Waiting 2B Scene

Tag: Music Video

  • TBT: Morning Prayer, Music Video (Cowper)

    We are used to video imagery that has been heavily edited – or perhaps furiously edited is a more apt descriptor. So I find it refreshing to stumble upon something that is quite different. It is in that frame of reference that I offer you my latest #TBT.

    Coming from the ear-wormingly good Cowper all the way back in 2011, he was joined by creatives Matthew Redlich, Jaymis Loveday, Daniel Graetz and Jen Dainer to record and film both video and audio for the song Morning Prayer. Recorded in a single session at the flood-destroyed Graetzmedia studios in West End, Queensland, Australia, Loveday went on to make some visual magic with a bit of know-how, and a weird party trick. As he wrote,

    “To achieve a perfect focus pull over the 4-minute staring contest, I modified the camBLOCK moco system to control a follow focus whip. This clip was the first shoot to utilise this technique. Several months later, camBLOCK shipped their official focus/zoom motors.

    There is no trickery in the single-shot nature of this piece. Cowper really can keep his eyes open for that long. In the dozen or so takes we shot, I think he blinked in two of them.”

    Up until the guitar solo, Loveday tracked the position of the reflections on his right eye (left on screen). Then when the solo kicked in, he switched it to track the position and rotation of both his eyes. The final effect? Mesmerising.

  • Video Montage: Hello by Movies (Vlot)

    So the world is already sick of hearing Adele’s Hello. That is understandable, considering it has been played to death on pretty much every communication medium known to man.

    Why then would I want to contribute to the agony of humanity? Because I stumbled on an amazing video montage that has recreated the song using nothing but lines from films… and that stuff takes time man! So it is worth the pain of the song to share some love and kudos where it is due.

    Here’s to you Matthijs Vlot!

  • Blogging Funny: Drake Parody (SNL)

    Alright, I don’t usually post these kinds of videos: but today I’m making an exception because it’s on point for me right now.

    So, I have seen the Drake memes that have been hitting the net over the past little while – but I was never interested enough to find out where they originated from. Well, as I was channel surfing last night I finally found out: Channel 4 were playing the video for his song Hotline Bling (yeah I know, colour me slow… only 4-months behind the release!). My reaction? Zuh!? It has to be one of the worst music videos that I have seen in recent times. Honestly. I felt somewhat dumber having watched it.

    So I was very happy to have some of my sanity restored this morning when I logged onto YouTube and saw that that the team at SNL had (rightfully!) done a parody of it. It might not bring you mental clarity – but it may bring you some joy on an otherwise thankless and uneventful Monday. Please enjoy responsibly.

  • Making Of: Elastic Heart (Sia)

    In my last post on Emma Stone dancing in the new Arcade Fire clip I touched on the controversy that surrounded Sia’s song Elastic Heart. Today, I’d love to briefly unpack that again by sharing the making of video.

    I was quite excited by the pending release of the Elastic Heart music video back in January 2015. When I first saw the clip I was quite moved – so much so I immediately shared the clip with my wife, knowing that she would enjoy it too. Much like the incredible Chandelier you could tell that the video was a visual parable, portraying Sia’s internal warring with – and exorcising of – some dark times.

    What really surprised me was the almost immediate and vitriolic response that the video received: bolstered by mainstream media crying wolf in the guise of sensationalist paedophilia claims, the Twitter-verse sheep all ran headlong in the same direction. One short example sums up the herd mentality: “Sia’s “Elastic Heart” video is disgusting…”

    I won’t drill down into just how ridiculous that all was. if you would like to read an excellent article that does that, you can check it out here. No – my small part to play today is simply to remind you of the behind the scenes video… a short video that unpacks the concepts behind the work.

    If you have never seen this before, and you happen to have any lingering doubts about whether Elastic Heart was truly a “Shia LaBeouf video paedophile controversy… after singer Sia features 12-year-old girl cavorting with semi-naked star.” – then you might just find this to be “… a completely cathartic thing being here.”

  • Music Video: “Anna” (Arcade Fire, Featuring Emma Stone)

    So, back in the day a British big beat musician who went by the name of Fatboy Slim had a hit called Weapon Of Choice. What stood out for many was the surprising music video. Never seen it, feast your eyes!

    Yes, that is a dancing and prancing Christopher Walken. While not the first celebrity to cameo in a clip for a song, since the Weapon of Choice there appears to have been a steady increase in celebrities coming on board for such performances.

    Just this morning I saw a new sneak-peak release from the Québécois band Arcade Fire. Much like Weapon of Choice – or Sia’s more recent controversial Elastic Heart – it is a clip that includes a dancing celebrity: in this instance, the talented Emma Stone. Check it out – and enjoy.

  • Music Video Montage: Uptown Funk (Draper)

    Okay, so what happens when a person takes 3 months to mix together a whole host – ergo, 280!!! – of Hollywood films and catchphrases with one of the hottest songs of 2014-2015? This awesome piece of mashup goodness – it’s gonna funk you up!

  • Show Reel Item – Halo Cover

    I said it before – Reichardt is someone that I definitely enjoy working with. He is an amazingly talented guy: he is an über-musician, and is increasingly the, “go-to producer and instrumentalist for bands and artists [Australia] wide.”1

    As noted in my last post, I produced 4 music videos for Reichardt. It was a thrill to see him release two of those videos last month – and the thrill has not diminished with yet another release yesterday. This has been sitting in my ‘private’ Vimeo account for a little while now – so I am finally happy to post the clip as a show-reel item today. I hope you enjoy it: both the clip, and Reichardt’s cover of Beyoncé’s Halo. 🙂

    Halo (Jon Reichardt Cover) from Shane Miller on Vimeo.

  • Showreel Item – All of The Lights Cover

    There are people you work with – and then there are people you really enjoy working with! Reichardt is someone that I definitely enjoy working with. He is an amazingly talented guy: like, he is an über-musician, and is increasingly the, “go-to producer and instrumentalist for bands and artists [Australia] wide.”1

    Over the last little while, I have produced 4 music videos for Reichardt. And like many other firsts in life – it was a thrill to see him release the first of those videos last month. Having given him a month to garner some of his own views, I am finally happy to post the clip as a show-reel item today. I hope you enjoy it: both the clip, and Reichardt’s cover of Kanye West’s All of the Lights. 🙂