Director study: RAUL GONZO
Raul Gonzo is a music director based in California and is known for
working with alternative music artists such as Enter Shikari,
VersaEmerge and All Time Low. Gonzo tends to focus on creating
conceptual music videos that are vital in establishing the images of
his clients. He specialises in video effects that give the
impression of distorted and interrupted film, 35mm video footage and
VHS tape footage.
1 Poltergeist Film
2 PVRIS - White Noise (Music Video)
Gonzo works closely with electronic/alternative band PVRIS who have
recently established themselves in the alternative rock world. He
has produced music videos for their songs "St. Patrick", "My House"
and their album titled song "White Noise" and has established a
ground for the bands particular house style. PVRIS are known for
always wearing black clothing and their album revolves around the
idea of the paranormal, the dark and video interrupted footage and
so the pairing works perfectly. It allows for Gonzo to work with his
speciality of bizarre concepts as well as the paranormal and
distortion of film.
The video for PVRIS' "White Noise" in particular highlights both the
band's and Gonzo's interest in paranormal activity and is expressed
through television and film static as well as paranormal imagery
that is based on the horror/thriller film "Poltergeist". Gonzo
4 Poltergeist Film
3 PVRIS - White Noise (Music Video)
incorporated the connection between the film and the music video by
using famous imagery taken from the film - in particular the use of
the silhouette of head and hands against the static of a television.
Gonzo also included the lead singer of PVRIS (Lynn Gunn) wearing a
bright red t-shirt dress to contrast the white walls, which is also
seen in the film. The video for White Noise in particular loosely
follows the narrative of the original "Poltergeist" film with ghost
hunters (band mates Brian MacDonald and Alex Babinski) searching for
the ghost in the room and being concerned over paranormal activity
(a floating mirror that is found on PVRIS' album cover, static
television, doors opening to a parallel universe etc) instigated by
lead woman Lynn Gunn. This continued imagery connotes imagery that
is clearly linked to the film and keep the narrative strictly.
Gonzo achieves this connection also by using similar or exact camera
angles to those seen in the film Poltergeist such as the close up
shot of the behind of the female against the static interrupted
television, and the view of the female in front of the door causing
over-exposure of light, adding to the confusion of the video that
has already been achieved through transmission disturbances.
Gonzo has worked with PVRIS
to help establish their
image which has been
described as dark electro
pop and helps to continue
their dark image that is
also helped with their black
album cover, black clothing
and mysterious/eerie musical
edge. In their mu
sic video for My House,
Gonzo
quite literally keeps
5 Video interruption/distortion - My House (Music Video)
the imagery dark by filming
in black and white. He also
carries on the bands
paranormal interest by using
imagery of floating objects
(as if hinting at ghosts
once again), and video
transmission disturbances.
In this particular video he
also uses lens flare to
given an impression of
distorted film, overall
achieving the same feeling
6 Lens flare - My House (Music Video)
of disturbed transmission
hinting once more at a
paranormal entity. Throughout PVRIS music videos Gonzo has used
short and sharp jump cuts to different situations to add more
confusion and introduce a fast pace to the editing that fits well
with the fast pace of the bands music. Quite often Gonzo uses
editing that is continuous with the beat of the music which is
successful in connecting the music directly to the moving image.
In My House in particular there is a section of the song that
slows down significantly in a breakdown. Gonzo changes the pace of
the moving image by shooting under water scenes and making them slow
motion. This achieves a feeling of lucid fluidity that adds to the
atmospheric breakdown in this song in particular.
7 PVRIS (Album Cover)
Mise en scene is very important for this
band in particular as it helps to continue
the image that the band has already
created through what their songs are about
and the album cover itself showing a
mirror with static transmission in the
reflection. Gonzo includes televisions
interrupted with static throughout PVRIS
music videos to maintain the image, as
well as vintage radios which connote the
idea of disturbed and interrupted old
radio transmissions, again adding to the
image of desolation, paranormal activity
and darkness. These objects also help to
suggest the idea of the genre of music
created by the band dark electro pop.
9 continued use of particular props to add to the mise en scene (My House music video)
8 St. Patrick (Music Video) - featuring mirror prop as seen on album cover
As shown in figure 8 (left),
Gonzo has included the keyimage of the mirror (as seen
on the bands album cover)
in the music video for their
hit-single St. Patrick.
This is to establish a
connection between the image
of the mirror to the band
itself ie. When you see
the mirror, you think of the
band and the overall
aesthetic of the band which
is seen through their
personal style and the dark
atmospheres created by
Gonzo in his music videos.
In this way Gonzo has been
successful with working
with PVRIS to establish a
house style that can easily
be associated with the band
themselves.
