Sound And Vision: Michael Gracey

In the article series Sound and Vision we take a look at music videos from notable directors. This week: a trifecta of music videos by Michael Gracey.

Michael Gracey started out as a special effects artist, before making it big as a music video and advertisement director. The horrifying Evian babies on roller skates commercial, that's him. Not yet a household name as a director, he is a commercially savvy director to watch, thanks to his break-out hit The Greatest Showman, and the buzzy Better Man, also known as the Robbie Williams as a chimpanzee musical biopic. Extra information for Americans: Robbie Williams is a huge popstar in Europe, and not, in fact, a chimpanzee.

Michael Gracey's work thus far has showcased two things, both in The Greatest Showman and Better Man аnd his music video and commercials work: that he is often on the cutting edge of technology, and he likes the performativity of the theater and choreography. Sometimes these are at odds with each other, like in some of the weakest moments of The Greatest Showman or his music videos for Natasha Beddingfield's Unwritten, Charlotte Church's Call My Name or Gabrielle Cilmi's On A Mission, that all feel oddly sterile. Instead I want to highlight three music videos, that all in their own way showcase the push and pull between technology and performance in the work of Michael Gracey, and all fall somewhere else on the spectrum of success.

The first music video is for the Sugababes' Shape (co-directed with Pete Commins) (see below), which is a bonafide classic of British bubblegum-pop. The smooth R&B-pop-hybrid song, that interpolates a classic Sting-song, leans heavily on outdated special effects, but Gracey's success here is the way in which its use of CGI was already heightened. There is no problem in the music video having slightly wonky effects by today's standard, as the artificiality was baked in from the beginning. And there are some truly stand out clever visuals, in which the three singers are each individually visiting the same ball masque (or are possibly the same person) in a CGI-enhanced butterfly dress. That dress is the music video's grace note, a stunning homage to Cinderella, that is both kitsch and camp in the best way. And the snobby suitor's peacock get-up? Also great.

Less successful is Pink's Walk Me Home (also below). The ideas here are good: having Pink perform an elaborate choreography with shadows. There are some very striking visuals here, like Pink being lifted up in the air in the shadowplay, which results in her floating mid-air. But the life is sucked out of the video by the glossy sheen over everything. Michael Gracey's worst tendencies are on display: an overconfidence in CGI-trickery and a too noticeable color correction, where just depending on the choreography more would've done wonders.

It is especially curious, as the concert film/documentary hybrid Gracey made for Pink, All I Know So Far, is especially good in the moments it grounds Pink and brings some real life emotion to the labor of staging a huge concert. That film especially comes alive in the moments that the humanity behind the star is highlighted, warts and all. Looking this effortless is a lot of work, as it turns out.

Which brings us to our final song. The Boy Does Nothing (finally below) by Alesha Dixon is, as a song, kinda nothing itself. It's a lightweight pop confection that only stands out (in the wrong way) because of the naff lyricism. A song about a lover who is not that great a dancer or cleaner isn't all that inspiring. What is inspiring, tho, is the music video, which Gracey co-directed with Pete Commins and Annie Beauchamp. There is no real gimmick here, unlike something like Shape, Unwritten or Walk Me Home. Instead, the entire music video relies on the interplay between choreography, lighting and costuming. And while the costuming and lighting and setting are deceptively simple, being nothing more than a stage, a spotlight and a few frilly dresses, the way they work together is aces. There is a shot in there where the dancers shake their asses to the rhythm of the spotlight highlighting them, making the frills on the dress twirl as soon as the light passes them. It's amazingly simple, yet amazingly effective. This is a banger of a video, thanks to some great choreography that is extremely well shot. You can have a great dance number, but if you don't shoot it well... Gracey does, luckily. And that is an understatement.

I haven't seen Better Man yet, but it sounds like there are many traps for Michael Gracey to fall into, leaning as heavily on his special effects background. But if he can bring any of the energy of this particular music video to the sequences in Better Man, it's gonna be a thrill ride.