The New Yorker: Melina Matsoukas, a director of music videos and television shows, had just returned home from a trip to Cuba when she got a call from Beyoncé, asking her to direct a video for a song called “Formation.” Matsoukas had directed nine of Beyoncé’s videos, and considered her “family.” But this assignment was unusually demanding. Beyoncé was working on “Lemonade,” a deeply personal “visual album” that touches on betrayals in black marriages—her parents’ and, reportedly, her own. “Formation” would be the first single, and an introduction to Beyoncé’s new aesthetic: both vulnerable and political. She wanted to release the song the day before she performed it at the Super Bowl, which meant that Matsoukas would have to submit a video within a few weeks. “It was the fastest delivery I had ever done in my life,” she told me.
2 comments:
It’s very cool to read an article about a music video director, since that is a profession that I know so little about. I had no idea that the same director worked on all of these iconic videos, including the legendary Beyonce Lemonade series. It’s very cool how Matsoukas worked with Beyonce to enhance her anti-racism and anti-sexism ideas in an intersectional and aesthetically interesting way. I thought it was very cool to read that Matsoukas gathers images and research and “treats every project like a thesis” much in the same way that a scenic designer would make a pinterest board or that a dramaturg would check out stacks of books from the library in preparation for a show. I don’t often think of a director as a visual artist but this process is certainly an artistic process, especially when you think of them analyzing a song as a theatrical director would analyze a script. The part where she is talking about how she used different cameras to evoke different qualities and emotions (like the graininess of a lower- end camera versus HD) reminded me a lot of what we have been discussing lately in media class. I really enjoyed reading about how she has worked with Beyonce as well as other artists to create politically relevant and aesthetically iconic work. It seems that the work that goes into directing and designing a music video is just as much if not more than the amount of work that goes into theater productions, in what looks like an even shorter time period.
I agree with sasha it is so cool to read about directors of music videos. In particular this one. Anyone who knows me, knows how I feel about beyonce- i basically wake up and pray to her daily. I've been thinking for a long time about her the progression of her work. As the years have gone by, she has grown as an artists and her music taste/style has completely changed. This is partly to do with the choice of new directors. Now her pieces are great holistically, rather than just individual songs. There is a through line. I think lemonade is one of the best albums of all time ( I don't know how many people would agree but I stand by it). Visually excellent, and it teaches such important lessons about race and love and equality and respecting others. Beyonce is a true visionary, and has changed this art form for sure.
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