Michael ThelinMusic Director Case Study

Michael Thelin has worked with a number of different artists and does not limit himself to a single genre ; he has worked with well known acts like Gnarls Barkley and AKON to slightly more alternative bands like Simple Plan and Mayday Parade. He has

also worked with a variety of well known companies/artists on projects other than music videos. A lot of the bands he has worked with are also for live video performance rather than music videos, but this is relevant as I am including live performance

in my music video. On his website, listed under ‘Services’, Live Performance is a large element and this appeals to me and my own music video which is why I have decided to look at him along with his involvement with bands such as All Time Low, Simple

Plan and Panic! at the Disco which could be loosely linked with Ten Minutes Behind.

Wiz KhalifaJanelle MonaeCee Lo GreenSean PaulToni BraxtonZac Brown BandGnarls BarkleyT.I. Death Cab for CutieStone Temple PilotsBruno MarsNew Moon SoundtrackEclipse SoundtrackParamoreMatisyahuCarolina Liar All Time LowCute Is what We Aim ForOK GOShinedownStraight No ChaserMayDay ParadeKeKe PalmerTalib Kwali

Simple PlanHey ChampLupe FiascoJames BluntPanic at the DiscoCobra StarshipJason CastroTyrone WellsPliesUncle KrackerHangout Music FestivalJohn LegendThe RootsRodrigo Y GabrielaGirl TalkBlack CrowesBen HarperTrey AnastasioGusterGov’t MuleMichael FrantiAfter Midnight ProjectAKON

CompaniesMTV EuropeAtlantic RecordsSony MusicSycoQVCColumbia RecordsBMW Propaganda GemSXSWGuilt CityUniversal MusicUniversal Studios OrlandoNBCHard Rock HotelP&GESPNGeneral MillsMADDGerber

VerizonWarner Music GroupNFL NetworkPBSMTV2FUSECystic FibrosisHistory ChannelCiscoHeinzChicago CubsMLBBoys and Girls Club of AmericaYou Tube CorporationThe Artist OrganizationSummit EntertainmentFueled By RamenGAC NetworkComCast

Client ListArtists

Music VideosCarolina Liar

“I’m Not Over”Tyrone Wells

“More”After Midnight Project

“Take Me Home”

In the music videos Michael Thelin has directed there is always a very obvious

performance aspect, whether it’s a pseudo-documentary (Carolina Lover – “I’m Not Over”), narrative based (After

Midnight Project – “Take Me Home”) or staged performance (Tyrone Wells –

“More”) video (terms dubbed in ‘Music Video and the Politics of Representation’

by Diane Railton and Paul Watson). He also used a variety of techniques and

styles – handheld cameras, surreal techniques like time lapse and effects

obviously added in a program like Adobe Premiere, but, as I mentioned before,

performance is always a large factor in his videos and this is why I chose to look at

Thelin. I want to use live performance in my own video and so referencing Thelin,

who is mainly performance based, will be a good influence for my video. He also has

experience with pseudo-documentary, which is what I am aiming for with my

own video and so this is another reason I am looking at him (he directed the All

Time Low ‘Lost in Stereo’ video which I analysed earlier on in my project). I also

like how even the ratio is in the videos with other visual elements e.g.

Narrative:Performance and I will aspire to use this in my own music video.

Live PerformanceIn the live performance videos Thelin has directed there is always, obviously, shots of the band and shots of the audience. There are a lot of shots where the artist is shown with the audience and this helps to create a sense of unity between the two. There are also a lot of close ups of the main artist (Hayley Williams, Paramore; Bruno Mars; Alex Gaskarth, All Time Low), which goes hand-in-hand with Andrew Goodwin’s observation that there is a demand for up close shots of the artist, and whilst these are not music videos this statement still holds true. I like Michael Thelin’s portrayal of artists and the unity they have with their fans and this is what appeals to me about his live performance work. Although we may be hard-pushed to show this in our own video due to the small amount of fans they have it is still something I would like to consider, perhaps by showing the band on their MySpace/Facebook page “responding” to fans.