Diversity

A music video can benefit from being diverse however in some cases it can limit the video and the artists success.
Diversity means that the video does not conform to steretypical genre characteristics.
Directors such as Chris Cunningham and Michael Gondry usees unique themes and concepts in order to portray their artists in unexpected ways, this then enables the record label to have freedom with what they choose to include in the music videos, for example narrative, setting, mise en scene.
Artists such as Lady Gaga and Rihanna gain attention and publicity for being diverse. Lady Gaga' extravagant outfits and extraordinary music videos will shock an audience and also appeal them to her as they are intrigued to what she will do next. Rihanna is diverse as she is very sexualised and regularly breaks the boundaries with her music videos. For example her music video of Te amo sees her sexually close to a woman which shows her experimenting which the same sex which is something that an audience would not expect from her.
There are many elements of a music video that can make it stand out and be branded as diverse. The mise en scene such as that of Aphex Twin -Come to daddy and the artist representation as in Madonna's frozen video, are both elements in which make it diverse.
The genre of the song can also determine how diverse a music video will be. A pop music video would typically be more realistic and subtle as it would be aimed at a younger target audience. Whereas a music video that is of the rock genre may be more unique or diverse as the narrative behind the song is usually dark and mysterious. Furthermore, censorship can play a huge part in the diversity of a music video. If an artist or director choosing to break censorship laws then their video will generally be more unique and therefore may not be shown to all audiences, as it may be classed as disturbing or unsuitable.

Chris Cunningham is a British music video film director and video artist. He was born in Reading, Berkshire in 1970 and grew up in Suffolk. He has primarly directed music videos for ambient music and IDM groups such as Autechre and Aphex Twin.

The video in which he directed for Aphex Twin was Come to Daddy a very shocking and abstract video set in an urban block of flats. The video contains many children with faces of grown men. The video seems like a nightmare and is chaotic throughout. The type of music is techno/dance which is where the visuals are parallel to the beat. The narrative contains an elderly woman walking her dog through dark flats where she come across a broken looking television which eventually comes on showing a frightening image of a man.
The Come To Daddy music video is of the dance/techno genre and has a very unique structure as it appears as a short film. It is located in a miserable  and urban location that is covered in rubbish. This is unconventional for music videos within the dance/tehno genre as the locations are generally set in clubs/house parties etc, where young people are seen dancing and having fun.
 The appearance of the location is dark and gloomy and therefore evokes a sense of fear and confusion into the audience. The location would make an audience feel uneasy which is unconventional of a music video as they usually are intended to make an audience feel good and entertain them.
There are many disturbing images for an audience within this music video, some including distorted and dysfunctional faces which is not conventional to the dance genre as generally an audience are made to feel excited and happy to watch whereas in this case they may feel disturbed and on edge.
The characters within the video are young children who's faces have been replaced with that of one man creating a very abstract figure. The figures are very excitable and run around showing a chaotic atmosphere that is uncontrollable

 
The Come To Daddy music video has limited elements that coincide with Goodwin's Theory. The only evidence of his theory throughout the music video is the fact that the music and visuals match through the editing of the music video. This is present when the men are seen running. The fact that Goodwin's Theory is not evident in the Come To Daddy music video presents how diverse and unusual the music video is. I feel that this video is diverse and will not benefit from this because as it can be seen as disturbing and will not be a video that many people will enjoy watching however it will gain feedback due to impact it will have on a audience.

Another diverse video of Cunningham's is Frozen by Madonna. This video is very different from her previous video's as she is usually known for meeting conventions of pop, for example dancing and having a narrative within her videos. The video is very gothic as Madonna is seen with pale skin, black hair and black clothing, standing in a static position connoting the fact that she is frozen. The video is 90% performance as she sings continuously and 10% narrative.  The narrative element of the music video is only made apparent through the employment of the animals i.e. the birds and the dog. The animals are included to be representative of the gothic atmosphere that is present through the duration of the music video The video is set in a desert where there is nothing other than black animals which mysteriously appear. This video can be seen as boring as it does not follow any pop conventions in order to entertain an audience. The structure and style of this video follow a gothic atmosphere which shows that Madonna wanted to make this video stand out and portray a message which may be mourning and sadness. This diverse video and atmosphere would appeal to an audience as it different to anything Madonna has done before and will receive feedback whether it be positive or negative.
Madonna's appearance within the video is unexpected as she is usually colourful and full of life however  Her appearance is pale and lifeless, and as she is wearing dark clothing it makes her seem somewhat dull and boring. She also links in with the deserted location she is seen standing in and represents the idea of being alone, and almost frozen from the outside, real world. The audience may also view Madonna as a villain as she seems frightening and ghost-like which may repel an audience rather than attract them to the artist.

