2. About Johnathon Glazer
John Glazer is an accomplished
director who has been behind the
making of music videos, films and -
particularly - a wide range of
commercials. He has directed 3
movies, 11 music videos and over 30
commercials in his time.
Notably, Glazer’s most applauded
video Virtual Insanity by Jamiroquai
was voted the video that 'broke the
rules' in an MTV poll
3. • Glazer doesn't just make music videos for one
particular genre, however most of the tracks tend to
be of a slow tempo, something you would listen to
relax.
• Notably most of the lyrics in the all of the music
videos he directed tend to be long lasting. I think this
coincides well with his unique style of
cinematography.
4. Radiohead – Karma Police
• Radiohead's song Karma Police is quite a unique
video.
• Uses slow camera movement rather than editing
• The same shot is used for most of the video and
the camera doesn’t cut to different shots until the
last minute of the video – this builds up suspense
and creates a different atmosphere during the
final minute of the video
• Very little performance, lots of narrative
5. Blur –The Universal
• Quite a strange video..
• The whole mis en scene gives an odd impression
• Setting doesn’t reflect real life and is hard to
relate to and understand
• The facial expressions vary - happiness, laughter,
awe, blankness, creepiness
• Different to Glazer's other videos in that it uses
much more shots, plenty of camera editing. Its
certainly more lively and colourful than Karma
Police, but more complex than both other videos
I analysed
6. Jamiroquai – Virtual Insanity
• Arguably his best piece of directing (Nominated for
several awards and won MTV Video of the year
• Voted the video that 'broke the rules' in an MTV poll
• Different to the other videos - small space, one man
dancing and singing, much faster paced
• Similar to Karma Police – uses the same shot
throughout the whole video
• Similar to The Universal – the singer engages the
audience by miming to the camera
• Combination of Illusions and simplicity make for
engaging viewing
7. Summary
Karma Police The Universal Virtual Insanity
• Little performance, • Mixture of • All performance
plenty of narrative performance (Singing and
and a bizzare dancing)
• Slow camera • No shot editing
narrative
movement and • Fast camera
• Slow motion is
editing movement/tran
used at times
• Dark, gloomy • Relatively fast sitions
scenery reflects shot editing • Uses illusions
the depressing compared to and effects
nature of the song the other videos • Bright, eye-
• Bright scenery catching scenery
and 2 different
locations
8. My observations and conclusion
• In the 3 videos I analysed, I noticed a pattern that many of his shots are
slow and simple
• Most of his videos come across as bizarre
• The tempo/nature of the song is well reflected in the nature of the
editing and cinematography (Which is why Virtual Insanity is the best to
watch, because of its upbeat, jazzy nature)
• Common techniques used include zooms and pans.
• I also notice in his videos that the same location is used
• Can either be tedious or intriguing viewing
For these reasons, I agree that Johnathon Glazer should be classed as an
auteur. Most of the songs of his videos are of a slow tempo and are
reflected in the music videos by Glazer. He always has one main performer
used to engage the audience’s focus, and he isn’t afraid to try extra-
ordinary ideas. Most of Johnathon Glazer’s videos are bizarre yet unique in
style, because he uses his imagination . This is what makes Glazer’s work
distinctive.
