Auteur research - Spike Jonze

Our group was given the task to research an "Auteur". Our chosen Auteur was Spike Jonze, the man behind cult hits such as "Fatboy Slim - Praise You", "Beastie Boy - Sabotage" and "Da Funk - Daft Punk". We noticed multiple artistic signatures throughout the clips, most of which will be explained below.

The first thing the group had realized was that Spike Jonze tends to have a lot of hand held camera work. The effect of this is that it gives the viewer the feeling of involvement. A good example of this is in the "What's up fat lip" video, where the camera wobbles and follows Fat Lip.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SK_WfF6hf2E&ob=av2e

The second thing we noticed is that all the videos include members of the public, this includes shocking, disturbing them and doing things out of the norm. An example of this is ''Fatboy Slim - Praise You,'' this video involves people dancing in what looks like a shopping centre. The public seem generally surprised and try to ignore them, this relates to when you see buskers in the street.
Also, the camera seems to be held by one of the public and once again this gives off a more realistic effect.

Reviewing 5 different type of music video

1.  A spoof video "The Lonely Island - I Just Had Sex"

Our group decided to review the song "I Just Had Sex" by the Lonely Island. We enjoyed the video because we all found the song catchy and thought the lyrics and clip were funny.

There are various story lines running throughout the video. For example, the asian family watching the performance. This is also an example of voyeurism, as you can watch the actual music video on the Asian family's TV, over their shoulders.

The video is highly representative of the lyrics, almost matching lyric to a clip in the video.

2. A video with a message "P Diddy - I'll be missing you"

We thought this video was a clear choice, with a strong message in both the lyrics and the visuals. The song clearly shows P Diddy's sorrow at losing someone close to him. 

The lyrics clearly state "What a life to take, what a bond to break; I'll be missing you" whilst showing slow clips of the singers/songwriters involved in what seems to be a church - only illuminated by candles.

There are clips in this video where P Diddy is seen to be standing in large open field with clear, blue skies. We thought that this imagery suggest that he is in heaven or another world.

3. A video that shocks - "M.I.A - Born Free"

The Born Free video is obviously aimed to shock the audience. The topic is very controversial and mirrors Nazi Germany and the Holocaust.