Auteur Music Video Directors

Auteur Music Video Directors

An auteur film director is a film director that influences their work so much they rank as an author. The filmmaker's individual style and control over all elements of production mean that the film is personal, unique and specific to each director.

Spike Jonze

Adam Spiegel is an American filmmaker, photographer and actor with work of his including things like music videos, adverts, film and television. Spike Jonze has also taken on various acting roles. He has been nominated for an MTV Music Video awards, Oscars and Golden Globes with his creativity evidently spanning through various genres, appearing timeless and undated. He started in 1992 making clips for Sonic Youth - 100% moving on to memorable projects for the likes of Fatboy Slim and in recent years has worked with Lady Gaga, Kanye West and Paul McCartney. Jonze saturates his music videos with pop culture references like Sabotage - Beastie Boy is seen to reference 70s pop shows. He is renowned for his ability to capture loneliness and isolation through wide angles, montages, simple shots to emphases rawness and an overall 'less is more' approach. 'Where The Wild Things Are' is a distinct film made by Jonze, he was chosen to be the director of the long-waited adaptation of the children's book.

Stanley Kubrik

Stanley Kubrik was an American film director, screenwriter and producer and was one of the most influential filmmaker's within cinematic history. His short films covered a huge variety of genres and are noted for their realism and unique cinematography. The films involved expressions of inner struggle but never presented his own views regarding the meaning of the content in order to leave it open to interpretation, creating a pure cinematic experience. Stanley was known to question everything including technical aspects like camera placements and curated innovations like using both slit-scan photography and front screen projection. This led to him winning an Oscar for special effects. He also used a 'one-point perspective' leading the audience's eyes to a central vanishing point, a complex technique relying on visual symmetry using parallel lines that all converge at a single point. Kubrik also used a steadicam a lot particularly in 'The Shining' to get fast, clean camera shots. He focused heavily on the music. Kubrik manages to say things through the picture, primal, emotional and unwordable things about philosophy and complex ideas. He was profound intellectually and this transferred into his work. His work can be seen to include cold, orderly images, heavy use of zooms and practical lighting. Alongside this, he inspired a lot of conspiracy theory like if the moon landing really happened hinted at in 'The Shining' and was heavily influenced by Nietzsche and the concept of entering return.

Christopher Nolan

Christopher Nolan is an English film director, screenwriter and producer known for making personal, distinctive films within mainstream Hollywood. He is the eight highest grossing director by worldwide box office. Nolan assembles complex and intricate plots presented in a way that respects the audience's intelligence whilst creating an exhilarating form of entertainment. The majority of Nolan’s camerawork is handheld providing some of his films with a swift energy thanks to the fluid mobility and quick setup time afforded by the technique. Key components of Nolan's aesthetic also include his non-linear story telling demonstrated in 'Batman Begins' which utilises a recurring flashback motif. He cuts between different time frames to add suspense. Troubled protagonists are also seen in his work and they are driven from previous traumatising experiences, often questioning and having fragmented relationships with reality and identity. He also explores the dark side of humanity. Nolan has repeat collaborations and has built a rapport with particular cast and crew members that often feature in his work like actor Tom Hardy.