DIRECTOR: Spike Jonze
So Spike Jonze...
As I mentioned in the previous blog Spike Jonze has directed mind-bending films like Adaptation and Being John Malkovich, entertaining films like Jackass: The Movie, and heart-felt films like 500 Days of Summer and Where the Wild Things Are. He's a shining example that if you know what you're doing, you can do anything.
And ge wasn't always a wily director, he got a leg in by working on music videos. Which is why we're discussing his work today!
He has worked with Weezer, Sonic Youth, Ludacris, Beastie Boys, The Chemical Brothers and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. He's notorious for his skateboarding videos and having absurdly funny videos with minimal fanfare.
My Favorite - Fatboy Slim's Weapon of Choice which stars Christopher Walken as a dancing, flying man waiting for a bellhop.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cRV9MiNDUs&feature=youtu.be
Jonze seems to enjoy the documentary/realism feel of tracking cameras, his camera is rarely stuck to a tripod. Even on the long, static opening shot in Kanye's Flashing Lights the camera is handheld, it shakes and wobbles as the car pulls up.
His camera isn't used to cinematic visuals, but to highlight the human element. It stays wide and rolls for a long time, allowing actors and musicians perform. Lavish lighting, decadent cinematography, and extravagant set pieces aren't his style. He picks a concept and lets the performers have fun with it. And that concept always has some smidgen of magic, something fantastical that makes the piece entertaining from open to close. His mastery lies in his ability to take the simplest concept, most basic visuals and keep them captivating. You can see it in his latest collaboration with Kanye I Love It. He gives the singers big, silly outfits and lets them play and ham it up in their oversized shoulder pads.
He also seems to be a master of color, which immediately informs the tone. Weezer's Island in the Sun has a bright warm yellow glow throughout, Beck's Guess I'm Doing Fine is given a bland, washed-out look as if the melancholy has muted everything around the guitarist. Flashing Lights allows the red tail lights to tear through the calm blue background.
Wax's California exemplifies exemplifies his single-concept philosophy. In a single, slow motion shot with one subject, a man on fire runs down the street.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5vzJZHc59s&feature=youtu.be
One of my goals in shooting music videos is to have short shoots. Sure you can have elaborate stories, sets, effects and depth of meaning but whenever you choose to include the band in the video then you have to pace yourself and not take too much of an artist's time away from their music. Artists like Bjork jump right into music videos as a collaborator and that's why her and Jonze's work together is some of the best out there.
But some musicians aren't interested in collaborating, which is fine. So I love Wax's video because it just took one shot that the band had to be there for all of a few minutes. Also LCD Soundsystem's Drunk Girls. This video is another that only had one take and is wildly hilarious.
A plus for creating a video is when it's enjoyable to shoot, when the band actually wants to work on the video because it's fun or exciting or in a tropical location. So when Jonze calls up Wax and tells 'em "you want to spend five minutes watching some guy run around while he's on fire? Yeah, probably not going to turn that down.
While you could argue that his videos aren't gut-bustingly funnny, you have to agree that he's definitely got a great sense of humor and sense of play. He doesn't need to prove anything or shock the world. You can tell that he has fun making these videos and that the bands did too; from Dinosaur Jr's Feel the Pain to Phantom Planet's Big Brat. I like to imagine him pitching the idea to a band like, how would you like to:
Choose Adventure Here
- play golf around New York City (Dinosaur Jr., Feel the Pain )
- play with lion cubs outside on a breezy day (Weezer, Island in the Sun)
- run around like 80's sitcom cops (Beastie Boy's Sabotage)
- Climb around, strip down, learn how to rap backwards. (The Pharcyde Drop)
- Get harassed by Panduhs; get eggs thrown at you, get taped to walls, get beat up, tied together, stripped to your underwear, you know, usual day at the office. (LCD Soundsystem Drunk Girls)
His videos always carry the feeling of the music and it seems he loves picking high-energy and kind of raucous music to work on. As David Fincher is the master of dark, brooding, beauty and grit, Spike Jonze is the sunny, skater kid skater kid who'd put on a pair of 3-D glasses just to make the world look more fun.
Absolutely one of my top video favorites from his collection is Ludacris's Get Back. Those forearms are so absurd, it defines Ludacris's name. Just above and beyond ridiculous. And the theme advances as he and a squad of plump, dolled-up train conductors? begin throwing people into space. But it adds to the song's verve without implying anything about the meaning.
Jonze knows to put a staple in each video too, which is always a sign of a good director. He creates something absolutely unique and memorable that will keep the video in people's minds for a long time. Luda's big arm video, Bjork's cat boyfriend, (Triumph of the Heart), LCD Soundsystem's Pandas, Notorious as a kid, the guy on fire in Wax's video.
