Director Analysis - Samuel Bayer

Samuel David Bayer is an American visual artist, cinematographer, commercial, music video and film director.

Samuel Bayer has an extensive list of music videos that he has directed, ranging from artists such as Green Day and Good Charlotte, to Maroon 5 and Robbie Williams. It is clear that over the past 25 years of directing music videos, he has worked with a lot of alternative and rock bands, including names such as Metallica and Nirvana. Although he has worked with artists that fit more into the pop genre, he has definitely spent the majority of his time with these heavier artists, which could be a reflection of his style when directing.

A noticeable feature in a large majority of Bayer's music videos, particularly in his earlier videos in the 90's, is a focus on the depth of field. In his music videos for 'Hold On' by Good Charlotte, and 'American Idiot' by Green Day, he has shifted his focus in several shots to emphasize the depth of field he has used. This strong depth of field is something that makes Bayer's music videos appear quite cinematic, and beginning to cross the line between film and music video.

Following on from this, his most recent music videos including two for Maroon 5 are very cinematic. Both of the Maroon 5 videos are a mix of performance and narrative, allowing Bayer to turn these music videos into something that appears more like a film. This can be particularly seen in the music video for 'Payphone', as the narrative follows the lead singer (Adam Levine) as he is being chased by the police, as they have think he has robbed the bank, even though he was the person that managed to escape being held hostage at the bank. Depth of field is also very prominent in these music videos, however their isn't any shifting of focus like there was in Bayer's earlier music videos.