Homework - Set Tuesday 24th June - Music video director.

Francis Lawrence.

              

Biography: 

Francis Lawrence was born in Vienna Austria on March 26 1971. He moved to Los Angeles when he was three years of age.
He is a producer and director of films and music videos.
He has worked with many music artists such as Green Day, Britney Spears, Aerosmith, Janet Jackson, Pink and more.
He is the director of the new popular movie series: The Hunger Games.
Lawrence's fame came about when he directed I Am Legend.

Music videos:

Aerosmith - Don't wanna miss a thing. 

 This is probably Aerosmith's most well known song and video. It is a narrative music video with aspects of performance through out. Lot's of close up's are used to show the band playing their instruments. Long shots are also used to show the bands unity. The lighting is all quite dark with goes with the sad, emotional message behind the lyrics. 

Avril Lavigne - Sk8er Boi. 

This is one of Avril's most well known songs. It is a performance video. Again, containing many close up's and long shots. The lighting in this videos differs very much from the lighting in Aerosmith's video. Is is bright to accommodate the upbeat tune of the song. 

The difference between these two videos shows Lawrence's diversity as a director. He is able to do different things. Which is an important skill to have, because it means you are not limited to one type of video or genre. Sk8er boo is a very simplistic video, it doesn't contain many special effects or wacky camera angles which stand out. It is typical of a pop video. the lighting is natural and not very special. Aerosmith's video contains more special effects. It seems as thought the lighting has been more planned out. Both videos follow many parts of the Goodwin 7. For example both videos contain many close hp's.

Their style: 

I don't really think Lawrence has a specific style per say i think he is a very versatile director. He can do all sorts of Genre's. For example Aerosmith are rock legends, Avril Lavigne is very 'pop'. He uses different styles to accommodate different genre's. I feel like he doesn't really have a signature style. Which may be a limitation to his career. 

My opinion: 

Nothing about the artist particularly stands out for me. I enjoy many of the music videos that he has directed. However i feel like if he had something in his music videos that were specific to him i would enjoy his music videos a lot more. Many music videos now a-days are very similar. So many music videos are being made now, it is hard to find an original idea anymore. I do however like the videos he has directed.