Update: To appreciate Spike Jonze and how well he executres his sense of humor I just saw this sad sad music video that could have been so much fun http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xat1GVnl8-k&feature=related - you have all the elements of a humorous band with a song that has a lot of verve but the video is forced and doesn't reflect the mood of the song at all.
As I mentioned in the previous blog Spike Jonze has directed mind-bending films like Adaptation and Being John Malkovich, entertaining films like Jackass: The Movie, and heart-felt films like 500 Days of Summer and Where the Wild Things Are. He's a shining example that if you know what you're doing, you can do anything. And ge wasn't always a wily director, he got a leg in by working on music videos. Which is why we're discussing his work today!
He has worked with Weezer, Sonic Youth, Ludacris, Beastie Boys, The Chemical Brothers and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. He's notorious for his skateboarding videos and having absurdly funny videos with minimal fanfare.
My Favorite - Fatboy Slim's Weapon of Choice which stars Christopher Walken as a dancing, flying man waiting for a bellhop.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cRV9MiNDUs&feature=youtu.be
Jonze seems to enjoy the documentary/realism feel of tracking cameras, his camera is rarely stuck to a tripod. Even on the long, static opening shot in Kanye's Flashing Lights the camera is handheld, it shakes and wobbles as the car pulls up.
His camera isn't used to cinematic visuals, but to highlight the human element. It stays wide and rolls for a long time, allowing actors and musicians perform. Lavish lighting, decadent cinematography, and extravagant set pieces aren't his style. He picks a concept and lets the performers have fun with it. And that concept always has some smidgen of magic, something fantastical that makes the piece entertaining from open to close. His mastery lies in his ability to take the simplest concept, most basic visuals and keep them captivating. You can see it in his latest collaboration with Kanye I Love It. He gives the singers big, silly outfits and lets them play and ham it up in their oversized shoulder pads.
He also seems to be a master of color, which immediately informs the tone. Weezer's Island in the Sun has a bright warm yellow glow throughout, Beck's Guess I'm Doing Fine is given a bland, washed-out look as if the melancholy has muted everything around the guitarist. Flashing Lights allows the red tail lights to tear through the calm blue background.
Wax's California exemplifies exemplifies his single-concept philosophy. In a single, slow motion shot with one subject, a man on fire runs down the street.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5vzJZHc59s&feature=youtu.be
One of my goals in shooting music videos is to have short shoots. Sure you can have elaborate stories, sets, effects and depth of meaning but whenever you choose to include the band in the video then you have to pace yourself and not take too much of an artist's time away from their music. Artists like Bjork jump right into music videos as a collaborator and that's why her and Jonze's work together is some of the best out there.
But some musicians aren't interested in collaborating, which is fine. So I love Wax's video because it just took one shot that the band had to be there for all of a few minutes. Also LCD Soundsystem's Drunk Girls. This video is another that only had one take and is wildly hilarious.A plus for creating a video is when it's enjoyable to shoot, when the band actually wants to work on the video because it's fun or exciting or in a tropical location. So when Jonze calls up Wax and tells 'em "you want to spend five minutes watching some guy run around while he's on fire? Yeah, probably not going to turn that down.
While you could argue that his videos aren't gut-bustingly funnny, you have to agree that he's definitely got a great sense of humor and sense of play. He doesn't need to prove anything or shock the world. You can tell that he has fun making these videos and that the bands did too; from Dinosaur Jr's Feel the Pain to Phantom Planet's Big Brat. I like to imagine him pitching the idea to a band like, how would you like to:
Choose Adventure Here
- play golf around New York City (Dinosaur Jr., Feel the Pain )
- play with lion cubs outside on a breezy day (Weezer, Island in the Sun)
- run around like 80's sitcom cops (Beastie Boy's Sabotage)
- Climb around, strip down, learn how to rap backwards. (The Pharcyde Drop)
- Get harassed by Panduhs; get eggs thrown at you, get taped to walls, get beat up, tied together, stripped to your underwear, you know, usual day at the office. (LCD Soundsystem Drunk Girls)
His videos always carry the feeling of the music and it seems he loves picking high-energy and kind of raucous music to work on. As David Fincher is the master of dark, brooding, beauty and grit, Spike Jonze is the sunny, skater kid skater kid who'd put on a pair of 3-D glasses just to make the world look more fun.
 |
| Ludacris chastizing a dog... for something. |
Jonze knows to put a staple in each video too, which is always a sign of a good director. He creates something absolutely unique and memorable that will keep the video in people's minds for a long time. Luda's big arm video, Bjork's cat boyfriend, (Triumph of the Heart), LCD Soundsystem's Pandas, Notorious as a kid, the guy on fire in Wax's video.
Update: To appreciate Spike Jonze and how well he executres his sense of humor I just saw this sad sad music video that could have been so much fun http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xat1GVnl8-k&feature=related - you have all the elements of a humorous band with a song that has a lot of verve but the video is forced and doesn't reflect the mood of the song at all.
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