Research into auteurs for A2 Media Studies.

1. F A M O U S A U T E U R S
MICHEL GONDRY

2. BACKGROUND
Michel Gondry was born in 1963 in Versailles. He is a
French director who has been nominated for and
received many awards for his music videos,
screenwriting and commercial films.

3. HISTORY
Gondry’s career began when he formed a French
rock band titles ‘Oui Oui.’ He began making music
videos for their singles, and was shortly found by Bjork,
who enquired that he direct a music video for her
song ‘Human Behaviour.’ The video was a huge
success, and the pair continued working together for
a time, creating a total of 7 videos. Gondry
proceeded by directing and creating videos with
other well known artists in order to progress in his
career. Alongside this, he also directed several
commercials, e.g. Levis 501 Jeans Drugstore. This
commercial was later banned in North America due
to the content, which involved latex condoms.

4. GONDRY’S STYLE
Gondry’s success was achieved by the use of mise-
en-scene in his videos. The elements he incorporated
into his videos were very unique, and helped to
attract and engage the audience.
He is also very well known due to his collaborations
with artists such as Kylie Minogue, Bjork, The White
Stripes and The Rolling Stones.

5. INSPIRATION
Gondry found much of his inspiration for his videos
from his childhood memories. His unique approach
to directing was successful due to his use of visual
effects and surreal settings. This is seen in many of
videos, and became somewhat of a trademark for
Gondry.

6. RECOGNITION
Gondry became more recognised when he released
a set of DVD’s alongside Spike Jonze and Chris
Cunningham which featured the work of all three
directors. This resulted in Gondry’s work been spread,
and he therefore was becoming more popular and
well-known for his innovative approach to directing.
The three formed a friendly relationship and decided
that they should work in each others favours, and
they bonded over their passion for directing and
producing.

7. QUOTES
“I have a lot of freedom and am very creative when it comes to
my videos.”
“The visual must be predetermined, but the emotion can’t be.”
“Every great idea is on the verge of being stupid”
“Childhood occupies the biggest part of your brain, so a lot of
my memories subconsciously (and consciously) enter the videos
I do.”