Auteur Theory - Spike Jonze

Spike Jonze was born in 1969. He is an American director, actor, screenwriter and producer. He has done many commercials, music videos, television and films. In his music videos, he is best known for his work with Bjork, the Beastie Boys and Weezer. He has directed 27 music videos. He has done many different genres of music videos, and is well known for creating alternative and illustrative videos, using techniques that are similar to ones used in film. He has used a mixture of live action, puppetry and animation in his videos. 

This video is a simple and relaxing video about the band Weezer, who are bonding and playing with the animals. It looks like it was filmed in a hot country like Africa, but was actually shot just outside Los Angeles.   The video is not edited directly to the beat of the music, which is known to be common in Jonze's style. The handheld camera movement and the fact that the band do not look or sing directly in the camera makes the video look more like a home video, making the narrative believable to the audience. Just like his use of film techniques, he uses an establishing shot at the beginning of the landscape and a variety of camera shots such as close-ups and long shots. He also uses slow motion to emphasis moments in the video such as when they are happily running up a hill. This makes the video more interesting, and the animals create a heart-warming feeling.



This video that is also directed by Spike Jonze has many differences from the Weezer one above. This is a song called 'Flashing Lights; which is by Kanye West, featuring Dwele. Firstly, there is a smaller variety of camera shots and there is not much editing in this video. There is only 3 shots that use smooth dolly movement and zooms, and the slow motion effect helps to fit with the slow beat of the music. However, Weezer's 'Island in the Sun' also uses slow motion at times to emphasis moments and fit with a similar pace of beat.
This is a very sinister video compared to Weezer's. It is about a woman who goes to an isolated location to murder a man who is presumably her ex-lover, as Kanya West sings about a woman he knows well. 'Island in the Sun' is also set in an deserted area, but the fact that this is set a night adds a dark and gloomy atmosphere, compared to the relaxing atmosphere of the sunshine in the Weezer video. We know something bad is going to happen.