5000 Ways to Love You – Page 35 – Exploring the world of NZ On Air music video funding

Autozamm “You Don’t Know Me”

It’s the return of Autozamm and this time they’re found in an old gun emplacement, one of the ones constructed in anticipation of an enemy that never came. Never mind – Autozamm have brought their own conflict to the site.

The video starts with the band posing for a series of photos, then they start fighting. The entire video – which appears to have been shot in one continuous take – involves the band throwing choreographed punches, taking turns at beating each other up.

It’s been shot with all the punches thrown and lyrics lip-synched in a slowed down form, then adjusted in post-production to give the effect of a more urgent brawl. The thing is, none of the fighting looks real. The band members are obviously not being beaten up, and after a while it begins to look less like fighting and more like an elaborately choreographed performance art piece.

It’s like a trick. If the band members were wearing black leotards and performing on stage, most Autozamm fans wouldn’t be at all interested. But put them in jeans and t-shirts inside a bleak military setting and suddenly it’s all martial and cool.

The video also has heaps of YouTube comments from people who love the video. Particularly, there are comments from people who are fans of the editing software that let all the sped-up and slowed-down bits happen. In fact, most comments are about how technically brilliant the video is, with few comments on the song itself.

Best bit: that Mikee Autozamm is so hard that he brawls without removing his specs.

Director: Ed Davis
Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision

Next… a starry night.

Amber Claire “Here It Comes Again”

So, this is interesting: the video for “Here It Comes Again” was shot at exactly the same time and place as Amber Claire’s previous video, “At Seventeen”.

There’s Amber Claire wearing the same silky gown, her hair twisted up in the same style. She’s surrounded by the same backing band, including the Clayton Weatherston lookalike, and they’re all performing in front of velvet curtains with three chandeliers hanging down. A lot of the shots are the same and they’re edited very similarly, including close-ups of the bored looking band members playing their instruments. The main different between the two is that “At Seventeen” is shot in colour, while “Here It Comes Again” is in black and white.

This attempt at a two-for-one is rather disappointing because one thing I’ve learned is that even back then it was possible to make a decent looking music video for $5000. Even if they wanted to shoot both the videos at the same time, how hard would it have been to have a change of costume and redecorate the background a bit? If this were part of a live performance, you’d expect the different songs to have different lighting and staging. Why the cookie-cutter style for the videos?

Funnily enough, “Here It Comes Again” is a better suit to this performance and video style than “At Seventeen” was. The latter had a disconnect between the lyrics of a teen outsider and the very glam setting of the video. While “Here It Comes Again” is a lovely ode to love, which suits the elegant cabaret style.

But then look at the song title: “Here It Comes Again”. Maybe this is an elaborate performance art statement. Here the Amber Claire video comes again. There is no other.

Best bit: the bit that was like “At Seventeen”, only in black and white.

Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision

Next… the fist of fear.

Aerial “As I Fall”

“As I Fall” is set in a fish and chip shop (the one in Huapai, to be precise) where Michelle and Andre Aerial are working behind the counter. In comes a hard-working Kiwi bloke who has a good look at the extensive menu before ordering, er, fish and chips. What, no paua fritter?

Andre passes the order onto Michelle, to gets to work dipping the fish in the batter and getting it and the chips in the fryer. At this point I was thinking how amazing it would be if the music video was just footage of fish and chips being cooked. I’d really be into that.

Sadly the urge to be a sensible music video is too great and we get a compromise – a split screen with Michelle singing and the fish frying. Sometimes the action focuses on just Michelle, and somehow that’s a bit disappointing. I mean, she’s a nice singer and looks good on camera, but there’s something just that much more appealing about fish and chips.

Sometimes the lone Michelle scenes put her in the middle of the kitchen with the camera moving around, which reminds me of the similar kitchen-hand glam of Carly Binding’s “Love Will Save Me” video.

The freshly made F&Cs are wrapped up in newspaper, a reminder of the days before the Herald downsized to a compact format, hugely affecting the New Zealand corner takeaway industry. The bloke gets his order, along with a “longest drink in town” milkshake and goes on his way.

So why the fish an chip shop setting? Well, the song ends with the line “Just happy where we are”. And the video makes this Huapai fish and chip shop seem like a pretty idyllic place to be. But let’s see what happens come the Friday night rush.

Best bit: the fish, followed closely by the chips.

Director: Hugo Tichbourne
Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision

Next… déjà vu.

48May “Leather & Tattoos”

48May got into a bit of trouble with this song, on account of it having more than a passing resemblance to “Punk Rock 101” by the Texan punk-pop band Bowling for Soup. According to the Htown Wiki, the song was pulled from the rerelease of the band’s debut album The Mad Love, and indeed the track is currently not available for purchase on iTunes.

The worst thing – “Punk Rock 101” is a rant against cookie cutter punk-pop, and also a fine example of how to include references to other songs and artists without directly copying their work. It even has the sneering refrain “Same song! Different chorus!”. Oh dear.

