2. SPIKE JONZE
22ND OCTOBER 1969
• Spike Jonze is an American director, screen writer, producer and actor.
• He came from a qualified background and attended San Francisco Art Institute
(SFAI) in California.
• Alongside co-editors of ‘Freestylin Magazine, Mark Lewman and Andy Jenkins,
he had frontage on an international BMX Club called Club Homeboy in the
1980s. This is where he began working as a photographer and later creating the
ground breaking Homeboy and Dirt – brother publication of Sassy Magazine.
• He became active in 1989 and since then has produced amazing commercials,
music videos, TV and films.
• Jonze is known for music collaborations with the like of Weezer, Beastie Boys and
Bjork as well as writer Charlie Kaufman.

3. AUTEUR THEORY
Spike Jonze is an auteur theorist which means as a director he uses the
commercial apparatus of film-making in the same way that a painter uses
paint and a paintbrush or a writer uses a pen.
The Auteur Theory is a way of using personal factor in artistic creation as a
standard of reference and a feature that continues throughout directors
work.
Jonze’s personal factor is making films and music videos that are off-beat in
their visual storytelling, particularly their mix of live-action, animation, and
puppetry.
The idea of having a personal factor (almost like a trade mark) is used
amongst many directors. For example

4. OTHER AUTEUR THEORISTS
Another example of an auteur theorist is Tim Burton who is an American
writer, artist, film producer and director. His personal factor is movies that
are dark, gothic and quirky themes. His most famous movies consist of:
•Edward Scissorhands
•Planet of The Apes
•Batman
•Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
•Batman Returns
•Alice in Wonderland
Much like Spike Jonze, he is known for collaborating
•Musician – Danny Elfman
•Actor - Johnny Depp
•Partner/actress – Helena Bonham Carter

5. WEEZER – BUDDY HOLLY
Buddy Holly was the pioneer of rock and roll who is described as the most influential and
inspiring singer-songwriter for contemporary and later musicians. The lyrics in the song
pays reference to him and was released on what would have been his 58th birthday.
Throughout the video, there is live action from the Weezers who are shown performing
at the original set of ‘Arnold’s Drive-In Diner’ from the 70s TV show ‘Happy Days’. The
atmosphere is very fun and energetic and intercuts clips from the show which appears
effectively combined with the contemporary footage. The idea of it being set in a well
known location, allows viewers to relate to the video and become more in tune with the
featured footage from episode #53 and several other episodes.
At the beginning of the video there is subtitles used to show the director and creator
which allows it to be viewed as an episode or a film rather than a music video.
The cameo appearance by cast member Al Molinaro from ‘Happy Days’ (whereby he
plugs in his hometown ‘Kenosha, Wisconsin’) in the introduction creates a sense of union
between the band and cast members. It also gives viewers a feel as if they are
watching a scene from the show ‘Happy Days’ as there is audience laughter heard at
both the beginning and end of the video.
Creatively, Fonzie (another member of the cast) is shown dancing to the bands
performance in the memorable climax. This was done by using a body double and
editing to make it look as if he was there on the day of the shooting.
Overall, the visual storytelling in the video is off-beat however, has a very creative
aspect to it by making it seem as part of an episode in ‘Happy Days’ which is what
Jonze intended to show case.

6. Cameo appearance by
cast member Al Molinaro
from ‘Happy Days’ set in
the original Arnold’s Drive-
In Diner
‘To be continued’ makes it
feel as if its an actual
episode from the show
The group beastie boys at Arnold’s Drive-In Diner
Featured Footage from the
70s TV show ‘Happy Days’
Subtitles at the beginning
of the video to show the
director and creator

7. BEASTIE BOYS – SABOTAGE
The music video for Sabotage is the opening credits of a 1970s style police show called
Sabotage. Within this purely energetic music video, each member of the band are
characters from the show who are introduced as fictional actors through the use of
subtitles that appear on the screen when the footage is paused. The style in which this is
shown is exactly the same way a cop show in that time period would have been shown.
This is simply because the music video is a tribute and charicature of 1970s crime drama
television series such as Starsky and Hutch, Baretta, S.W.A.T., Hawaii Five-O and The Streets
of San Francisco.
In the introduction of the video, we are immediately alarmed with some type of action
through the siren on the top of the car giving us the idea that there has been a crime and
the sound of the drums and guitar which creates intensity. Following that, the chaotic
pacing of every shot appearing on screen draws in the viewer to become highly focused
on everything that is going on. The vocals used instantly after fit in well with the video
because it is loud and alarming. Overall, the music stays at a constant level to fit in with
the action however, becomes even louder when the lead vocalist sings. The video is set in
both a urban and upper classed american town whereby there is low and high buildings
(that the characters jump on and over), grafitti, high ways and flats to name a few which
is shown through a vast amount of camera angles, shots and movements. This consists of
birds eye view, high and low angle, canted angle, mid shot, wide shot, close ups, two
shot, extreme close ups and pont of view shots that are all used effectively.

