Case Study of Iconic Directors of Music Videos

Much like Hollywood movies need inspirational directors, music videos need visionary directors who can tell a story in just a few fleeting moments. As technology has advanced the music world has reshaped and evolved to fit in with what is available. Music videos have become more elaborate and extravagant than ever and in this post I will discuss one of the industry's most important figures.

David Fincher

He may be more well known for his world famous Hollywood blockbusters but just one look at his Wikipedia page and you'll realise how important David Fincher is in the music world. From Madonna to Aerosmith, Fincher has dabbled with the biggest names in music for 30 years. 

Fincher directed Madonna's hit single Express Yourself in 1989 with a budget of $5m, which made it the most expensive music video of all-time at the time.

The idea of the video was to show Madonna as a glamorous lady and a chained masochist, with muscular men acting as her workers. This was to show her a matriarchal leader and someone to respect.

Madonna on the video's development:

"This one I had the most amount of input. I oversaw everything - the building of the sets, everyone's costumes, I had meetings with make-up and hair and the cinematographer, everybody. Casting, finding the right cat - just every aspect. Kind of like making a little movie. We basically sat down and just threw out all every idea we could possibly conceive of and of all the things we wanted. All the imagery we wanted - and I had a few set ideas, for instance the cat and the idea ofMetropolis. I definitely wanted to have that influence, that look on all the men - the workers, diligently, methodically working away."