But if you go back to a time before any of that happened, you end up with 48May breaking into a bleak student flat. This is where the subject of the song lives – the goth chick with the leather and tattoos – only she’s not home.

Weirdly it looks more like a dude flat, but then the lyrics do mention she likes wrestling, monster trucks and Slipknot. Jon sneaks upstairs and joins the rest of the band rocking out in a couple of bedrooms.

Jon then ventures into the girl’s bedroom and discovers a pair of novelty fur-lined handcuffs. Well, that’s something. The band play some more, then enjoy an instant coffee and sandwiches in the kitchen.

Then suddenly – uh oh! – the goth chick is at the door. Will she discover the four pop-punk intruders who have been enjoying her Nescafe? Nah. She opens the door and finds the room empty, with just an open window to suggest something might be astray. The goth chick seems to sigh a little, as if she was expecting a punk-pop party at her house, with the empty room instead reminding her of the emptiness of her life. Bummer.

Despite the drama around the song, the video is ok. It captures 48May’s energy and even though it has a very American sound, there’s no mistaking the very New Zealand setting of the video.

Best bit: the slow-motion food-in-mouth throw, perfect caught.

http://youtu.be/WEmasqWwBJk

Director: Greg Page
Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision

Next… a good fry-up.

Whiz Kidz “Fine Today”

Whiz Kidz’s bio on Muzic.net.nz describes the Hamilton band as “pop with twists of ska, electronic, hip hop and rock”, which is pretty accurate. That sounds like the sort of band who would have been pretty fresh in the late ’90s, but in 2003 it’s all starting to sound a bit tired.

Their first single was the lively ska tune “Boyracer” from 2002, while “Fine Today” is has some of the electronica, rock and hip hop sounds in it.

The video takes its style cues from the version of 1950s American teen culture that was revived in the 1970s via films like American Graffiti and Grease, not to mention the almighty Sha Na Na. So it’s the 1950s via the 1970s via the 2000s.

Set at a party, the band play a group of nerds, and there’s also a gang of greaser dudes and a girl group who are like the Pink Ladies, only they’re wearing red.

So what goes on at such a party? Well, the punch is spiked (of course) and there’s a dance-off. The lead nerd goes for a stroll with one of the Red Ladies, who is told off by her gal pal (this is actually coming close to the plot of Grease 2).

More punch drinking and dancing ensues, then the nerds take to the stage and become Whiz Kidz, rocking the party with their ska, electronic, hip hop and rock sounds. The song has a brilliant chorus – incredibly uplifting and epic, so this part works really well.

In the end the nerdy guy gets the girl. But – just like in Grease and Grease 2 – the nerd only gets the cool person when they can prove they’re cool.

Whatever happened to Whiz Kidz? This was their one and only NZOA funded video. By 2006 they had changed their name to News of the World. Well, maybe now they’re known as The Sun on Sunday.

Best bit: the nerds’ concern for the guy who drinks too much and passes out.

Next… a shoop-shoop song.

The Mint Chicks “Blue Team Go”

Hey, it’s the Mint Chicks! This is where it feels like the last remains of the ’90s have dried up and fallen off and the richness of the ’00s can begin. And yes, let these Auckland art-school hooligans lead the way.

“Blue Team Go” is a mere 77 seconds long, but that’s as long as it needs to be. (I think this actually makes it the shortest NZOA-funded video so far, beating Betchadupa’s 90 second “Bits”). And the video packs more into that 77 seconds that most videos manage in three minutes.

There’s the band playing the song in a black studio. It’s the sort of thing that’s been seen in dozens of other music videos. But suddenly Ruban yells “GO!” and the scene explodes with colour. It’s like 12 years of videos mucking around with green screen and chroma key techniques and this is the first time someone has actually done something amazing with it.

The band’s manic performance energy combined with the equally crazy graphics seem like there’s a mighty gang fight going on, the Mint Chicks versus post-production video editing techniques. The video is directed by Wade Shotter, and I’m reminded of his Augustino video “Into the Grain” where the video itself seemed on the point of disintegration.

Like Supergroove and Goodshirt, the Mint Chicks were one of those bands who made really interesting videos. It seems the philosophy these bands have is if you’re going to make a music video, you might as well do something really epic.

Best bit: the introductory title card that seems to get shaken apart by the intensity of the video.

Note: the video was on MySpace, but it’s since been removed. To watch the video, go to Ziln.

Director: Wade Shotter
Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision

Next… you’re the one that I want.

Stylus “Backstabbers Incorporated”

Hell hath no fury like a rap-rock artist scorned? So, there’s the Stylus dude sitting on the couch playing video cames with his girlfriend who is played by Anna Jullienne, who would very soon go on to play nurse Maia Jeffries on Shortland Street. Hanging out with a hot gamer girlfriend – this sounds like a pretty sweet life for a young dude, right? Wrong. He’s upset.

