Video killed, etc
One of the great revelations I have ever read about the continual watchability of the film “A Hard Day’s Night” is the cinematography’s kinetics. The shots are simply average, but there is something captured in the camera in the way the film itself moves, or that it never stops. The film has a fluidity that is jumpy, and by that basic statement, it could be called simplistic. But there is something in the film’s technique that, while it has become the Rosetta for music videos, is almost impossible to match or re-fabricate. It’s one of those happy accidents of film, but more so than most, the film owes as much to the direction as it does to the stars. “A Hard Day’s Night” is revered just as much as a great film as it is a testament to the Beatles themselves.
You could argue that “A Hard Day’s Night” was the first music video. Semantics about the origins aside, there is no doubt it was at one of the key jumps in the evolution of the medium (or submedium). It not just the performance, it was the motion of the whole movie that cemented the videos Eisenstein-ian look. It is also one of the most difficult things in film to recreate, and only a handful of people can make good videos and an even smaller minority can make great ones. Spielberg would make a video that would be drawn out in drama, huge in action sequences and somehow about divorce; Scorsese would have masterful lighting, somehow be about ordinary people going south, and be reminiscent of another era; and both would likely be terrible. But somehow, hacks like Michael Bay and Brett Ratner can make fantastic videos. There are three that have crossed over of quality that I can think of off hand, Michel Gondry, Spike Jonze, and David Fincher.
It’s the motion though, whether in edits, tracks, zooms, tilts, or pans, that not only has to be done, it has to be done in a precise matter. It is a grammar to a dialect so strict that more than a few missteps will render the piece incomprehensible. When I worked in development, this fact was beyond obvious to anyone who watched MTV growing up. Good or bad, the assimilation of the younger viewing culture to a systematic formula is ingrained absolute. I was paired next to a guy of my age vs. a group of older industry guys, and while they were split within themselves, the unity in my contemporary and me was 100%. We would agree without even looking at each other. Sometimes it was a lingering static shot in the middle of the song; other times it was an impure recreation of the jumping cuts that seemed arrhythmic but we picked up on it 10 times out of 10.
Examples, both of low, middle, and highbrow:
Van Halen: Hot For Teacher – fast, ridiculous, and the opposite of subtle in it’s approach. Still it’s endlessly watchable in both the subject matter and the way the teachers don’t just dance, they launch with the music.
Verdict: A shining example of the form. Even goofy material is compelling.
Alanis Morrisette: Thank You--Long sometimes static shots of her (naked, which hurts) too many blurring techniques of the camera that would drive even Janus Kaminski nuts. And the naked thing.
Verdict: too slow and plodding. Boring.
Radiohead: Knives Out – Constantly spinning, a frame jammed with ideas that match the song (perversion of beauty). It is moving constantly, but it is jittery to a point of near distraction, even if intentional.
Verdict: Accomplished, but boring. Too many ideas jammed into one video that makes a mash of an experience. Unwatchable for those who are not fans, and as I big fan, I still would rather watch other videos.
Overall verdict: Hot for Teacher is the best video, simply because it is interesting (you could call it fun or campy, but I’d pick this one while flipping any day). The reason is in the way the video moves and does so in a non-distracting matter. It could be called frenetic by the non music video buff, but Hot For Teacher’s video will survive well past the vinyl is was pressed on.
Aberrant from every other media form, videos can be great even if the source material is less than good or even terrible. While I could example Petey Pablo’s “How do you like it” (or the one where he lists off women’s names) as a video that is compelling even on mute, it’s only so because of that girl with the big tracts of land. Going back to Alanis, Ironic is not a good song, per se. Sure, it has a great hook, but anyone with a sixth grade education knows that the definition of ironic couldn’t be further from her description. But the video, with its four separate Alanis-es and their travel in the car, is fantastic. From the opening shot of Alanis as a lone hitchhiker to the giddiness of the quartet in the car trip, it’s a fun four or so minutes, and in all fairness, it made the song better. Something about the match of the cold atmosphere with the subject matter as well as the poppy elation and the bouncing singers compliments and raises both to higher levels in both acceptance and, even if a perceived, quality.
