Johnathon Glazer Music Videos

Tomas McLoughlin

About Johnathon Glazer

John Glazer is an accomplished director who has been behind the making of music videos, films and - particularly - a wide range of commercials. He has directed 3 movies, 11 music videos and over 30 commercials in his time.

Notably, Glazer’s most applauded video Virtual Insanity by Jamiroquai was voted the video that 'broke the rules' in an MTV poll

• Glazer doesn't just make music videos for one particular genre, however most of the tracks tend to be of a slow tempo, something you would listen to relax.

• Notably most of the lyrics in the all of the music videos he directed tend to be long lasting. I think this coincides well with his unique style of cinematography.

Radiohead – Karma Police

• Radiohead's song Karma Police is quite a unique video.

• Uses slow camera movement rather than editing • The same shot is used for most of the video and

the camera doesn’t cut to different shots until the last minute of the video – this builds up suspense and creates a different atmosphere during the final minute of the video

• Very little performance, lots of narrative

Blur –The Universal

• Quite a strange video..• The whole mis en scene gives an odd impression• Setting doesn’t reflect real life and is hard to relate to

and understand• The facial expressions vary - happiness, laughter, awe,

blankness, creepiness• Different to Glazer's other videos in that it uses much

more shots, plenty of camera editing. Its certainly more lively and colourful than Karma Police, but more complex than both other videos I analysed

Jamiroquai – Virtual Insanity

• Arguably his best piece of directing (Nominated for several awards and won MTV Video of the year

• Voted the video that 'broke the rules' in an MTV poll• Different to the other videos - small space, one man

dancing and singing, much faster paced• Similar to Karma Police – uses the same shot throughout

the whole video• Similar to The Universal – the singer engages the audience

by miming to the camera• Combination of Illusions and simplicity make for engaging

viewing

Summary

Karma Police• Little performance,

plenty of narrative• Slow camera

movement and editing

• Dark, gloomy scenery reflects the depressing nature of the song

The Universal• Mixture of

performance and a bizzare narrative

• Slow motion is used at times

• Relatively fast shot editing compared to the other videos

• Bright scenery and 2 different locations

Virtual Insanity• All performance

(Singing and dancing)

• No shot editing• Fast camera

movement/transitions

• Uses illusions and effects

• Bright, eye-catching scenery

My observations and conclusion• In the 3 videos I analysed, I noticed a pattern that many of his shots are slow

and simple • Most of his videos come across as bizarre• The tempo/nature of the song is well reflected in the nature of the editing and

cinematography (Which is why Virtual Insanity is the best to watch, because of its upbeat, jazzy nature)

• Common techniques used include zooms and pans.• I also notice in his videos that the same location is used• Can either be tedious or intriguing viewing For these reasons, I agree that Johnathon Glazer should be classed as an auteur. Most of the songs of his videos are of a slow tempo and are reflected in the music videos by Glazer. He always has one main performer used to engage the audience’s focus, and he isn’t afraid to try extra-ordinary ideas. Most of Johnathon Glazer’s videos are bizarre yet unique in style, because he uses his imagination . This is what makes Glazer’s work distinctive.