He’s so upset that he puts down the game controller and picks up a View-Master. You know things are serious when old-school tech is involved. But instead of looking at 3D photos of scenic Amsterdam, he sees his girlfriend on a date with a gross dude.

The magical View-Master offers him other scenes where his girlfriend is being, like, a total bitch. “This will change the way we think of you forever,” warns the chorus. Yeah, that’ll teach her.

All the scenes with the View-Master and the devilwoman girlfriend are really silly. The strongest bit of the video is the band’s performance. They’re fierce and energetic and seem like they might be a good band to see live, even though that whole nu metal thing was getting a bit tired by 2004.

As for the magical View-Master, well, if it were me, I’d switch to the Austrian castles reel and lay off the Red Bull.

Best bit: the Baywatch scenario.

Director: Adam Jones

Next… 77 minty seconds.

Sommerset “Inside”

Auckland punk-arse punks Sommerset return with “Inside”, a rage against the claustrophobic lifestyle. The adventure begins with a loved-up young couple on a couch. This leads to footage of sperm swimming, and the next thing there’s a baby on the scene.

The mother lays the baby to sleep in his bedroom, and from there we see him grow up, never leaving the room. “I get so sick of being inside!” shouts lead singer Ryan. It suggests this kid is never actually allowed to leave his room, like his parents are some weird extreme home-schoolers. Well, at least they give him a sweet guitar for his birthday.

The kid grows up watching his favourite hair metal band on TV. They bear a suspicious resemblance to Sommerset, hanging out in the back of a limo, pouting to the camera. We also see the band rocking out in a studio, complete with some truly outrageous guitar licking.

Now, I think the idea is that the kid grows up to be Ryan from Sommerset. The next thing we see is Ryan driving in a car. Is he on the road to freedom? No, he’s off to play with his band, in a basement.

The implication seems to be that life is all about being stuck inside, with no option of being outdoors. It’s a curious idea, especially considering how many New Zealand music videos are set in the great outdoors. Is this the first video that’s honestly acknowledging the life of a musician – spending hours inside, rehearsing, creating, gigging?

Best bit: the glam metal limo party zone.

Director: Andrew Morton
Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision

Next… bad medicine.

Soane featuring Tha Feelstyle & Boh Runga “All I Need”

Soane mixes up some freshness featuring Tha Feelstyle on the verses and Boh Runga delivering a killer chorus. The video is a blue screen job, with Tha Feelstyle, Soane and various cool kids dancing in front of a urban themed background.

One of the cool kids is a girl with a broken arm. That’s not something you normally see in a music video. Usually people are healthy and intact, but here’s a girl (looking about 15) doing a slightly awkward dance with her right arm plastered right up to her elbow.

The style of the video doesn’t change. It’s just people – or silhouettes – moving in front of interesting backgrounds. But here’s a curious thing. The chorus of the song is a lot stronger than the versus, so much so that the mood of the video seems to lift when the chorus comes along.

Soane only makes an appearance at the end of the video, shown at work with his decks. And then the video ends with a wide shot reveals Soane hard at word in front of the blue screen, surrounded by film equipment that had previously been digitally removed.

That’s something that isn’t normally seen in New Zealand music videos – the final show of “Oh, none of it’s real!” But in this case, I don’t think anyone would have previously been under the impression that Soane and pals were grooving in front of a purple sky with giant red and white butterflies flapping about. So what does the shot signify? Hey, here’s the busy modern hip hop producer, hard at work having just finished his latest music video.

Best bit: the breakdancing on turntable top.

Director: Miki Magasiva
Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision

Next… cabin fever.

Salmonella Dub “Slide”

Salmonella Dub’s three previous videos have all been animations, which I always assume is the result of a band too busy touring to shoot a video in person. The other way of handling that dilemma is to shoot the video on the road, and that seems to be what the Dub has done for “Slide”.

The video is shot in Sydney, as part of the band’s 12-date tour of Australia in August 2003. Much of the video is shot at a gig at the Metro Theatre. It’s a relaxed song, an ode to letting the worries of the world just pass you by.

We see the various members of the band up on stage, but there’s no sense that they’re performing to the cameras. It’s more like the camera is an audience member, just passively checking out the band as they perform.

But just in case things were getting a little claustrophobic in the club, the action moves outside. There we meet a skateboarder who is blissfully hooning down a hilly suburban street. You know you’re not in New Zealand when the footpath is smooth enough to confidently race down on a skateboard.

He then moves to the CBD, skating through a grey pedestrian mall past guys in suits (take that, guys in suits!), then it’s around a few corners and in the front door of the Metro and into the gig. Just in time for the song to end.

The video feels like a quickie, and more effort seems to have gone to filming the skateboarding scenes than the live footage. But I think Salmonella Dub have always been an album band and a live band more than they’ve ever been a singles or music videos band.

Best bit: the quality moves from the skateboarder.

Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision

Next… a broken arm.