But all of these is leading to something I hope will be a running feature, a music video review. Basically, whenever I do one, look back to this article. I’ll of course pimp it later with each installment, but do it yourself anyway.
Mr. Brightside—The Killers. Eric Roberts!!! A performance and a concept video (about performers) that works seamlessly and sublimely!!! An A+ performance from a blonde with a wig X-tina Aguilera would eschew and enough white makeup to disguise Eddie Murphy again, if he ever wants to go back to comedy and redo a great skit. A Blue faced chick who sticks out her tongue to lead in to a perfect dissolve to a Moulin Rouge skyline.
This video sold me on the Killers, at least to the level of not writing them off entirely due to the blur rip-off somebody told me. The director, Sophie Muller, is able to create an atmosphere of a backstage acting troupe complete with infidelities and a creepy overlord/manager, that seems not only viable to those who have ever been in theater, but familiar to those who have not. There are fantastic details included, a mass of characters lounging, sneaking behind the curtain to make out, a hot girl who is the center of the production and unanimous attention.
How the Killers got there though, is anyone’s guess. If you can give me a legitimate reason why a 21st century 80’s retro rock group is hanging out back stage, I’m all ears. But not only are they playing in the video, they are performing to the camera. The lead singer does a great job of selling the lyrics (like the 2nd refrain of “it was only a kiss”). The band as well, with the drummer’s game playing, (not only is he look like he is doing it, he acts disenchanted) and the guitarist actually putting effort into playing the axe. While this should be uniform for all bands in videos, it is notable because it seems realistic.
The video is compelling in it’s macro and micro levels. The fleeting loves feel romantic and it drives the narrative. It’s not just enough that Eric Roberts is in it, it’s that he is biting into apples, winning mercilessly at checkers (it’s hard to lose when YOU NEVER MOVE YOUR BACK ROW!!!!), and he’s wearing a smoking jacket! Yes, the Eric Roberts that is brother to Julia and star of Stiletto, one of the 1000 best porno’s posing as dramas.
Verdict: A great video that matches the song, works as a piece on its own (i.e. you can watch it on mute), and makes you listen to the song on the radio outside of the video.
Grade: A.
You could argue that “A Hard Day’s Night” was the first music video. Semantics about the origins aside, there is no doubt it was at one of the key jumps in the evolution of the medium (or submedium). It not just the performance, it was the motion of the whole movie that cemented the videos Eisenstein-ian look. It is also one of the most difficult things in film to recreate, and only a handful of people can make good videos and an even smaller minority can make great ones. Spielberg would make a video that would be drawn out in drama, huge in action sequences and somehow about divorce; Scorsese would have masterful lighting, somehow be about ordinary people going south, and be reminiscent of another era; and both would likely be terrible. But somehow, hacks like Michael Bay and Brett Ratner can make fantastic videos. There are three that have crossed over of quality that I can think of off hand, Michel Gondry, Spike Jonze, and David Fincher.
It’s the motion though, whether in edits, tracks, zooms, tilts, or pans, that not only has to be done, it has to be done in a precise matter. It is a grammar to a dialect so strict that more than a few missteps will render the piece incomprehensible. When I worked in development, this fact was beyond obvious to anyone who watched MTV growing up. Good or bad, the assimilation of the younger viewing culture to a systematic formula is ingrained absolute. I was paired next to a guy of my age vs. a group of older industry guys, and while they were split within themselves, the unity in my contemporary and me was 100%. We would agree without even looking at each other. Sometimes it was a lingering static shot in the middle of the song; other times it was an impure recreation of the jumping cuts that seemed arrhythmic but we picked up on it 10 times out of 10.
Examples, both of low, middle, and highbrow:
Van Halen: Hot For Teacher – fast, ridiculous, and the opposite of subtle in it’s approach. Still it’s endlessly watchable in both the subject matter and the way the teachers don’t just dance, they launch with the music.
