Artistic Influences of Music Videos

Having made a list of influential music videos, I decided to do some research into art, artists and artistic movements that had influenced these videos.

A playlist of my influential music videos

Surrealism

One of the biggest influences for these music videos was Surrealism. Using juxtaposition, surprise and unexplained occurrences to create a tone and mood for the video.

Famous surrealist artists include Magritte, Man Ray and Dali.

Magritte

Magritte

Magritte

The videos for George Ezra 'Blame It On Me', Paramore 'Still Into You' and Lewis Watson 'Even If' are all influenced by this.

George Ezra's video is obviously surreal as he is followed by a raincloud, hit by a car and tackled by a rugby team on the street.

 

 

Paramore's video has elements of surrealism including Hayley Williams, the lead singer, performing surrounded by ballerinas, a bedroom full of lit birthday cakes and a room full of balloons with a boat in the middle.

Lewis Watson's video follows the theme of the song which is about someone trying to make up for cheating on their significant other. Throughout the video Lewis Watson is surrounded by attractive girls but is ignoring them, this a surreal image.

 

 

Edward Hopper

The videos for George Ezra's 'Blame It On Me' and Sam Smith's 'I'm Not The Only One' are both influenced by the work of Edward Hopper. The use of high-key naturalistic lighting, wide framing and a solitary figure in an urban/industrial setting are what makes Hopper's works so distinctive. The figure is also often connoted as an outsider.

Hopper

Hopper

Hopper

George Ezra 'Blame It On Me' - This video uses naturalistic lighting in an industrial setting and connotes George Ezra as an outsider by having events occurring around him which he has no influence on. Below are stills from the video.

Sam Smith  'I'm Not The Only One' - The suburban setting isolates the wife character in this music video; Her isolation heightens her emotions.

Tim Walker

Paramore's video for 'Still Into You' is heavily influenced by the photography of Tim Walker. Below is some of Tim Walker's work compared to the 'Still Into You' video.

Tim Walker

The use of a lavish house and use of balloons and bicycles as props.

Tim Walker

A single female in a luxurious bedroom surrounded by props

Tim Walker

Ballet dancers surrounding a solitary character.

Overall, being influenced by art can help to create a really effective music video as it provides inspiration for all aspects of the video.