Key Director Case Study - Media Studies A Level

1. MUSIC VIDEO
DIRECTOR
CASE STUDY:
SPIKE JONZE
By Ellie Lester

2. Background • Spike Jonze was born namedAdam Spiegel on October 22, 1969.
• He is an American director, producer and actor.
• Spike created different products which include music videos,
commercials, film and television.
• He is best known for his collaborations with writer Charlie Kaufman, his
work as director of the 2009 film ‘Where theWildThings Are’.
• He is well known also for his music video collaborations withWeezer,
Beastie Boys, Fatboy Slim and Björk.
• He was also a co-creator and executive producer of MTV's Jackass.
• He is also part owner of skateboard company Girl Skateboards with
riders Rick Howard and Mike Carroll.
• He was well known by many for his weird but wonderful production
with Bjork with her video for ‘Oh so quiet’.
• Jonze was also a co-founder and editor of Dirt magazine along with
Mark Lewman andAndy Jenkins, as well as an editor for Grand Royal
Magazine and senior photographer forTransworld Skateboarding.

3. The Auteur
Theory
• Spike Jonze is an auteur theorist which means that as a
director he uses the commercial apparatus of film-making
in the same way that a painter uses a paintbrush and
paint.
• The auteur theory is a way of using personal factors in a
artistic creation as a standard of reference and a feature
that continues throughout directors work.
• Spikes personal factor is making music videos and films
that are off-beat with their storytelling, particularly their
mix of live action, animation and puppetry.
• The idea of having a personal factor, like a trade mark, is
used amongst many directors such asTim burton.
• Burton is anAmerican writer, artist, film producer and
director. His personal factor is films that are dark, gothic
and have lots of quirky themes. His most famous films
include Beetle Juice, Edward Scissor Hands, Charlie and
the Chocolate Factory and Alice inWonderland. Like
Spike,Tim is also know partner Helena Bonham Carter
(actress) and Johnny Depp (actor).

4. Weezer –
Buddy
Holly
• Buddy Holly was the innovator of Rock ‘N’ Roll who is also
labelled as the most influential and inspirational singer-
songwriter for contemporary and later musicians.The song
‘Buddy Holly’ byWeezer pays respect to him on what would
have been his 58th birthday.
• Throughout the music video, there is live-action from the
band who are presented playing on the original set of
‘Arnolds Drive-In Diner’ from the 70’sTV show ‘Happy Days’.
Furthermore, there is also a cameo in the music video by
‘Happy Days’ cast members ‘Al Molinaro’ and ‘Fonzie’, this
creates a sense of union between the band and cast
members. It also makes viewers feel like they are watching
an episode of ‘Happy Days’ as there is a live audience who
laugh at the start and end of the video.
• At the beginning of the music video there are credits which
shows the director (Spike Jonze) which allows it to be
viewed as aTV episode or a film rather than a music video.
• Overall, the visual storytelling in the video is off-beat and
has a very imaginative aspect to it by making it appear as
part of an episode in ‘Happy Days’ which is what Spike
Jonze envisioned.

5. Fatboy Slim
– Praise You
• The music video for “PraiseYou” was shot guerrilla-style
(on location without obtaining permission from the
owners of the property) in front of perplexed onlookers
outside a movie theatre inWestwood, California.The
video features Spike Jonze and the dance group dance to
"PraiseYou”.
• Spike Jonze starred in the video under the alias ‘Richard
Koufey’, along with a fictional dance group ‘TheTorrance
Community Dance Group’.
• The video apparently cost only $800 to produce, with
most of that money going towards a replacement boom
box and food for the cast and crew.The video won three
major awards at the 1999 MTVVideo Music Awards:
BreakthroughVideo, Best Direction and Best
Choreography. It was also nominated for, but did not win,
Best DanceVideo. It was voted number one of the 100
best videos of all time, in a poll to mark the 20th
anniversary of MTV.

6. Conclusion
• To conclude, Spike Jonze is an auteur theorist because
there is a consistency of ideas used throughout his work
which makes it recognisable amongst viewers. From the
music videos that I have watched, his work tends to be
very creative in terms of ideas, he uses a mixture of live
action and music that works really well together.
• His videos also have a tendency to be influenced by
things/people in the past, whether that be a show, singer
or television series. He always portrays then effectively
within his work. For example, the ‘Buddy Holly’ music
video forWeezer takes inspiration from theTV show
‘Happy Days’.
• He also has a regularity of working with the same people
whether that is in films or music videos.
• When I create my music video I will take into
consideration the originality and bravery of Spike Jonze.
He is completely unique, as is his work.This helps Jonze to
expand audience attention and this is why he has been so
successful in his career.