Sophie Muller

Sophie Muller
Sophie Muller
Born	Sophie Luise Elisabeth Muller; 31 January 1962 (age 62); London, England
Occupation	Music video director
Years active	1982–present
Relatives	Mae Muller (niece)

Sophie Luise Elisabeth Muller (born 31 January 1962) is an English music video director who has directed over 300 music videos.^[1] She won a Grammy Award for Annie Lennox's 1992 Diva video album, and an MTV Video Music Award for Lennox's song "Why" from the same album. In 1993, she received a BRIT Award for "Stay" by Shakespears Sister. She won another MTV Award in 1997 for "Don't Speak" by No Doubt. Muller is a longtime collaborator of Sade, Annie Lennox, Gwen Stefani, Kylie Minogue, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Garbage and Shakespears Sister.

Muller has also photographed still campaigns and cover art for albums, and provided photographs and art direction for concert tours, concert films, and commercials.^[1]

Background

Sophie Muller was born in London, but spent her early years on the Isle of Man. After leaving secondary education, she returned to London to attend Central St Martins, gaining a Foundation Diploma in Art. She befriended Sade there; the two later worked together.^[1]

Following her graduation, Muller went to the Royal College of Art to study for her Masters in Film and Television,^[1] where she made "Interlude" and "In Excelsis Deo" (In Adoration of God). The latter won the J. Walter Thompson Prize for creativity.

Her trademark style of a singer or a band inside a dim room started with "I Need a Man" by Eurythmics, shot in 1987.^[1]

Career

Muller's first taste of professional film came working as a third assistant on the 1984 horror/thriller Company of Wolves. She then went on to work for International Film and Video, honoring her for her editing, producing, and directing skills.

Muller's goal was to become a successful director in her own right, and her big break came through a chance meeting with John Stewart (brother of Eurythmics' Dave Stewart) and Billy Poveda of Oil Factory, an established film production company.^[1]

She has directed over three hundred music videos^[1] and has been a longtime collaborator with Sophie Ellis-Bextor, No Doubt, Shakespears Sister, Garbage, Blur, Annie Lennox and Eurythmics. Her work with Annie Lennox won her a Grammy for the Diva video album. She also picked up an MTV Video Music Award for Lennox's 1992 hit "Why", and was also Grammy nominated for the Eurythmics' 1987 Savage video album. In total, Muller has directed over twenty videos for Lennox and Eurythmics and has a longstanding collaboration with producers Rob Small (UK) and Grant Jue (US).

The video she directed for "Stay" by Shakespears Sister was spoofed by many British comedians at the time, including French & Saunders and Mr. Blobby, and won the BRIT Award and The Music Week Award for Best Video at both of the ceremonies' 1993 Awards.

She has directed fifteen videos for Sophie Ellis-Bextor, including "Take Me Home", "Murder on the Dancefloor", "Catch You", two versions of "Music Gets the Best of Me" and "Love Is a Camera".

Muller directed nine videos for No Doubt as well as nine solo videos for Gwen Stefani. When No Doubt's "Don't Speak" won the award for Best Group Video at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards, Stefani thanked her extensively, saying "I'd like to say that Sophie Muller is a genius." Stefani has also stated,

Sophie Muller is one of my most talented friends. She can and will only do projects that she is inspired by. She is driven by creativity and the love for what she does and as a result she never compromises. I consider her a true artist. I was a fan of Sophie's work before I even imagined working with her. She has a very pronounced style and taste that drew me in. I think she has the gift of being able to bring out the artist's personality, emotion and style. After working with her for the first time on our "Don't Speak" video, we became close friends [...]. On the set her direction is humble and simple, but she knows what she wants and knows when she gets it. A woman in charge in the male-dominated world of filmmaking makes the whole experience that much more exciting. [...] She has a way of making every cut have a reason and meaning. The videos have a life of their own and become better each time you watch them. I am always in shock the first time I see them and then after a few more times I am actually amazed. She has taught me a lot and I feel very lucky to have worked with her.^[2]

The artwork for The Jesus and Mary Chain's 1994 album, Stoned & Dethroned, and the singles accompanying it, is composed entirely of stills from the video to the group's song "Sometimes Always", which was directed by Muller. She also directed the video for "Come On", which also appears on the album.

Muller states that her only ambition is to continue directing to her own high standards and to never grow bored. In 2004, she directed the socially aware video for Sarah McLachlan's "World on Fire",^[3] where all but $15 of the entire $150,000 video budget was donated to charities. Recently, she has directed videos for Brandon Flowers, Kings of Leon, Mae Muller, Mika, Tom Odell, Shakira, and the critically acclaimed video for the Dixie Chicks, "Not Ready to Make Nice".