(Appendix 3)

Chris Cunningham Research.
Chris Cunningham started out in the Early 90's in the art departments of major motion pictures, designing robots and creatures for the film Judge Dredd, in 1995 he worked with Stanley Kubrick at this time he directed his first music video, Autechre's Second Bad Vilbel. after this he followed to make a series of videos with alternative English rock bands. He finally made a name for himself in 1997 when he created and directed and abstract video Come to Daddy.

In 2000 Cunningham directed two short films for the Anthony D'Offay gallery titled Flex and Monkey Drummer. This showed a very modern and hyper-realistic take on the world, again setting Cunningham apart with his abstract and distorted style of directing. He again in 2005 showed his disturbing view when he released and six minute showed video titled Rubber Johnny.

Chris' work portrays a grotesque yet beautifully imaginative look towards music videos and he has created a unique reputation for himself in contemporary moving image art. In his music clips and recent video installations, shape-shifting forms inhabit distorted, nightmarish landscapes that exist at the meeting point between the realms of the organic and the technological. Cunningham seems to enjoy creating haunting narratives which can be seen in Come to Daddy and 'Windowlicker' for Aphex Twin. Cunningham possesses an ability to intrigue yet repulse his viewers with his dark and identifiable locations not forgetting his elaborate creations.

Come To Daddy, Aphex Twin:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=5Az_7U0-cK0

This music video was one of Chris' most breakthrough and abstract creations, and really made his name as an auteur. The song is probably Aphex Twin's most known song because of the video, set on the same council estate where Stanley Kubrick shot A Clockwork Orange, much of the original location is now gone having been knocked down.

From the start the video is very contemporary by showing an old women to be walking through a grimy industrial estate with her dog, a poltergeist is born from a TV on the ground a accompanied by a set of young children all with Aphex Twins Richard D. James head, wreak havoc on the estate, and it has social reference to 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' when the poltergeist gathers the children around him. A very well received video due to its outragousness, and was voted 17th greatest video of all time by Q magazine.

Rubber Johnny, Chris Cunningham:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=3far9oHZOsI

This was a six-minute short video directed by Chris in 2005, he again used Aphex Twin, who he has regularly worked with to compose the music. The video starts with a doctor trying to communicate with the character Johnny, it seems to be very delusional and strange like much of Chris' work, it progresses to Johnny freaking out and being given a sedative injection, then we appear to be drawn into his mind as the scene cuts using a fluorescent light. Then Johnny's chihuahua is shown drinking in front of the camera which clearly has no link to the video what so ever it is merely just a scene for the music to start as Johnny mutter "Aphex", he then breaks into dance in his wheelchair ans the music begins. This conforms to Chris' very artistic style and how he likes to included weird and wonderful dancing in some of his videos. The video cleverly shows the links between delusion and reality, when his dad enters this delusion is broken. After his father leaves, Johnny is seen inhaling a large line of white powder.

The video then becomes even more erratic and delusional. The white powder effects not just Johhny but the whole world of the video, and the music now follows the narrative and links to the erratic style and becomes a spasmodic remix of the original beat. This very is a great example of how Chris Cunningham has developed as a directed and although it conforms to the music conventions a little more than the rest of his work it is still eye catching and very trippy. With the majority being shot using night vision it gives the video a very eerie feel and illuminates the characters eyes.

Chris' Work:

"Mental Wealth" (1994) commercial for PlayStation
"Second Bad Vilbel" (1996) video for Autechre
"Back With The Killer Again" (1996) video for The Auteurs
"Light Aircraft on Fire" (1996) video for The Auteurs
"36 Degrees" (1996) video for Placebo
"The Next Big Thing" (1997) video for Jesus Jones
"Come To Daddy" (1997) video for Aphex Twin
"Only You" (1998) video for Portishead
"Frozen" (1998) video for Madonna
"Come On My Selector" (1998) video for Squarepusher
"All Is Full of Love" (1999) video for Björk
"Windowlicker" (1999) video for Aphex Twin
"Afrika Shox" (1999) video for Leftfield and Afrika Bambaataa
"Flex" (2000), using sounds created by Aphex Twin
"Monkey Drummer" (2001), using "Mt Saint Michel + Saint Michaels mount" from Aphex Twin's album Drukqs
"Rubber Johnny" (2005), using "Afx237 V7" from Aphex Twin's album Drukqs
"Sheena Is A Parasite" (2006), video for The Horrors