Running with blokes, a game of bowls, down in the flowers, old telly, a campstravaganza, flow not mirror
Anna Coddington “Bolt”
The “Bolt” video uses the retro jogger trope, popularised in ads for a British telephone directory service and later turning up in music videos for Thomas Coffey’s “A Memory of You” (trigger warning: pre-quake Christchurch) and the Phoenix Foundation’s “40 Years”. But Anna Coddington does something different. While her joggers are all identically dressed, we come to discovered they’re all different men in their own way. Anna wanders around a park with them, looking out of place in her pretty frock. But soon enough she shows up in the uniform of orange running gear, and joins in with the competitive events. It all seems symbolic of a modern woman’s place in society.
Director: Sally Tran
Annah Mac “Girl In Stilettos”
“Girl in Stilettos” was a bona fide hit single, spending 23 weeks in the top 40, peaking at No.2 (kept from the top spot by Flo Rida feat. Sia) and was nominated for a Silver Scroll and New Zealand Music Award in 2012. Evidence that New Zealand can create and enjoy pop if it wants.
The song is Annah Mac’s exploration of being a young woman in the music industry, judged for her appearance and not her music. The video puts her in a bowling club, with the club regulars providing a slice of Kiwiana. The white and cream bowling club uniform takes on a different role when it goes from being the club uniform to the monochrome background against which Annah stand out wearing her red dress and stilettos. And in case anyone was wondering, yes, it is possible to play bowls in stiletto heels. You just need a board to stand on so you don’t sink into the green.
Director: Florence Noble
Brooke Fraser “Betty”
Betty is a cute indie-pop track that tells the story of Betty, a secretive young woman who has a birthmark shaped like Canada (which given the shape of Canada, doesn’t sound all that cute). The video puts Brooke in a lush arrangement of flowers, with origami butterflies fluttering around her. It’s a whimsical delight, perhaps creating a safe, comfortable environment for Betty to relax and be herself.
Director: Special Problems
Nga Taonga Sound & Vision
Bulletproof featuring PNC & David Dallas “Back in the Day”
“Back in the Day” is a celebration of days past, a frequent theme of PNC’s songs. The video mines children’s television from the 1980s, with references to 3-2-1 Contact, The Electric Company, Rainbow, and a very pleasing recreation of the 1980s opening titles of RTR. It’s a fun video, but will make the most sense and hit the most nostalgic cues for people who were kids in the 1980s.
Director: Preston McNeil
Clap Clap Riot “Everyone’s Asleep”
“Everyone’s Asleep” serves up some B-grade delights. Lead singer Stephen wakes up on a beach, discovers his bandmates are dead before he wanders off into a forest. The video then switches from outdoors to a green screen, and things get more and more surreal as the video progresses. The background evolves from ordinary scenes of a forest to crazy scenes mashing up all the Halloween/zombie/Día de Muertos/horror film ideas it can find. It’s a campstravaganza, but it feels like it’s lacking a conclusion, something that wraps up the real world beach setting of the introduction.
Director: Conrad Smith, Johnny Lyon
Concord Dawn featuring JDubs “Move”
“Move” is shot in black and white and at first glance, it appears to involve images being horizontally mirrored. Except it’s not always precise mirroring. Saving the video from feeling like a cheap 1970s video effect, the video isn’t totally glued to the mirroring concept. There’s flow between the two sides, rather than a hard line. The video never feels bigger than the song, acting more as a visual accompaniment, rather than anything big on its own.
Director: Aleksander Sakowski