Michel Gondry was born and raised in Versailles, France. He begun his film-making career by creating music videos for the French rock band ‘Oui Oui’ - of which he was the drummer. His craft work caught the eye of Bjork, who then went on to collaborate with Michel on a total of seven music videos. Gondry is best known for his inventive and extroverted visual style as well as his manipulation of mise en scene.
Other artists he has worked with on more than one occasion include Daft Punk, The White Stripes, The Chemical Brothers, Radiohead and Beck. As well as music videos, Gondry’s work extends to feature length and short length films, as well as T.V, adverts and documentaries. His controversial Levi 501 Jeans “Drugstore” commercial currently holds the record for “Most awards won by a TV commercial”. The advert never aired in the U.S due to its suggestive nature. Gondry has been involved in a wide number of different advertisements over the years including ones for Nike, Adidas, Motorola, BMW, Volvo, Heineken and many more.
In his 1998 Smirnoff vodka advert, Gondry pioneered the “bullet time” technique - whereby time and space undergoes extreme transformation, making the impossible possible. This was later adapted in The Matrix films. His works, especially in advertising, has been of great influence to the perceptions and expectations placed upon adverts. No longer do adverts solely serve to make people buy a product - as they are now also a form of entertainment.
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