refers to the DC character or the Aryan race, as the Nazis misinterpreted it to mean. The Superman refers to mans' primitive nature and infinite potential. We are on the brink of become better than our individuals, but held back by our animalist

In the Dust of this Planet by Eugene Thacker, emblazoned on Jay-Z's jacket in Run INTRO Nihilism is seeing a resurgence in popular culture.  TV shows like True Detective, Rick and Morty, Enter the Void and Bojack Horseman address existential crises, empty institutions, deep solitude. Mainstream movies are looking forward to the apocalypse. Memes like Chungus and Shaggy's Ultimate Power embrace meaninglessness. But music videos have been nihilistic for a long time. Are they ahead of the pop culture curve or is there something about the medium of music videos that lends itself to nihilistic expression? Let's find out! First! What  rubric  do we use to tell if a MV (Music Video) is Nihilistic? For the Long Answer : https://lastvcr.blogspot.com/2019/03/preface-to-nihilism-in-music-videos.html - check out my preface post, where I research different types of nihilism and their relationship to music.  For the Short Answer : If the  subject  of the video is  noth

Watch NYXT here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozxIhMSs85g Beautiful women, violence and a bit of witchcraft.  It's got this feel, sexual brutality, like an 80's-slasher flick. It turns your blood up to your head and then sends it shivering back down your spine. This theme reminds me of DYE's video for " Fantasy " which shares ghoulish parallels almost a parallel video. A party that leads to violence, to a portal in a body of water.  NYXT is produced and directed by Fabio Frey and Joey Thompson of Dinobrite Productions. These guys made the infamous Rock Out with your Gamecock Out , have had videos on .Tosh, and are currently the most innovative production company in Columbia, SC (update, they work in LA currently). I spoke with Fabio who said he and Joey have been working overtime and have made around a hundred videos now. That he wanted to take a step back from the more corporate work and do something for his own creative satisfaction. I talke

Today we are talking about one of the most impressive feats in music videos, The One Take Wonders. No cuts, no tricks, just one long, unending shot. You turn the camera on and you record until the song is over. Long shots aren't always immediately apparent, but they are captivating. These one-takes sneak their ways into cinema, weaving themselves in and out of a movie with grace, like the hallway fight in Old Boy HISTORY OF THE FORM This is not a new technique. Orson Wells introduced the shot in  Touch of Evil,  following a car with a bomb in it. It's commonly used in films like  Raging Bull , Saving Private Ryan, and Atonement to build suspense, a scene or to bring you into the world of the film .  Tony Jaa's staircase fight in  The Protector   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79ditPebZ8g Action movies often  save their biggest sequence as a single-take, because it's both impressive and suspenseful.   This style has been taken to new heights