So, the video starts and there’s Dean Chandler performing the song with his band, set up in a television studio with a cheerful orange background. And then I noticed that Dean and the guys in his band all had the same neatly trimmed beards, the kind that look obsessively overgroomed compared to the wild bushy beards of the ’10s. And then I realised – Dean’s band is Dean. Yes, he’s been cloned.
Of course, it’s all done with digital effects, and it would explain why the band are so spread out – there needs to be room to always get a clean border when splicing together the different parts of the shot.
It seems inspired by the Outkast’s epic and wonderful video for “Hey Ya”, where a band of Andre 3000s entertained a hall of screaming fangirls.
The fake “Hey Ya” band all feel like individual characters, not just Andre in eight different shirts. But “It’s Not Too Late” has the strange effect of a band that doesn’t really interact with each other. After seeing Shihad’s loved-up live performance of “Home Again”, the band of Dean clones look like they all hate each other and are on the verge of breaking up. Dean Chandler is a nice enough singer and songwriter, but he doesn’t have much on-screen charisma. Multiply that by four and it’s still not a lot.
The digital splicing is done really well. There’s just one bit right at the end where the drummer’s head suddenly disappears (don’t worry, boys and girls, it comes back). But a digital trick isn’t enough to make a compelling music video. I just wish there was more to it than “hey, a band of Deans!”.
Best bit: drummer Dean, who is probably the one who gets the girls.
Director: Tim Groenendaal
Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision
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