Michel Gondry is a French film-maker and alongside the music videos that he has directed, for artists such as Beck and Foo Fighters, he has also directed various commercials and films, including Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, which featured the same obscure manipulation of mise en scene seen in Gondry's music videos. After researching Gondry, we were told to think about the following question: Michel Gondry is a visual artist that focuses on his creative vision rather than the need of a music video to promote and sell the artist. Discuss. Michel Gondry is a French film-maker, famous for his innovative input into the rapidly emerging concept of the music video. Gondry, arguably, creates music videos, of which he has produced for artists from Bjork and The Rolling Stones to Beck and The Vines, as a way of expressing his imaginative, emotional and creative side in cinematic form. However, Gondry could also be seen to create music videos in order to help to market the artists and their music to audiences: helping to promote the single and create an image to represent the artist. 
Michel Gondry does focus on his own creative vision whilst making music videos and this is demonstrated by his reputation. Gondry is well-known for his inventive manipulation of mise en scene, in particular, taking influence from dreams and flying, which helps to mould his iconic, surreal style. For example, the video for Daft Punks' song, 'Around The World', allowed Gondry to focus on imaginative lighting and costume in order to create his ideal atmosphere in correspondence to the music. He stated that 'I separated each instrument in my mind', and from this, Gondry devised various 'people' to coincide with the 'patterns' of music. Also, Gondry emphasises that he does not conform to genre conventions, as although 'Around The World' features a dance sequence, he said that 'I would do it my way: no expression, no fast editing, no close ups', as he only wishes to express his own vision, and not a stereotypical dance video. 
Also, in Gondrys' videos, the artist or band are not usually featured in the video, or at times they are seen very little, and instead the focus is on the concept, as in 'Mad World' by Gary Jules, in which Jules is only visible briefly as the camera pans to him, but then returns back to an aerial shot of the main action. Moreover, it could be argued that there is little focus on the song, including lyrics and music, and instead the audience is drawn in to the particular notion presented by Gondry. Foo Fighters' 'Everlong', although it features the band members acting in the video, and a short performance section, the majority of the video focuses on a narrative that Gondry described as his 'ultimate fantasy', again being influenced by the concept of dreams. The lyrics and beat are relatively detached from the concept, and thus the video was made as Gondry felt he 'had to do the video' as when he heard the song, his 'brain exploded with ideas', rather than on the basis of promoting the Foo Fighters. However, many videos that Gondry has directed help to promote the artist, as many artists and bands feature in the video. The White Stripes' 'The Hardest Button To Button' follows Meg and Jack and their respective instruments solely, emphasising the beat of the music by repeating the images of the drums, amp and microphone, which not only promotes the song, but also helps to sell the band.
Despite this, the extent to the focus on the artist is arguable, as Gondrys' style does not often concentrate on performance or a pre-conceived image of the band or artist; rather the video is seen as another form of artwork in itself, and this can help the band to gain a certain image or reputation in using Gondrys' stylistic visuals to present their music, which could be seen as a marketing tool in itself as many of his videos gain instant popularity.
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