All directors start somewhere. Whether it’s music videos, commercials or short films, the stepping stones for a filmmaker leading up to their feature debut can provide vital exposure and a hint of what’s to come. With our recurring article The Early Works, we dive into the beginnings of a director who has a new film landing in theaters the upcoming weekend.
Not unlike last week’s featured director, few helmers are as synonymous with big-budget commercial filmmaking than Michael Bay. There’s the notion that he simply burst onto the film scene with 1995’s Bad Boys, but the blockbuster director put it over half-a-decade of steady work in the music video and commercials realm, beginning just a week after he graduated film school at Wesleyan University in 1989.
After getting signed to Propaganda Films, he worked on a number of music videos for the company, from Meat Loaf to Tina Turner to the DiVinyls. He soon jumped into the commercial world, directing spots for Budweiser, Nike and various car companies, with his work for Miller Lite resulting in a Gold Lion award at Cannes and his Got Milk? ads bringing him the Silver Lion.
While Bay’s commercial and music videos amount to hundreds of examples, we’ve selected thirty of his most notable early works, from his early beginnings up to, and a little past, his debut feature film. Revisiting this early output, it’s striking to see how much of his specific visual style has carried through to his feature work, from the hyper editing to flashy cinematography, and even his fascination with certain themes. Check out the videos below, and continuing in chronological order on the following pages.
Richard Marx’s “Angelia” Music Video (1989)
Britny Fox’s “Dream On” Music Video (1990)
Chicago’s “Hearts in Trouble” Music Video (1990)
Faster Pussycat’s “House of Pain” Music Video (1990)
Styx’s “Love is the Ritual” Music Video (1990)
Poco’s “Call It Love” Music Video (1990)
Donny Osmond’s “My Love is a Fire” Music Video (1990)
Louie Louie’s “Sitting In The Lap Of Luxury” Music Video (1990)
Neville Brothers’ “Bird On A Wire” Music Video (1990)
Budweiser’s “Soundcheck” Commercial (1991)
Divinyls’s “I Touch Myself” Music Video (1991)
House Of Lords’ “Remember My Name” Music Video (1991)
Vanilla Ice’s “I Love You” Music Video (1991)
Lionel Richie’s “Do It To Me” Music Video (1991)
Wilson Phillips’ “You Won’t See My Cry” Music Video (1992)
Bugle Boy Jeans Commercial (1992)
Tina Turner’s “Love Thing” Music Video (1992)
Got Milk?’s “Priest and a Vending” Commercial (1993)
Got Milk?’s “Aaron Burr” Commercial (1993)
Got Milk?’s “Baby & Cat” Commercial (1993)
Meat Loaf’s “I Would Do Anything For Love” Music Video (1993)
Nike’s “Deion” Commercial (1993)
Nike’s “Alpha Project” Commercial (1993)
Nike’s “Jordan Vs Barkley” Commercial (1994)
Miller Lite’s “Lawyers Roundup” Commercial (1994)
Isuzu’s “Toy Store” Commercial (1995)
Isuzu’s “The Rock” Commercial (1995)
Saturn’s “Enthusiasm” Commercial (1995)
Aerosmith’s “Falling in Love (Is Hard on the Knees)” Music Video (1997)
Levi’s “Elevator Fantasy” Commercial (1997)
Pain & Gain opens on Friday, April 26th.
What is your favorite commercial or music video from Michael Bay?