A job through cardboard, colour vs bleak, hanging a picture, furry friends, bragging party, around the campfire, doing it for the kids.
The Good Fun “Naughty Little Sin”
The Good Fun won the Rockquest in 2010 and this video was part of their prize package. Though it was obviously made on a budget, it’s still a really decent video with a strong visual identity. It uses green screen and a treadmill to take the group’s lead singer on a stroll (and sometimes a light jog) through a wonderland of cardboard cutouts. The band have the goofy energy of a high-school band and aren’t trying to be cool rock dudes. It’s a good introduction to the band and their indie pop sound.
Director: Mark Robertson
The Jury and The Saints “Calm the Sea” – missing
The Jury and the Saints return with their punk vs electronics sound. This time the band can be found in a bleak outdoor landscape, surrounded by bare winter trees. But a massive contrast is provided by a green screen behind the duo, delivering colourful geometric backgrounds. It’s not unlike The Exponents’ “Sink Like a Stone” video from 1992, only with a sharper look. The duo delivers an incredibly energetic performance, but despite all the video has to offer visually, by the end it starts to feel quite formulaic and repetitive.
Note: The “Calm the Sea” video was available on YouTube but has since been taken down.
Director: Daniel Strang
The Naked and Famous “Girls Like You”
Bless the Naked and the Famous and their ability to deliver relentlessly quality pop songs. With Special Problems on board again, the hip romance of “Girls Like You” is given an artistic treatment. The video begins with a slow zoom into an apartment block, where lights in various flats are flicking to the rhythms of the song. The zoom in eventually reveals the band in a brick room (i.e., not a typical apartment). As the camera continues its slow pan, Alisa hangs a framed photo of scenic New Zealand. It’s a nice twist on the typical “scenic New Zealand” music video.
Director: Special Problems
The Pink Pound Experience “To Us, To Them, To You”
This video imagines a low-budget Big Brother type of show, filmed in a suburban house with furries as the housemates. So like any good Big Brother series, there are plenty of conflicts, (subtitled) diary room confessions, and night-vision romps. It ends with the lion getting jealous that the rabbit has hooked up with the cat. As he (she?) goes to leave, he takes off his lion costume head, to reveal – gasp! – a bunny head! The only thing flawed about the video – while the drama concludes with a really strong shot (the rabbit looking shocked), the video throws in a few random other shots after it that dilute the drama. It should have had the confidence to end with a freeze frame.
This video is geoblocked to viewers in New Zealand, Australia, the United States, Mexico and South Korea. This seems to be the result of one group involved with the video taking out a claim on the video hosted by another group. ‘Tis a pity.
Director: Greg Buckley
Tyree “I Want It All”
“I Want It All” starts off so well, a bold declaration of Tyree’s success in life and his naked ambition. And yet there he is rapping the line, “You bitches hating me just stop and change your tampon.” Dude, there are other ways of mocking your foes without implying that menstruation or femininity is somehow a character flaw. Sigh.
Director: Dei Hamo
Nga Taonga Sound & Vision
Young Lyre “Cinema Smile”
Indie pop group Young Lyre have the very catchy “Cinema Smile”. The video puts the band and their friends in the woods, where they have a bonfire, toast marshmallows and set off fireworks. And someone even sets off some pyros in a tent, which looks amazing but kids, don’t try this at home. There’s a vague plot involving a girl who gets a “goodbye” letter, but I can’t actually figure how what exactly is happening. Nonetheless, a lot of stuff is set on fire, which is always good in a music video.
Director: Jordan Dodson
Young Sid featuring Deach “You”
“You” is Young Sid’s message against child abuse, and he gives over most of the video to children. The kids – mostly girls – lip sync the song lyrics, with occasional appearances from Young Sid and Deach. YouTube reveals the impact the song has had, with hundreds of comments from people who were touched by the message.
Director: Chris Graham
Nga Taonga Sound & Vision