While nestled away working on new films at Muckle Hen headquarters, we were delighted to receive the news from BBC big wigs that two of our music video productions have been selected to appear on 22 BBC Big Screens across the country. The videos – Aberfeldy’s ‘Somewhere to Jump From’ and Chris Bradley’s ‘To My Ears’ – are beautifully animated stories masterminded by director Dave Lemm. In perfect harmony with the folk pop gems they represent, each video takes the viewer on a journey. In ‘To My Ears’, we travel through a sepia-tinged scrapbook filled with illusive memories and doodles, while in ‘Somewhere to Jump From’ we see our protagonist go from heartbreak to suicide attempt to new-found love in the space of three and a half minutes!
It’s got us thinking about what makes a successful music video. Are big budgets the key to creating something that people will love? We think not, given that the most expensive music video of all time (according to the Guinness Book of World Records) was Michael Jackson’s Scream, featuring Jacko and sister Janet in monochrome, cavorting around a spaceship. We like their spiky jumpers but at a cost of seven million dollars, you’d expect director Mark Romanek to have come up with something a little more memorable and a little less dull. Jackson’s Thriller video, at a fraction of the cost ($1 million), made a far bigger impact. Still a tad pricey though.
So if money’s not the key, what is? Humour? Aesthetics? Simplicity? We’ve asked our friends, trawled the net and had a right good time watching everything from the disturbing to the downright ridiculous. We’ve bobbed our heads along to Weezer and the muppets in their video for Keep Fishin’, marvelled at dogs jumping in slow motion over lasers beams in Vitallic’s Poney Part One, recoiled at the unsettling imagery in Aphex Twin’s Windowlicker, and finally settled on five of our favourite music videos from recent years.
Fatboy Slim // Weapon Of Choice
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMZwZiU0kKs
Directed by Spike Jonze, this Grammy award-winning video features actor Christopher Walken dramatically leaping, twirling and jigging his way through a swanky hotel interior. Walken showcases moves no doubt gleaned from his early training as a dancer in musical theatre (before he found his calling playing psychologically unhinged characters in movies). We defy anyone to watch this without raising a smile, tapping a foot, or indeed exploding into a full-blown choreographed routine around the house/office.
OK Go // This Too Shall Pass
The OK Go viral video phenomena began when the band released their famous treadmill video for Here It Goes Again, one of YouTube’s most watched videos with over 50 million views. Staggered by the popularity it bestowed upon them, the guys then went to town and have since created some of the most extraordinarily impressive videos on the net. Our favourite, This Too Shall Pass, is inspired by Rube Goldberg machines and plays out like a giant game of human Mouse Trap.
Grizzly Bear // Ready Able
This mesmerising stop-motion ‘claymation’ video by LA-based artist Allison Schulnik perfectly captures the tone of Grizzly Bear’s haunting tune. Full of mystical creatures that look like they might be distantly related to the puppet cast of Labyrinth, the whole thing is tinged with a creepy dreamlike quality that leaves the viewer reflecting with a distinct sense of sadness.
Radiohead // Just
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_qMagfZtv8&ob=av2e
Radiohead capture the viewers’ imagination by giving them a puzzle they can’t solve. A man lies down on the street at random and refuses to tell passers-by why – they persist; he concedes; they all lie down. But what did he say? Frustratingly, both band and director have kept schtum about those all-important words, leaving everybody guessing. The debate has made its way onto countless blogs and forums and kept the video in circulation long after its 1995 release.
Blur // Coffee & TV
Blur reel the viewer in with a delightful tale about the heroic attempts of an animated milk carton to find his ‘missing person’ (Blur guitarist Graham Coxon). However Milky does not fare well in the big bad outside world, and winds up being tossed in the trash by Graham, who’s actually just been jamming with the band all along. There’s no use crying over spilt milk, they say, but we howled at the sad ending.
We’d love to hear about your favourite music videos. Leave a comment if there’s one you think we should see. As for the answer to a successful music video? Simple: treat your video like a short film. Make it arresting, entertaining, and watchable from start to finish. If you would like Muckle Hen’s help in making the perfect video accompaniment for your song, get in touch!
