Music Video Director - Mark Romanek

Mark Romanek was born on the 18th of September 1959. He is an American film maker who has created music videos, films and commercials. He was born in Chicago, Illinois and wanted to be a film maker from a very young age as he was inspired the film 2001: A Space Odyssey. He has won many awards such as 20 MTV video music awards and has won three Grammy awards for best short form music video which is more than any other director.

I'm going to textually analyse three of Romanek's music video's and see if I can spot any similarities and differences. I also want to try and see if he has a certain style when creating his music videos. I'm going to textually analyse JAY-Z - 99 Problems, Michael Jackson - Scream, Red Hot Chili Peppers - Can't Stop.

JAY-Z - 99 Problems



This music video was released in 2004 and covers the themes that are in the song with the visuals. There is a visual match with the music. The entire video is in black and white but not in an old fashioned way. The picture is more crisp and fits in with the theme of the song. The video follows a story that is mentioned in the rap.

There is a lot of performance by JAY-Z in the video and a lot of lip syncing which is mixed in with the many shot of an urban city. There is also performance from dancers in the middle of the video. This breaks up the shots of JAY-Z and the city. There are many shots of JAY-Z both performing and taking part in the story. JAY-Z is a well known rapper and including him in the video would definitely increase the amount of people who watch the song. The shots in the city take place in run down areas.

Michael Jackson - Scream



This video was released in 1995 and cost $7,000,000 and is the most expensive music video ever made. It is all in black and white and features a lot of special effects. There are many shots that feature different types of animation and other forms of special effects. There are many shots of the performers on the walls and ceilings that go together with the space setting.

The performers in the video do a lot of lip syncing and also a lot of dancing pieces. This is put together with the special effects that make it look like the performers are dancing on the walls. There is a lot of focus on the futuristic setting and the performers themselves.

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Can't Stop



This music video was released in 2002 and features a lot of abstract and strange shots. The shots however do match the music and the meaning of the song. This music video features a lot of colour unlike the other music video's. There are many shots that don't make a lot of sense and are very artistic and abstract. The video uses many different backgrounds, some are colourful and other are plain white and very minimalistic.

There is also a lot of performance from the band, especially the lead singer. It features a lot of lip syncing and also the rest of the band playing their instruments. There is also a lot of dancing done by the band which matches with the song. The video goes with the bands image which is quite strange and out of control.