Here is part two of my video-making research. Looking again at Lindy Heymann and looking again at the ever-wonderful Brett Anderson (I'm the biggest Suede fan I've ever met and Lindy Heymann is part of my education. How could I possibly not research this in more detail?), I'm going to talk about the video for Attitude. For some background, this song was not on an album, but was the last song Suede were ever to release (so far. They've reunited just this week...ish. I'm so terribly excited.) and it was sort of around the time of the album A New Morning which no one seems to like but personally I think it's awfully good. Brett says they stopped there because it felt like the magic had gone, which I can kind of understand, and the album was quite underwhelming- a last wisp of smoke after the explosion that was Coming Up. However, it not being in the nature of Suede to EVER give a quiet exit, Attitude just HAD to happen. And I think this video gives it the theatrical bang it deserves. Here it is:
Here's a hopefully quick analysis, with pictures.
The video starts off with John Hurt's shoes. It's dramatic, it's walking music, it's all shadows, I think it's called 'film noir'. We see guitars, amps, drums, and this is the only hint that of a performing band throughout the whole video. The figure, who you wouldn't know is John Hurt at this point, walks out onto a stage, and all you can see is the lights around him and his sillhouette. I really do think the word 'stunning' was made for this video.
What I love about this video is how photographic everything is. In contrast to The Drowners, the camera is rarely fast moving. In the scene pictured, the camera moves ever so slightly with the way the figure does, completely subtle and complementary.
Another strong point is the amount of references. To someone who has never heard of Suede before, this is a beautiful video that will hopefully give them a good idea of the image and ideals of the band. To a Suede fan, this video makes perfect sense. The first shots of the figure dancing before we see John Hurt's face could be Brett Anderson- the silhouette is similar, the dancing looks like a pastiche of what fans of the band will recognise as the definitive dance moves of Brett Anderson. As well as this, the opening shots of the instruments show the model of guitar both Bernard Butler and Richard Oakes always have and always will play, and so someone familiar with the band's image at all would probably know what was going on here before the vocals kicked in.
This is the first shot we get of a face. It is surprising, at first, a super-dramatic pantomime dame made up, and this image twists itself away from the clues we have about the band before this scene. What I love is the way light is used to simply pick out the features, giving a dark and memorable image. This is an effect I'll probably use quite a bit in my own project, because I can see how I'd do it in a small dark room with a lamp.
Soon enough, we get some colour. And what gorgeous colour it is. The focus changes as the angle of the head does, you get the impression of subtle movement and it works incredibly well. The attention to detail in the costume and make-up is something I'll definitely incorporate.
This next part is my favourite bit. In the second verse, we get these beautiful shots of Brett singing. The lighting on his face is minimal and gives a sense of the atmosphere. The secret has been revealed, we are most definitely watching a Suede video. This is the only time in the video where an actual musician is shown-and it works very well.
This is my favourite shot of him singing. Around this point in the video there's a glorious Drowners-nostalgic moment where we have a shot of Brett from the side, and then a shot of John Hurt from the other side, so if you were to flick the images back and forth they'd be facing each other. Brett Anderson's unusual lack of any make up at all contrasts wonderfully with the over the top face paint of the actor, and, as is Heymann's style, it understands the music and the image precisely, giving meaning to the song.
One might say the absolute highlight of this video is the truly cinematic moment in which Hurt pulls out a red cloth and drops it on the floor next to him. The camera follows the cloth falling in slow-motion, every ripple of the fabric captured, and for this the music stops. The chorus kicks in as the cloth hits the floow and it's absolutely theatrical and perfect for the song.
The video strays from the audio in other places too- the music is turned down and we hear the actor singing along in his dressing room, as he removes the make-up.
There are moments in this video that actually do seem to be photographs; a moment in the dressing room scene where the camera pauses for a beat on a mannequin head, shots of make-up brushes to give an idea of setting.
Now, there are a million other things I could say about this video, but I'm going to finish off now for fear of becoming dull even in the opinion of someone who is interested in this stuff. Actually, who IS interested in this stuff? I'm worried it's just me. But anyway. To summarise, I'll be snatching the following:
a. Attention to make-up and costume
b. Super dramatic lighting and minimalism
c. Very few settings
d. Emphasis on the figure
e. Using mirroring in scenes to challenge representation
f. Brett Anderson.
...okay maybe not that last one. Pity. But yes- I think this is sounding exciting now. The next post will arrive in the future and have a little more information about my own video-although I quite want to do some research into whatever geniuii were behind the video for Missile by IAMX.
Over and out.
No comments:
Post a Comment