Artists/Professionals

Within the music industry, there are several music video directors works that I admire and will
attempt to draw on within reason to my own concept. Below are 3 music video directors
who have created some of my favourite music videos; I have included the music video they
have produced which I most like, a description of what else they have produced, what
awards they have won, why I appreciate their work and what I would like to draw from it.

Samuel Halleen
Samuel Halleen is a director, cinematographer and editor based in Los Angeles. The entirety
of Halleens work consists of a variety of music videos for artists of the metal/rock genre. The
piece of work I admire most created by him is the music video to the song Hologram by
Crown the Empire, this is mainly due to the visual colour enhancements used which makes
the colours pop but having it at just right amount to be pleasing to the eye. I also admire the
abstract space theme used within the video and the retro look within both the narrative
element and the performance element. The awards won by Halleen include Anti-Drunk
Driving PSA Regional Winner, an award for winning a regional PSA contest for AAA with the
video being used to create awareness to promote an anti-drunk driving campaign, and,
SendMe Mobile Commercial Contest Winner, which is an award for winning a national
SendMe Mobile commercial competition. I appreciate Samuels work as it involves the use of
abstract concepts, from a man wearing a paper deer mask (in the video of dottedXlines by
badXchannels) to strange colourless human masks (in the video of Walls by The Colour
Morale). An aspect that I would like to draw from his work is the added slight grain and
almost faded like colour effect present in most of his music videos, it adds a retro/vintage
look to his videos without being disturbing which is a fantastic look in my opinion. I feel
implementing this into my work can make the overall image seem more raw and interesting
for the viewer, therefore, I will try and draw and develop this into my own work.

Easton West
Easton West is a director and writer based in Berlin. West has directed a variety of
productions such as documentaries about illegal street drifting to short films exploring the
concepts and ambitions of classically trained musicians who handle or create electronic
music. The music video which I admire most created by West is to the song Vivienne by
Sundara Karma, this is due to the natural and life like style narrative in which he has cleverly
implemented unnatural scenes within at certain moments to help tell a story. The shots used
in the natural portion of the music video are very simple, however, it is clear West has done
this to contrast the more stylised shots used in the unrealistic scenarios and in turn make them
appear more impactful. Unfortunately, I could not discover any awards won by West
therefore leading me to say he has not achieved any. I appreciate Wests work as it has a
very natural and simplistic style but is still very effective. The aspect of his work I would like to
draw on is the use of mixed natural and unnatural shots as it helps add more depth to a
production. This could work especially well with making my production more intriguing for the
audience as they would have more to look at than just an artist playing a piano.

Daniel Cloud Campos

Daniel Cloud Campos is a dancer, actor and director based in Los Angeles. Camposs
directing talents are focused mainly on short films and music videos, however, he has
created some commercials and other small projects to add to his list of productions. The
music video created by Campos that is one of my favourites is to the song This is Gospel by
Panic! At the Disco. The aspect I admire most about this piece of work is the display of
equipment/behind the scene preparation within the shot, for example, there is a shot where
a stage light is present in frame and a shot where the artist is getting his makeup done. I like
the use of this style purely based on its visual purposes as it makes the shots look more
appealing and dynamic. Campos created a short film Heaven Awaits, which won the 2005
Filmerica Challenge for best cinematography, best editing, best audio, best editing, best
horror film, and the 2005 Grand Prize. I appreciate his work mainly because of the visual
aesthetics in his videos, the camera motions flowing with the beat of the song (which can be
seen in both music videos he has directed for Panic! At the Disco) are very fluid and effective
alongside the actual action going on within the video, making the overall work look
outstanding. An aspect I would like to draw on from his work will definitely be the inclusion of
equipment within the shot, this adds a very eye-catching and unique appearance which I
feel could work with my production. Another aspect I find very appealing is the smooth
transitions he has implemented in the music video to the song Stay the Night by Zedd,
which, I may try include in my production as it adds a very intricate and detailed feel to the
production.

Bibliography
Samuel Halleen. (Unknown). Work. Available: http://www.samuelhalleen.com/work. Last
accessed 05th May 2017.

Samuel Halleen. (Unknown). About. Available: https://vimeo.com/samuelhalleen/about. Last

accessed 05th May 2017.

Samuel Halleen. (Unknown). Samuel Halleen. Available:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/samuelhalleen. Last accessed 05th May 2017.

Easton West. (Unknown). Contact. Available: http://www.eastonwest.com/#!/contact. Last

accessed 05th May 2017.

Easton West. (Unknown). Sundara Karma "Vivienne". Available:

http://www.eastonwest.com/#!/sundarakarma-vivienne. Last accessed 05th May 2017.

Unknown. (Unknown). Cloud. Available: http://la.blocagency.com/talent/dance/cloud. Last

accessed 05th May 2017.

Unknown. (Unknown). Daniel "Cloud" Campos. Available: https://imvdb.com/n/daniel-cloud-

campos#director. Last accessed 05th May 2017.