Music Video Director Analysis –

Sophie Muller

For example, in Duffy - Rain On Your Parade (2008), Duffy is lip-synching and dancing around a large darkened room with only a light shining on her.

Also in Brandon Flowers - Only The Young (2010), he is seen in the centre of a lit up stage lip-synching and dancing as dancers descend downwards from a light up apparatus towards him.

What is clear from many of Sophie Muller’s music videos, is that light is an important part of her videos. Her trademark style in most of her videos is that she usually has a singer or a band inside a dim, isolated room.

Other videos where light is also evident are in Ellie Goulding – Lights (2011) where Ellie is lip-synching, dancing and drumming in a darkened room, while a strobe lighting effect is displayed behind her.

And Cheryl Cole - Promise This (2010) Cheryl is lip-synching and dancing in a half lit room with a male dancer. Then she dances with a group of male dancers whilst the background light changes from light to dark to light again.

The video for KT Tunstall – Black Horse and the Cherry Tree (2005) is set in a darkened room and it cuts between close ups of KT’s face being lit up and her playing drums, guitar, symbols or tambourine whilst lit is shining on her.

Also in the Jamelia – Boy Next Door (2000) light in obvious an Jamelia is lip-synching and dancing in a bright white futuristic style room, then she is dancing in a black futuristic room.

She has worked with a wide range of renowned artists, such as, Bjork, Coldplay, Mika, Gwen Stefani, Beyonce, Sugababes, Annie Lennox, Blur, Shakira, Radiohead, Kings of Leon, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Garbage, The Strokes and many more.

It is clear from the sheer range of different artists that Muller has collaborated with that, she has no definite genre of music, as the music genres she has worked with range from pop in Mika - Love Today (2007) to indie in The Tings Tings - Thats Not My Name (2008) to R'N'B in Beyoncé - Ring The Alarm (2006) and rock in The Strokes - The End Has No End (2004).

Although, Muller has no set genre, it is clear what type of music video she produces, mainstream. Most of the artists that she has worked with are very well established and are signed to major record labels. This means that they would have a larger budget than an independent record label, and so can go to great locations or create fantastic sets, and make it appeal to a larger audience.

It is also clear that Muller has no set stylistic influences. She adapts her personal style to suit the band or artist. For example, in Nelly Furtado - Turn Off The Light (2001), is a performance based video as there are plenty of dance routines and lip-synching. Whereas, in Coldplay - Fix You (2005), it is a hybrid of pseudo-documentary and a narrative music video. And in the Brandon Flowers – Only The Young (2010) video it is clearly a staged performance music video, as there are lots of dancers and he is lip-synching on a stage.

Again, largely with editing, her style changes according to the specific artist. In Jamelia – Boy Next Door (2000) it has been edited to add two other versions of Jamelia as back-up dancers. This helps emphasise the futuristic theme of the video. Also in Kings Of Leon – Radioactive (2010) there are many fast cuts between images of African children socialising, playing and dancing to beat of the song, the band and the children playing together and the band lip-synching along.

One of the things that I like about Muller is that, she adapts her style to suit the band or artists, and to their specific genre of music. Also I like how every music video is different, yet it is still relevant to her overall style, and to the particular band or artist that she is working with. 

Here are some more examples of other videos Muller has directed, and especially where light is significant:Dido – Life For Rent (2003)Gwen Stefani – Cool (2005)Kings of Leon – Sex On Fire (2008)Natasha Bedingfield – These Words (2004)Sugababes – Freak Like Me (2002)