8. The editing is extremely fast paced with a lot of cuts as well as
camera movement such as panning, tilts, tracking and fast zooms to
create an atmosphere that is highly exhilarating. The effect of
panning is to show the audience everything that is going on as well
as a hand held camera which makes you feel as if you are apart of
it – especially when shots shown are not 100 percent clear. The fast
zooms into peoples faces shows you facial expressions and the way
in which each person is feeling. It also gives you a feel that the
action is coming towards you. Moreover, all the camera angles,
shots and editing are used to give the audience a range of
perspectives throughout the video and create a particular feel to
what is being seen.
The police bravado is exaggerated however, this feet's in with the
idea of it being comical. Each member of the band are dressed as
cops with dark wigs, thick moustache's, braces, suits, shirts, ties and
aviators which is a typical representation of an American cop.
With all the influence from the writers of the television shows, Spike
Jonze was able to create an imitation of their styles into a chaotic
music video with deliberate exaggeration for comic effect which is
one of his personal factors. It also had a mix of live action, loud up
tempo music and natural lighting that created a sense of realism
and was classed as one of Spike Jonze’s famous music videos simply
due to his creativity .

9. Introduction of the video
Here are a range of camera shots and angles that are used in the video.

10. JAY-Z & KANYE WEST - OTIS
Otis is a music video by Kanye West and Jay-Z who are well known American hip hop
artists. Posthumously, the song is constructed upon a sample of Otis Redding’s ‘Try A Little
Tenderness’ which includes his soulful voice and a few grunts which is rapped over by West
and Jay-z who traded off of verses throughout the track. Effectively, the two share lines that
are about subjects such as fame and wealth.
The main focus in the video begins with a brand new Maybach 57 that is fixed between
blue industrial buildings alongside 6 figures in white. The pace of the music begins slow as
we hear the sample from ‘Try A Little Tenderness’ which matches the pace, the camera
draws nearer to the car with Jay-Z and Kanye slowly appearing from the sides - almost as if
they are walking either side of the camera. As they appear we see props such as a saber
saw and a blow torch which suggests violence and contrasts with the luxury vehicle that
viewers were once focused on. The scene is fairly dull coloured with white, blue and black
being most dominant however, appears dark when the camera focuses on the car being
destroyed and customised. The other scene throughout the video is brightly coloured with
natural sunlight that features an American flag in front of a building that contrasts well with
what the rappers are wearing. As the camera cuts to the beat of the music, from one
scene of the car being customised and another where the rappers mouth and act out the
lyrics, the volume of the music increases to build up adrenalin and eventually show the
reconstructed Maybach 57 with no doors and windows that has been turned into a
‘Thunderdome cruiser’ and emphasised by the screech of Jay-Z. There after, we see the
two rappers racing around an industrial lot in the Maybach with four models laughing and
smiling in the back as well as the two rapping in front of the American back drop and
building alongside the car.

11. The video is located in an industrial lot that is predominantly blue and is set in the day with
high key lighting from the sunlight shining throughout. The casual clothing worn by the
rappers consists of white t-shirts, shirts, denim blue jeans and trainers. The models are also
dressed casually which creates realism and allows the audience to relate to them. They
are both portrayed as two laid back friends who like to have fun, enjoy themselves which
creates a fun happy atmosphere to the video. In some ways, the video could be viewed
as comical as all the people in the video are shown to be full of laughter – a key aspect
that Jonze likes to include. Amongst the people in the video, there is a cameo
appearance by Aziz Ansari who also portrays this fun laid back attitude. The style of this
video is performance as there is a range of things shown to the audience. This consists of
racing in fast cars, fireworks, rapping, customising cars and a general camaraderie of the
two main people. The editing reflects the personality of Jay-Z and Kanye West with scenes
that are slow paced to add emphasis to what is being shown. For example, the car
turning around at such a high speed is slowed right down for the audience to capture the
facial expressions of each persons face and illustrate the fun that they are having. The
camera angles, movement and shots vary throughout with low angle shots, mid shot,
close ups, panning, zooming and hand held shots whereby the rappers take hold of the
camera and screams into it. The most dominant type of camera shot in the video is wide
view and two shot which were used to give viewers the scene from a bigger perspective,
emphasise how big the location was and remain the focus on the two artists. On the
whole, the camera angles, shots and movement have been effectively chosen to
produce a realistic video whereby they are showcasing life as fun. Despite the last scene
using dark natural lighting from the night sky which usually would create a depressed dull
atmosphere, the fun happy atmosphere continues throughout with fireworks and blow
torches appearing brightly in the background and loud screams of the artists which could
portray a sense of achievement, relief and overall happiness.

12. Here are a range of camera shots and angles that are used in the video.

13. TRADE MARK
Jonze has a trade mark to frequently cast and collaborate with:
• Catherine Keener
• Writer – Charlie Kaufman
• Actor – Chris Cooper
• Cinematographer – Lance Acord
He has also been known to make flawless combinations of special
effects into live action photography which has been used in
• Being John Malkovich (1999),
• Adaptation. (2002)
• Where the Wild Things Are (2009).

14. To conclude, Spike Jonze is an auteur theorist
because there is a consistency of ideas used
throughout his work which makes it recognisable
amongst viewers. From the videos that I have
watched, his work is very creative in terms of
ideas with a mixture of live action and music that
works well with one another. His videos also have
a tendency to have some type of influence from
people in the past, whether that be a show, singer
or television series that he portrays effectively
within his work. He also has a regularity of working
with the same people whether that is in films or
music videos.