Film Flam

Biting Elbows - Motherfucker (music video)

A quick interview with the director at BigThink covers the obvious questions (budget, stunts, visual effects, etc) really well.

…it looks expensive…

Everyone asks me this. And I can’t divulge the budget, because we have a sponsor covering it. [The budget] is about two to three times less than what anybody would expect.

Romain Gavras, director of M.I.A.’s “Born Free” video, and son of Costa Gavras, has directed the new Kanye West / Jay-Z video and it’s an astounding piece of work.

Reminds me of the Black Lip’s “Bad Kids” Video.

Beyoncé’s Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It) video directed by Jake Nava [wiki] is a testament to the power of simplicity.

Borrowing liberally from Bob Fosse’s work in Mexican Breakfast[wiki], choreographer Frank Gatson adds power and strength to the comedy routine. Nava, adds a shifting lighting scheme — and the best use of a zoom I’ve seen in a while — to create a rock solid, fun, and a visually exuberant music video that’s one of the best contemporary videos to date.

Oh, now this is a step in the right direction. Grab a pair of headphones, turn out the lights and click the full screen button. In five minutes time your head will begin its expansion process. You’ll feel it around the temples, like a dental drill chipping the bones, this thing will rattle in your skull for at least an hour.

What is it? I dunno. But it reminds me of the work of the Italian Giallo directors, Mario Bava and Dario Argento. With its gothic stairways, witchcraft and gauzy film stock it’s the truest representation of 70’s horror cinema I’ve seen since the work of John R. Hand.