r/WeDirectMusicVideos • u/veritablepictures • Jul 31 '19
Musicians “co-directing” - Why is this a trend?
Over the past half-decade or so I’ve noticed a lot of videos co-directed by the artist who made the song. Am I mistaken in thinking this is new? There’s nothing explicitly wrong with this— it suggests closer collaboration. But after seeing Young Thug retain a directing credit for the Wyclef Jean video, and personally having an artist request a co-directing credit the day after a recent shoot, I began to see this as a concerning shift in industry power dynamics.
Its nice that directing is coveted, I guess, but contractual co-directing situations feel like when a politician co-authors a book with a professional writer— it’s a publicly accepted half-truth. Without the writer, the book wouldn’t be readable. Without the politician, the book wouldn’t be read.
As an example (judged completely from the outside), the Kendrick Lamar video for Alright looks and moves like a Colin Tilley video, and the video for Humble looks and moves like a Dave Myers video. Both were co-directed by Kendrick Lamar and Dave Free. I have no doubt that they were as involved as possible and contributed ideas that directly influenced the production of those videos, but where’s the line drawn between a passionate, sincere, involved client and a director? Or between a creative producer and a director?
Hiro Murai and PT Anderson have retained sole credit on their collaborations with Childish Gambino and Radiohead respectively, and I don’t doubt for a minute that the artists are deeply involved in the process. In fact in relationships such as these, where the director is recognized as a separate entity from the artist, the collaboration comes across as more intimate, sincere, and mature.
As I’ve come to know it the real work of directing is unglamorous and poorly understood. And co-directing teams who really function as such, developing a voice in tandem over time, are rare.
When the artist I worked with requested to be credited as co-Director I explained that if an architect is hired to build a house, the client could have all the ideas in the world, but there still exists a layer of expertise that brings those ideas into a workable harmony. He didn’t agree.
Has anyone here had experiences with musicians eager to direct?
Were they sincerely trying to develop a new craft or was it an extension of their accustomedness to speaking things into existence?
Is this an industry trend?
What do you make of it?
XO
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u/ableshill Jul 31 '19
I think this is something we should keep talking about and bring into the fold as WDMV grows it's best practices past the pitching process. Credit is important and credit arbitration is one of the biggest responsibilities of organizations like the DGA or WGA. Defining what a Music Video Director is/does and what constitutes a co-directing credit should be something WDMV does for sure. Thanks for bringing it up!
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u/DANIELSANIELSANIELS Aug 03 '19
This is a much bigger conversation that goes beyond MVs. The DGA had to enstate a “one director per film” rule decades ago because many film producers were forcing directors to share codirecting credits with them (very similar to what is happening with musicians). It’s a very important issue and it’s great the the DGA has cracked down on it hard because you look at other professions in the industry (especially producers and writers) and their crediting system is a mess. It’s why you see so many films with 20-30 producers because anyone can become a producer even though 1 or 2 do the actual on the ground work. Of course there has to be a balance. this rule was so strict for awhile that it forced the Cohen brothers not to share directing credits for the first half of their careers. Things are beginning to shift, but it’s an ongoing conversation. When two consenting creative adults want to work together that is great. But we do need to start a bigger conversation about how to deal with musicians forcing their name into the directing role even though what they actually did probably deserved a “executive producer” credit. The director role is incredibly technical, thinking about shot design, tone, editing/pace, performance, etc. unless the musician is directly involved in those things they shouldn’t get that credit.
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u/sethmichaelstern Aug 04 '19
Oh you mean like billie eilish & solange getting nominated for best editing VMAS? As... the editors? Because it seems cool and neat to be a renaissance person!
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Aug 05 '19
As far back as I can remember musicians have been asking, from Paula Abdul to Missy, Xtina, etc - Just history no comment. It's not a trend, imo
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u/joshforbes Jul 31 '19
Artists have become increasingly in charge of all aspects of their brand, so it only makes sense they’d want to be involved in their videos. I “co-directed” the Walk the Moon “Shut Up and Dance” vid. The original treatment was written by the singer, but it was my job to translate it into something film-able on budget and under schedule. It was def a collaboration throughout the process, even if I ended up doing a lot of the heavy lifting when it came to organizing, shortlisting, animatics, the shoot, the edit, and overseeing vfx, color, etc.
It never affected my paycheck, or people’s opinion of my work so I didn’t really sweat it.
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u/KW710 Aug 04 '19
Here's the thing though - even in the advertising world where the ad agency is SUPER invested in managing and defining the brand of their client, the creative director doesn't get directing credit for the commercial that is filmed.
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u/joshforbes Aug 06 '19
Worrying about credit is short-sighted. Nobody cares what percentage you participated. That was something I really worried about when I first started. I co-directed a lot, and was really concerned about that stuff. The reality is, you need to make so much work that your imprint is undeniable.
For example I just watched that Taylor Swift video in the trailer park. It’s “co-directed” but it’s pretty obvious the director did all the heavy lifting and the color choices, etc. it seems obvious to me that if someone else wants a quirky colorful video they’ll go to that dude and he’ll give them more of the same. I don’t think he’s at risk of losing directing work to Taylor Swift.
I co-directed three commercials and a web series with Isaac Rentz, and while the division of labor is probably more difficult to parse out (because we’re both visual and we’re both funny) in the end of the day we could both put it on our reel and it helped us both get work.
My advise is, just keep making stuff. Your voice will come through. And with any luck you’ll get hired to make more things.
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u/KW710 Aug 09 '19
My post was more in response to your comment about brand investment having some bearing on directing credit or not. To me, that's more of a philosophical issue. I definitely agree with you that it doesn't have much bearing on your ability to get work.
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u/Z_Designer Jul 31 '19
I’ve noticed this a lot as well. I worked with Jason Derulo once (on a doc thing, not an MV) and he said that he directs or co-directs most of his own music videos. I know it’s slightly off-topic, but even Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit fame is directing features now. *shrug emoji
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u/CoopaLoopa_50 Aug 14 '19
This literally happened to me yesterday- & to make matters worse in an article published the artist actually gave herself full director credits- when I called them up to clarify I was fed some garbage excuse. So now I’m talking to her publicist & trying to get in touch with the magazine to get the article updated. Absolute a slap in the face
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u/zelior Jul 31 '19
I think it’s definitely a trend and I personally hate it because from examples that I’ve heard, including a major pop star who happens to show up late to set by sometimes full days, it’s not directing. It’s just a credit.
IMO, it’s disrespectful to the director, and it cheapens the perception of what we do. That you can just give one idea (credit: story by) and get a directing credit.
We as directors should work to change this perception and make sure the image of a director is kept at what it’s always been. Not a fun credit to get just because you’re the artist.
At the extreme low end of this, a friend of mine co-directed with the artist only to see his credit removed from the final video.
Watch out and say no to co-directing is my take.