Role Research - Director

The director is responsible for making sure the subject or subjects know what they are supposed to be doing, for organising the production crew’s tasks and directing them as to how to complete them and also, for controlling the artistic aspects of the production, making sure that it fits in with their creative ideas as well as the script. They work under the producer – the person who oversees the project and delivers it to potential audiences and clients – and the two members of the team work towards mutual, workable ideas. The director takes charge of the creative aspects of making the production, whereas the producer works on funding, casting and other practical sides to the project. Both are actively involved in the production process. Directors are in control of developing the production from simple ideas on a script to actual camera shots, deciding on camera angles, lighting and set design, as well as the tone and audience of the production. They are driven by the tone, rhythm and sound of a musical track and usually use storyboards to help them with the filming process. Notable music video directors include Chris Cunningham, Marc Webb and Jonas Akerlund.

Chris Cunningham is a British director from Reading, Berkshire. His work is more underground than that of the other two. His first endeavours with video work involved model-making, prosthetics and illustrations – some of which have carried on to his current work, such as the video for Rubber Johnny by Aphex Twin. His music videos include Bjork’s All Is Full Of Love, Madonna’s Frozen and Aphex Twin’s Windowlicker – all of which have reached critical acclaim and have received various awards. Marc Webb is an American director from Indiana. He has produced music videos for rock acts, such as My Chemical Romance, Green Day and The Used, as well as popular music acts like Hilary Duff, Pussycat Dolls and P Diddy. His work is aimed at a mainstream audience, like Jonas Akerlund’s but unlike Chris Cunningham’s, and he has a large budget for production. Jonas Akerlund is a Swedish director, based in America and he has worked with mainstream acts such as Lady Gaga, Madonna, Metallica, U2 and Britney Spears. The video for Lady Gaga’s Paparazzi received five nominations at the VMAs and won the awards for Best Art Direction and Best Special Effects. The follow-up video, Telephone, was inspired by Kill Bill – Tarantino even let them borrow the car which Uma Thurman drives in the film – and received critical acclaim and awards for Video of the Year and Best Collaboration.