Matty J Ruys “Cruisin'”

1995-matty-j-ruys-cruisingSome New Zealand music videos will cleverly make an ordinary bit of downtown Auckland look like Paris, London, New York or Apia. But sometimes clever camera angles aren’t just enough and a proper location shoot is needed. This time Matty J went to Miami.

Again directed by Mark Tierney, Matty J takes his cover of the smooth Smokey Robinson track to sunny Florida. Matty J hangs out in the back of a convertible, cruising with the top down. As he drives around the streets of Miami, we catch glimpses of the street life, lots of ordinary people going about their business, including girls in short shorts. This is, after all, a music video.

The video is high contast and has a strong orange filter, like a really bad Instagram filter. I assume this is meant to create a golden, sunny feeling, but it’s more like a strange post-apocalyptic sci-fi world. It would not be out of place for the tri-bosomed hooker from “Total Recall” to suddenly show up.

I remember at the time this video was released there were mutterings about the Miami location. But despite the exotic locale, it’s obvious that the video shoot itself was not expensive. It literally looks like they just drove around one afternoon and shot some stuff from the car. A video shoot in Miami? Why not.

Best bit: all the rollerbladers, cruising along.

Director: Mark Tierney
Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision

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