Music Video has influenced popular culture since MTV’s launch in 1981, and according to Carol Vernalis ‘Music Video’s Second Aesthetic?’, it has changed through changes in technology and platforms and is still an important element in popular culture today (Vernallis, 2013).

　In this context, creative creators emerged from the 1990s to the 2000s, most notably the ‘Directors Label’ series by Palm Pictures, which compiled the work of these creators. Three creators in particular – Spike Jonze, Michel Gondry and Chris Cunningham – took the world by storm (the series continued up to 7 and featured directors such as Jonathan Glazer and Anton Corbijn who are still active in film and other visual fields today). Michel Gondry and Spike Jonze have since gone on to film and have become successful film directors.

　So what are their creator characteristics? In this article, we will discuss Michel Gondry’s films.

　Two points link director Michel Gondry to the cinema. As pointed out by Vernalis, one is the new editing and matching of sound and images that make full use of digital technology (Vernallis, 2013).. For example, his masterpiece of Chemical Brothers’ “Star Guitar” is one of the most comfortable matches between sound and image. Kylie Minogue’s “Come into My World” also utilises a motion-controlled camera to portray a proliferating Kylie in what appears to be a single shot. The film condenses technology and Michel Gondry’s obsession with it.

　Secondly, it is a cinematic approach. Vernalis states that music, sound and image are inextricably linked in contemporary cinema (Vernallis, 2013). Moreover, what are the characteristics of Michel Gondry’s films? It is an early cinematic approach. For example, the dance scenes in Chemical Brothers’ “Let Forever Be” and Daft Punk’s “Around the World” are reminiscent of Busby Berkeley’s musical scenes. Leo Goldsmith also points out the Berkeley connection(Goldsmith, 2004) .

Goldsmiths also notes comparisons to Georges Méliès, another French director (Goldsmith, 2004). For video ‘GO’ can be described as a ‘substitution splice’ style, a speciality of Méliès.

　The relationship between Michel Gondry’s work and cinema has been described. Kate McQuiston, in ‘Introduction: Music and Sound in the Worlds of Michel Gondry” (McQuiston, 2020), describes how the aural elements of Gondry’s films, particularly in dramatic and emotional scenes, are brought out to their fullest extent. The creation of creators such as Michel Gondry, who are featured as ‘Directors Label’, has brought Music Videos into a more creative world. It could also be said to have played a role in the evolution of digital cinema in the 21st century and beyond.

References

• Carol Vernallis (2013), “Music Video’s Second Aesthetic” in: Unruly  Media, New York: Oxford University Press, 207-233.
• Goldsmith, L. (2004) The Work of Director Michel Gondry, Not coming to a theater near you. Available at: http://www.notcoming.com/features/gondry/ (Accessed: November 28, 2022).
• McQuiston, K. (2020) “Introduction,” in Music and sound in the worlds of Michel Gondry. S.l., New York: Routledge.

28/11/2022 Kenji Shimada