Music Video Director; Marc Klasfeld

Marc Klasfeld is an American video director, who has directed over two hundred music videos. Due to his strong collection of discography, I have chosen to analyse his directing style and see if there are any continuous themes throughout his videos.

Here is a list of some of the most notable music videos he's directed:

• Avril Lavigne- "When You're Gone"
• Backstreet Boys- "Just Want You to Know"
• Biffy Clyro- "Bubbles"
• Destiny's Child- "Lose My Breath"
• Far East Movement- "Rocketeer" (featuring Ryan Tedder)
• Flo Rida- "Club Can't Handle Me"
• Foo Fighters- "Times like These"
• James Blunt- "So Far Gone"
• Jay-Z- "Girls, Girls, Girls"
• Katy Perry- "Last Friday Night" (Nominee 2011 MTV Best Pop Video Award)
• Kelis- "Bossy"
• Lostprophets- "It's Not the End of the World, But I Can See It from Here"
• 'N Sync- "Girlfriend"
• Orianthi- "According to You"
• Pixie Lott- "All About Tonight"
• Shinedown- "Save Me"
• Sum 41-"Fat Lip", "In Too Deep"
• The Script- "The Man Who Can't Be Moved"

All his videos are very performance based with the focus on the band/singer and the narrative includes the artist instead of it being a duel narrative with other characters involved. His videos do vary though, with some being more serious (such as Biffy Clyro - Bubbles) and others being humourous and mocking. It is probably due to his range and versatile nature, that he has become so popular amongst artists. The video revolves around the band or singer.


Two videos which he's directed which seem to be similar, as Katy Perry - Last Friday Night, and Backstreet Boys - Just Want You To Know.

Both videos are Parodies, which focus on humour and fun. He references other decades in each of the videos, and they are both very busy videos rather than an artist just standing around singing. The mix of performance and narrative means his videos are always very interesting to watch as he brings something new to the table each time. The Katy Perry video is a bit of a risk, as it pushes the boundaries concerning her image, as it contrasts the way she is normally branded to her audience. She is portrayed as the geek rather than the perfect girl she normally appears as in videos.


He also directed this music video by Vanessa Carlton, which again has the artist driving the narrative, with the singer and her piano, being the only constant throughout. It is the same in the other video, 30H3! - Starstuckk which has the main two singers in most of the video, and they are the reason behind the narrative; the girls running towards them. I particuarly like the 'A Thousand Miles' video as the idea is quite simple, but the change in setting/mise en scene keeps it interesting, as then it isn't just a video of an artist playing a piano.

In 'Starstukk' he makes the singers seem irresistible and desirable, which is a great way to sell their music, and the bright colours and strong shots mean that the video is quite visually striking. There is also the use of slow motion when the girls are running, and through the use of cross cutting between the singers and the other people in the video means your attention is always brought back to the band as they are the most prominent thing within the video. There is also the sense of humour at the end of the video when the audience finds out the guys imagined the whole thing.

In general the editing style is quite simple, and the ideas aren't too 'out there', but his "unique blend of humour and visuals makes each and every video he produces something that has not been seen before."


Here is a summary of the key motifs featured in Klasfeld's videos:

• Main focus on the band/singer - the artist is the main feature
• Use of bright colours and bright lighting
• Mixture of close ups and long shots
• Narrative includes singer/band
• Often have a blue tint
• Close ups of instruments

I think his directing style will be useful in our project as he moulds his style to fit the artist, and I like how the focus isn't on the narrative, but on the singer themselves which means that the audience doesn't get distracted, and the singer is branded well. I think when making our video it will be easier to focus on the performance rather than the narrative, because it will be easier to film and make look professional.