Another diverse director is Michael Gondry is an Academy Award winning French filmmaker, whose works include being a commercial director, music video director and a screenwriter.

. He is noted for his inventive visual style and manipulation of mise en scene.

 

A music video in which Gondry shows his diverse style in Kylie Minogue's video 'Come into my world' which is set in a town in Paris. The song is of the pop genre however it does not conform to conventions due to the editing styles of Gondry. The video follows Kylie Minogue as she walks around town in normal clothes picking up her dry cleaning,  which makes

her seem like an ordinary person who the audience can relate to.  Having an ordinary character will enable the audience to create a relationship with the audience in turn making the audience feel comfortable. The music video is diverse because throughout the video Kyle minogue doubles and then triples showing her take exact same route. This use of diverse editing is abstract to the eye. In comparison to Cunningham, Gondry doesn't make his video's thriller themed, he just uses editing to create interesting visuals. The visuals are simple however the use of duplicating the artist can create an effect in which an audience may find out of the ordinary and uncomfortable to watch therefore losing the opportunity to entertain.

Goodwin' theory is evident within this video due to the lyrics 'Come into my world' running parallel to the visuals of the artist walking around in her 'world' showing her surroundings and locals suggesting it to be chaotic.

Although there is much going on in the music video, overall the structure of it is 80% performance and 20% narrative. This is due to the continuous singing of the artist showing that she is mostly performing rather than interacting with others which would then be considered as narrative.

 

 

There are positives and negatives to having a diverse music video. The positives are that they will attract people's attention because they are different and unusual. Also by having a diverse music video this allows for the artist and director to have more freedom with what they choose to do. However the artist needs to take into account that an audience will find it hard to form a relationship with the artist if their video does not conform to the chosen genre characteristics.

 

 

The white stripes- The hardest button to button

 

The video that accompanies the song The Hardest Button to Button can be seen as diverse due to its unique camera shots. The genre of the music video is alternative rock which is shown by the many conventions throughout. For example the artist's wear black and red clothing which connote a harsh and mysterious atmosphere showing the rock genre. There is a heavy use of instruments throughout the video which is conventional to the rock genre as artists generally use their instruments to take out any bottled emotions they may be holding in.

 The main shots of the video included in the music video are straight cuts, therefore the shots are extremely jumpy. On each of these transitions the amount of a certain item is increased. This is an extremely unusual element for a music video, but however follows the style of Gondry.

This music video shows the artist's playing their instruments within a London park, they are pale-faced and bare foot. Their appearance is edgy however very conventional to the genre of Rock.
The colours of red and black appear continuously throughout the music video. Together these two colours can connote anger and danger which may be a certain feeling that these artists intend to portray through their music.

Goodwin's theory can be highlighted in this particular video as the beat of the song coincides with the straight cut transitions as another instrument becomes introduced to the shot. The use of special effects throughout this video create diversity due to the illusions that are created when the female artist and her drum kit are duplicated several times. This links to Gondry's directing style within Kylie Minogue's video 'come into my life' as Kylie is seen many times within the same shot which an audience will find impressive and alluring. However in turn an audience may also find the directing style unrealistic and too abstract therefore losing the entertainment quality in which it intends.

The structure of the video is predominately performance as their is no clear narrative or concept other than that of the movement through town of the artists. Both artists perform within the music video which is conventional to the rock genre as artists generally play their instruments continuously throughout a performance as well as singing to an audience or camera.

Through this technique of performance, a relationship is created between the artist and an audience, however due to the lack of narrative the video proves to engage an audience and may only appeal to a niche audience who enjoy rock performances.

The artist's personalities fail to appear within this video due to the abstract camera work and structure therefore diversity has not worked in the favour of this video as it has resulted in lack of relationship between the audience and the artist.
 

 

I think that researching into diverse music videos has given me and my group ideas about different styles that we can use for our music video. I found the diverse editing styles of Gondry interesting and a good idea for our music video as we could show our main character  several times showing his many states of mind.