Music video Auteurs

Spike Jonze

One famous music video auteur is Spike Jonze, who cemented his style in 90s music videos and the grunge genre. His style, while being seen as alternative, has been viewed as a culmination of skater culture. Jonze describes his inspirations as having come from skating with friends and having access to some of the first portable home cameras. He came to public attention through Jackass after they were picked up through MTV. He began directing Jackass and has continued to do so throughout later life, despite his focus on directing music videos.

His first music video, "Hush" was released in 1992 and features a far more punk tone than his later works, as it focuses on a gritty atmosphere. One of his more recent works "Kenzo World" appears to be a stark contrast from his earlier style, using bright colours and elegant and upper class look to the video, The lighting is also far more even and warm, in compared to the more dramatic look of "Hush". The song choice also stands out due to it's difference in genre and more upbeat and aloof tone.

Opening shot from "Hush" (1992)

David Fincher

David Fincher is another auteur who has directed many music videos for madonna, even going on to direct feature length films such as "Fight Club" and the critically acclaimed "Gone girl".

Initially Fincher began work as a production assistant, before going on to help in a multitude of film productions, such as "Return Of The Jedi" (1983), also "Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom"  (1984), before going on to direct a commercial for the American Cancer society. The commercial shocked many, showing a foetus smoking a cigarette. This propelled him into the spotlight, giving  him the opportunity to work with artists, such as Madonna. He worked on "Vogue", "Bad Girl" and "Express Yourself". Fischer cited some of his favourite films as "Alien", "Jaws" and "Monty Python And The Holy Grail".

Fincher has been known to style his work through having highly detailed sets. he has also used computer generated images to position cameras and is known to never use a freehand camera in his work. He also tends to use one fridge shot per feature length film, though this is not always the case. Fincher has moved onto directing the critically acclaimed Netflix series, House Of Cards. 

Madonna in a shot of Vouge (1990)

Express Yourself (1989)