AS/A2 Eleanor Muir: The Auteur Theory

Auteur Theory: In film criticism, auteur theory holds that a director's film reflects the director's personal creative vision. In spite of, and sometimes even because of, the production of the film as a part of an industrial process, the auteur's creative voice is distinct enough to shine through all kinds of studio interference and through the collective process.

Alfred Hitchcock:

Alfred Hitchcock was an English film director and producer. He's widly considered the master of suspense. Key elements of his style include: Cameo appearances in his films, use of his favourite actors like Grace Kelly, elongated suspense scenes and representations of the psychological. This means most people can tell that a film is made by Hitchcock. It is now considered to be correct that music videos and their directors can have auteurs in the same way.

When auteur theory was being developed, Alfred Hitchcock was frequently acknowledged as the expert example, and his name brings to mind immediate expectations in terms of themes and techniques. As befit the master of mystery and suspense, his films play with the audience's nerves, sexually or tabooed areas assume central or implicit places in his work (the latent homosexuality of Strangers on a Train, the parody of an Oedipus complex in Psycho and the traumatic remembrance of repressed memories of Marnie), there is a constant element of black comedy, and frequent unusual characterisations. Hitchcock was influenced by the German Expressionists, and admired their ability to express ideas in purely visual terms. It is this visual expression of thought and psychology that Hitchcock achieves throughout his films.

Hype Williams:

Harold "Hype" Williams (born 1970), previously known as HYPE, is an American music video and film director.

Williams first displayed his work by tagging local billboards, storefronts, and playgrounds using HYPE as his graffiti tag. Williams' big break came when he began working with Classic Concepts Video Productions. Lionel "Vid Kid" Martin & VJ Ralph McDaniels created Williams' first opportunity with the "Filmmakers With Attitude" moniker (FWA), which was Williams' first video company.

Awards Williams has received for his video work include:

. Billboard Music Video Award for Best Director of the Year (1996)

. Jackson Limo Award for Best Rap Video of the Year (1996) for Busta Rhymes' "Woo Hah!! Got You All in Check"

. NAACP Image Award (1997), the 8th annual Music Video Production Association Award for Black Music Achievement (1997)

. MTV Video Music Award in the Best Rap Video (1998) category for Will Smith's "Gettin' Jiggy wit It"

. MTV Video Music Award for Best Group Video (1999) for TLC's "No Scrubs"

. BET Award for Best Director (2006) for Kanye West's "Gold Digger".

Three of Hype Williams' Music Videos:

Kanye West: "All of the Lights" Ft Rihanna 2011