2 of the most inspiring and influential filmmakers for me are Anton Corbijn and Spike Jonze. I grew up on MTV and the surreal videos I watched there really imprinted on me a creative wonder and awe. Having these awesome visuals accompany my favourite pop music as kid sparked my desire for the beautiful, colourful things as well as an appreciation for striking monochromatic visuals. They’re two very different filmmakers but they’ve joined a the hip in my mind. They share that same space in my head. Those weird moments, gazing at the TV, trying to figure out what meaning I could take from their videos and decode some of the symbolism, some of which I’m still trying to work out.
Anton Corbijn
If you never heard of Anton Corbijn(left), you probably have seen one of his photos or music videos. Corbijn is one of those creative forces that established his photography as much as his video work. Fans of U2 and Depeche Mode will know his work with those bands as they’ve had a long creative relationship spanning decades. From music videos to promotional photography as well as stage design for tours Corbijn has cemented his legacy with some of the most successful musicians of our time.
Influential
Corbijn has photographed iconically musical legends such as David Bowie, Tom Waits, Kurt Cobain, Nick Cave, Beck, Henry Rollins, Miles Davis, to name but a few. I once read that Corbijn was the man, you go to when you want to look like an icon. His music video roster is impressive too. Notably, he did a plethora of Depeche Mode videos including the videos for Personal Jesus, Walking in My Shoes, and Enjoy The Silence. Nirvana’s Heart-Shaped Box, U2’s One as well as the masterful Liar by Rollin’s Band. He made his first feature film, Control based on the life of the late Ian Curtis of Joy Division to much acclaim. He also had worked with Joy Division earlier in his career.
His trademark black and white film style captured many imaginations for years now. It’s no wonder he’s working with the best and artists like Depeche Mode still want to work with him after 30+ years. If you compare Nirvana’s Heart Shaped Box to Depeche Mode’s Walking in My Shoes, you can see the visual similarities and use of religious iconography.
Spike Jonze
Spike Jonze first captured my attention when I was a kid. He made a video for the Beastie Boy’s Sabotage. The video was a parody of the 70’s cop show. It was an iconic video at the time, getting lots of airplay on MTV. Like many of his videos, they have a lovely poetic humour to them. Fatboy Slim’s video for Praise You comes to mind as well as Weapon of Choice.
In the video for Praise You, Jonze actually stars in it as the lead dancer. His humour really shines through in work from video to video. It’s a an usual, slightly oddball but often engaging kind of humour. In Weapon of Choice for Fatboy Slim he chose Christopher Walken to do this wonderful dance. It keeps up with a surreal dancing theme for the two Fatboy Slim videos he directed.
Other notable music videos he’s done was Bjork’s It’s Oh So Quiet. An excellent musical-style video that compliments the Bjork’s music so well. There’s also Drop by The Pharcyde which saw excellent camera trickery where The Pharcyde learned to mime their rap song backwards. The final video is reversed giving this wonderfully mad and creatively striking video.
Inspiring
Da Funk by Daft Punk is another gem that will live fondly in many people’s hearts. That’s the video of an anthropomorphic dog adapting, navigating and adjusting to his new surroundings in New York City. It was one of those bizarre videos that I could watch over and over. I love New York City. I also love people watching. Just watching this man-dog trying to maneuver New York City and trying to win the girl, was really compelling. Music fans will also remember the video for Weezer’s Buddy Holly. That used state-of-the-art special effects and camera trickery to have Weezer perform in Al’s diner, in Happy Days.
Feature Films
Spike Jonze credited as being one of the creators of MTV’s Jackass. He’s even appeared as himself in some of the episodes. He’s also directed produced and wrote for the big screen. Some of these films include Being John Malkovich (1999), Synecdoche New York (2008), Jackass trilogy and more recently Her (2013) which he wrote, directed and produced.
Both their mix of surrealism and colourful visual style as weaved his way into my sub-conscience. I’m sure his influence is carried around in my head today and possibly in my work in some way. Certainly, with some of the black and white images, Corbijn has sparked my love for high-contrast and grainy imagery.
