This is one of my favorite Ween songs, Transdermal Celebration. The whole video is animated, but I believe this is the only way for the band to express the meaning of the song. The cartoon is actually beautifully done and perfect for this video. The song and film is about the invasion of “Ween” aliens who end the rule of man on this planet. By destroying man, it is possible to return the earth to a healthy state. Leave it to Ween to make a song so beautiful to explain the sad truth about our existence.

This is a video from Portishead, one of the most influential groups of the Trip Hop music genre. The group never lets the listener down by always keeping their roots of jazzy bass lines, kickin’ drums, and the voice of Beth Gibbons. I like this video because it’s dark and creative. The use of shouting the characters underwater and then placing them into the scene give the video something unique. It is crazy to watch, sometime the film makers reverse the footage to have hair and shoelaces determine the direction of action. The lighting is dark, but this adds depth to the meaning of the video.

This is the Thievery Corporation video of their song “Riches Man in Babylon.” This is one of the songs that first got me into the band many years ago. I like this video because of the use of strong, different colors through the scenes. The lighting must be key to make colors stand out brilliantly. Yes, there is the ever so popular “single light bulb” hanging from the ceiling in some shots. I think that every band has used this idea. The clothing worn by the band is important, so as not to blend into the background. All around, the song is excellent and the video portrays the meaning effectively.

During the film festival here in Durango, I went to a documentary call Without a Home. I was really surprised on how the film hit me emotionally. This film made me realize how simple decisions we make in life can alter the rest of our time on this planet. The part of the film that stuck out the most for me was when the filmmaker was interviewing a man that was addicted to heroin and on the streets. He had lost his house, wife, job, and kids to his addiction. The man explained how it was hard for people to get help “kicking” when they live on the streets and money is an issue. The filmmaker had an opportunity to get him into a rehab clinic and bypass all the paperwork bullshit involved. As someone watching the movie, you could see the conflict in the man’s eyes. Is today the day to kick…….take this opportunity and change my life or stay on the street and give into the addiction. The man chose to go to rehab and by the end of the film and 18 months sober, he had his wife back, one of his kids and a kid on the way, and a house. That one choice and opportunity changed his life in such a dramatic way. It was not such a fairytale story for everyone in the film. It made me think of my good fortunes in life and the choices that I have not yet made.

Many years ago my sister took me to a Bjork show at Red Rocks. When she told me she was taking me for my birthday I was like, “Ahh, Sweet. I don’t even know any Bjork songs.” I was so glad she did because I was blown away. This is one of the videos she had running on a big screen behind her. I was the first song so this was my first impression of the show. It was hard to find just the visuals for the concert on the net. It uses the contrast between dark and light beautifully. It’s strange, but adds meaning to the song. Enjoy.
Bjork - Unravel
Uploaded by per_aspera_at_astra

This is a video that a 15 teen year-old showed me some time ago. I like it because it is gritty and nothing like Michael Jackson’s thriller. The make-up is horrible and the dancing is just as bad. It is hard to tell if they are making fun of the original thriller, or if they are really trying to recreate the phenomena. It is definitely a low budget video. The lighting is bad and the acting is hilarious.

http://www.moviemalls.com/papers/memento-script.doc

This is a script I read for my video production class. The movie is one of my favorites, Memento, directed by Christopher Nolan. Nolan also directed movies such as The Prestige, and the two new Batman movies. It was interesting how much the vision of the movie had been thought out in the script before shooting. If one where the read the script without seeing the movie, they could get a perfect image of what Nolan was visualizing. Also by reading the script, one could understand the meaning of scene changes and also the black and white scenes verses the scenes done in color. It was diffecernt looking at this movie on paper.