Spike Jonze/ video analysis (The Pharcyde, 'Drop' and Fat Boy Slim 'Praise You').

About Spike Jonze

Born: October 22nd 1969
(Age 45)

From: America/ USA






About: Spike is a famous music video/ film director and has directed videos for artists such as Fat Boy Slim (Praise you video) and The Pharcyde drop.  He is also well known for his appearances on TV as an actor. Spike has won awards such as Academy Award for Best British Screen Play and Grammy Awards for best music video. He is most popular for his unique and different ideas such as the dancing in the Praise You video which go against the typical conventions of a music video (suggested by Andrew Goodwin).

The Pharcyde 'Drop'. 


What is it about these videos that attracts our attention? 
This video attracts my attention due to the performance of the characters in the video for example when the video begins the characters in the video start to dance in a distracting way. The way they are performing and dancing represents the genre of their music for example hip hop. The setting of the video is a natural setting e.g. a streets which gives a realistic feel to the video, in addition the CGI used in the video is effective e.g. they do the video in reverse order and the editing has enabled the video to go backwards. This draws attention to the video because it is interesting and humorous and therefore makes you want to carry on watching the video.

Even though I will not be creating a music video of this genre I thought it was a good idea to pick out some shots that I may include in my own work from the Pharcyde Drop video. For example the first shot I chose is a low angle/ worms eye view shot. I think that this is effective and makes the video look more interesting and different.

 Secondly in the Pharcyde Drop video they have used 3/ 4 person shots. This is something I will include in my music video due to the fact we have a group of artists not just one. On the other hand we will be using one person shots to represent each individual character in the band however we will also use five person shots to represent them as an entire group similar to the Pharcyde Drop video.

Shots like this one show the amount of people in the group/ the main artists in the group and therefore help the audience to understand aspects about each individual for example their clothing/ appearance. This mid/ three person shot shows mise en scene very well e.g. the setting and costume and lighting, this is something me and my partner will include in our music video so we are able to represent our group/ artists in the best way possible.




Fat Boy Slim 'Praise You' 


What is it about these videos that attracts our attention? 
Fat Boy Slim's video for Praise You attracted our attention because it doesn't follow the typical convention of other music videos for example the camera quality of the video is not very good and is natural/ looks like a home video. This gives a sense of reality and therefore helps people to engage in the video. The video was not staged e.g. all of the people in the background (the extra's) where real and unaware that the video was going to take place. This encourages people to watch the video to see peoples reactions. In addition, the performance in this video is humorous and makes and audience laugh for example the dancing is not very conventional or professional which draws our attention.

Some shots used in the Praise You video are very different/ unique. Even though the quality of the video is not very good this group shot/ long shot of dancers represents the song and the purpose of the video for example dance and fun. This shot also shows mise en scene. The characters clothing are realistic/ casual and the lighting is natural/ normal this shows how the video is real and in a natural setting. Me and my partner will be using similar shots to this one e.g. a long/ group shot to represent the branding of our artists.

The final scene/ sequence of shots in the Praise You video is Spike Jonze (director of the video) talking about what had just happened/ the filming of the video. This scene is not what you find in a conventional music video however this draws an audiences attention and helps them understand the video and the characters more.





Why do music videos need interesting ideas? 
Music videos need to be interesting and have good ideas so that people don't loose interest. For example if all music videos where the same it would be boring and there would be no point in watching them. I feel like music videos should represent the narrative of the song and tell a story, the fact that the video to Drop involves different ideas e.g. the reverse effect of them walking down the street makes it unique and original and therefore keeps an audience member watching and interested.

Why do they need to stand out? 
If a video doesn't stand out from others it would be boring for an audience member, it would most likely result in a song not doing as well e.g. popularity wise and in the charts because it is not unique or different from the others. In Fat Boy Slim's video the idea originated from flash mobs, the fact that this was made into a music video makes it different from all the others and therefore attracts different target audiences and encourages people to be interested in the video.

What can you use from these videos to apply to your own research and planning? 
I can now apply this research of Fat Boy Slims 'Praise You' and The Pharcyde 'Drop's videos when planning my own music video. By looking at these videos it has helped me to see how different conventions of the music industry can be broken e.g. camera quality and performance. However for my music video I am aiming for a more professional image to be represented and therefore I can now understand how to reach this aim after looking at these videos e.g. by using different shots instead of just one continuous shot similar to The Pharcyde's video.