According to the director’s comment on Vimeo, this video was shot on 8mm film and edited in camera. That means it was all shot in the exact sequence as it was intended to be seen. A complicated directorial choice or a low-budget necessity?
It’s a fun video. The director is Julian Reid, who also happens to be the frontman of the band. The action starts with the camera leaving an inner-suburban Auckland garage and venturing out into the garden. “LEMON” shakily flashes across the screen, setting up some spooky citrus action.
The song kicks off (pleasant grunge-era guitar pop) and we meet a glamorous young woman relaxing in the backyard with a cat. Her drink needs lemon (LEMON), which she picks from a nearby tree and violently chops up with a carving knife. Cheers.
By this stage it’s clear that the in-camera editing has been made possible by the video being shot all in one afternoon in someone’s garden. Yep, it’s a cheapie.
A guitarist emerges from around the side of the house. He picks up the lemon (No, dude! It’s evil and sour!) and suddenly there’s a blob of red on his face and, uh, he turns into a bogan lobster.
Angry at his predicament, bogan lobster man grabs the knife and runs after the young woman. After a Benny Hill-style sped-up chase, she lures him to his death, where upon she enjoys a picnic of fresh lobster. Just watch out for the goatee hairs.
The director also reckons the video had a budget of $20, which I’d only believe if that wasn’t counting the value of the production equipment, the labour of the cast and crew, the use of the location and the lobster costume. But when it’s a low-budget video for a New Zealand band, you actually don’t count those things because everyone chips in for free. So that makes me wonder – what happened to the $4980 left over?
Best bit: the cat, chilling on the concrete, stealing the show.
Director: Julian Reid
Next… no use crying over missing videos.