An auteur is a filmmaker/director whose individual style is tied into the production in order to give the film is personal and unique stamp. In this case study, the auteur I have chosen to analyse is Spike Jonze.
Spike Jonze is an American producer, actor, director and screenwriter. He has worked on the sets of music vdeos, adverts, television programs and adverts. He started off his career when directing the film ‘Being John Malkovich’ in 1999. Soon after, he directed ‘Adaptation’ in 2002 and then started writing his own screen plays such as ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ which was made in 2009.
Nowadays, Spike is more known with his music collaborations with famous artists and bands such as Kanye West, Fatboy Slim, Weezer, Bjork and Daft Punk. In 1999, when he directed the video for ‘Praise You’ by British DJ Fatboy Slim. Jonze starred in this video as a dance-troupe leader called Richard Koufey however he claims that it is another person. Later that summer, he attended the MTV VMAS as Koufey and took home three awards.
Spike Jonze has a trade mark to frequently work with Catherine keener, Chris Cooper, Cinematographer and the writer Charlie Kaufman who wrote both ‘Being John Malkovich’ and ‘Adaptation’. Spike’s style is that he likes to make the most out of using simple aspects by creating combinations of special effects into live action photography such as lens flares, centred framing and wide angle close ups. He likes to be able to tell a story in his productions and often uses puppetry, animation or mix of live action to display this style.
A song by the Beastie Boys called 'Sabotage; shows a clear display of Spikes work by the use of camera techniques and miss en scene. The style of the video is a narrative performance however there is no clear link between the lyrics and the visuals being shown. The video is based on a 1970/1980's 'cop' show, using each member of the band to play a fictional camera on screen.
In conclusion, Spike is an auteur theorist because there is a consistency of ideas used throughout his works which makes it recognisable to his viewers. There are various examples of this such as those he casts or works with are usually the same people, the camera techniques he uses within his music videos/adverts/films aswell as the mise en scene that are trademarks in order for you to identify his work without just looking at the writer or directors name. It gives his own personal touch to his productions
Spike Jonze is an American producer, actor, director and screenwriter. He has worked on the sets of music vdeos, adverts, television programs and adverts. He started off his career when directing the film ‘Being John Malkovich’ in 1999. Soon after, he directed ‘Adaptation’ in 2002 and then started writing his own screen plays such as ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ which was made in 2009.
Nowadays, Spike is more known with his music collaborations with famous artists and bands such as Kanye West, Fatboy Slim, Weezer, Bjork and Daft Punk. In 1999, when he directed the video for ‘Praise You’ by British DJ Fatboy Slim. Jonze starred in this video as a dance-troupe leader called Richard Koufey however he claims that it is another person. Later that summer, he attended the MTV VMAS as Koufey and took home three awards.
Spike Jonze has a trade mark to frequently work with Catherine keener, Chris Cooper, Cinematographer and the writer Charlie Kaufman who wrote both ‘Being John Malkovich’ and ‘Adaptation’. Spike’s style is that he likes to make the most out of using simple aspects by creating combinations of special effects into live action photography such as lens flares, centred framing and wide angle close ups. He likes to be able to tell a story in his productions and often uses puppetry, animation or mix of live action to display this style.
A song by the Beastie Boys called 'Sabotage; shows a clear display of Spikes work by the use of camera techniques and miss en scene. The style of the video is a narrative performance however there is no clear link between the lyrics and the visuals being shown. The video is based on a 1970/1980's 'cop' show, using each member of the band to play a fictional camera on screen.
In conclusion, Spike is an auteur theorist because there is a consistency of ideas used throughout his works which makes it recognisable to his viewers. There are various examples of this such as those he casts or works with are usually the same people, the camera techniques he uses within his music videos/adverts/films aswell as the mise en scene that are trademarks in order for you to identify his work without just looking at the writer or directors name. It gives his own personal touch to his productions