Verdict: A shining example of the form. Even goofy material is compelling.
Alanis Morrisette: Thank You--Long sometimes static shots of her (naked, which hurts) too many blurring techniques of the camera that would drive even Janus Kaminski nuts. And the naked thing.
Verdict: too slow and plodding. Boring.
Radiohead: Knives Out – Constantly spinning, a frame jammed with ideas that match the song (perversion of beauty). It is moving constantly, but it is jittery to a point of near distraction, even if intentional.
Verdict: Accomplished, but boring. Too many ideas jammed into one video that makes a mash of an experience. Unwatchable for those who are not fans, and as I big fan, I still would rather watch other videos.
Overall verdict: Hot for Teacher is the best video, simply because it is interesting (you could call it fun or campy, but I’d pick this one while flipping any day). The reason is in the way the video moves and does so in a non-distracting matter. It could be called frenetic by the non music video buff, but Hot For Teacher’s video will survive well past the vinyl is was pressed on.
Aberrant from every other media form, videos can be great even if the source material is less than good or even terrible. While I could example Petey Pablo’s “How do you like it” (or the one where he lists off women’s names) as a video that is compelling even on mute, it’s only so because of that girl with the big tracts of land. Going back to Alanis, Ironic is not a good song, per se. Sure, it has a great hook, but anyone with a sixth grade education knows that the definition of ironic couldn’t be further from her description. But the video, with its four separate Alanis-es and their travel in the car, is fantastic. From the opening shot of Alanis as a lone hitchhiker to the giddiness of the quartet in the car trip, it’s a fun four or so minutes, and in all fairness, it made the song better. Something about the match of the cold atmosphere with the subject matter as well as the poppy elation and the bouncing singers compliments and raises both to higher levels in both acceptance and, even if a perceived, quality.
But all of these is leading to something I hope will be a running feature, a music video review. Basically, whenever I do one, look back to this article. I’ll of course pimp it later with each installment, but do it yourself anyway.
Mr. Brightside—The Killers. Eric Roberts!!! A performance and a concept video (about performers) that works seamlessly and sublimely!!! An A+ performance from a blonde with a wig X-tina Aguilera would eschew and enough white makeup to disguise Eddie Murphy again, if he ever wants to go back to comedy and redo a great skit. A Blue faced chick who sticks out her tongue to lead in to a perfect dissolve to a Moulin Rouge skyline.
This video sold me on the Killers, at least to the level of not writing them off entirely due to the blur rip-off somebody told me. The director, Sophie Muller, is able to create an atmosphere of a backstage acting troupe complete with infidelities and a creepy overlord/manager, that seems not only viable to those who have ever been in theater, but familiar to those who have not. There are fantastic details included, a mass of characters lounging, sneaking behind the curtain to make out, a hot girl who is the center of the production and unanimous attention.
How the Killers got there though, is anyone’s guess. If you can give me a legitimate reason why a 21st century 80’s retro rock group is hanging out back stage, I’m all ears. But not only are they playing in the video, they are performing to the camera. The lead singer does a great job of selling the lyrics (like the 2nd refrain of “it was only a kiss”). The band as well, with the drummer’s game playing, (not only is he look like he is doing it, he acts disenchanted) and the guitarist actually putting effort into playing the axe. While this should be uniform for all bands in videos, it is notable because it seems realistic.
The video is compelling in it’s macro and micro levels. The fleeting loves feel romantic and it drives the narrative. It’s not just enough that Eric Roberts is in it, it’s that he is biting into apples, winning mercilessly at checkers (it’s hard to lose when YOU NEVER MOVE YOUR BACK ROW!!!!), and he’s wearing a smoking jacket! Yes, the Eric Roberts that is brother to Julia and star of Stiletto, one of the 1000 best porno’s posing as dramas.
Verdict: A great video that matches the song, works as a piece on its own (i.e. you can watch it on mute), and makes you listen to the song on the radio outside of the video.
Grade: A.
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