noodle, 14. March 2005, 18:40
new Bloc Party video
www.blocparty.net

         
not bad at all
         
This is nice, but I really liked the b&w one.

..what's going on with the multiple banquet videos..? this is fun.
         
thumbs up - much much better than the last one (same director); though the first minute kind of drags with some questionable editing. Great destructive ending, wish it came sooner.
         
Really cool. I think it could have been even cooler if the singer did something related to a woman or a relationship and not just singing. Maybe the song is enough for those who understand it clearly.
Wait maybe i'm wrong. It just lacks of developpement i guess. Like different phases.
         
watched it a couple of times eariler today and i reckon the phases you mentioned are pretty cool. dont know what the song is about but it seems that the hands start off sort of uninterested and then get more and more into the band until they destroy it. its kinda like the story of a hyped band i guess. the band look kinda bored though
         
The beginning was strong - the shadows in motion is great. The knife stabs and the destruction at the end is awesome. I think this video could have been better if there was a little more in the middle other than just mediocre(on the compositing side) interactions between the hands and the band. Something I don't know...a little more interesting/funny than hands poking/prodding/pulling/scratching. It seemed like filler to me. The hands kept reminding me of Robert Palmer's Simply Irresistable. Not a good association.

I still really like the first B&W version. Props to this one though. Overall it was better than most.
         
There was so much more energy in the original video. This is good, but doesn't hold a candle to the black and white version.
         
JDUB: I agree with you completely. The compositing is so terribly amateur and even worse, the hands that are being composited are useless and irrelevant.

I like the knife stabs (or more specifically, the overhead shot(s) of knife stabbing), but the destruction is just very misplaced and kitch. Like most of ALEXANDLIANE's work, this stands as yet another half sentence. I don't know why they can't/dont figure a concept out before executing it.

CAPTAIN: I'd argue that the first minute of the promo is questionable in every craft.

AI: Once again I only half understand what you're saying.
         
I agree that the beginning and the end are really geat, but the middle doesn't have a lot to offer. For most of the middle part, I was thinking "This is like a really boring copy of that great Alex and Liane video for Die Perfektion," and it wasn't until the end that I noticed that this was Alex and Liane, too. I love half of their stuff--Die Perfektion and Hear My Name especially--but their other half leaves me cold. I guess everybody has good days and bad days.
         
Lusk: i was just mumbling something for myself. I wanted to say INTERACTION between the hands and the singer/musicians. The band seems completely not interested by them until the end so the action doesn't really take off. I suppose that was easier to shoot that way but it doesn't make the concept better.
I don't understand the precise meaning of the song but it's about a girl so i made the assumption the lyrics could explain some things in the video.
I really like the last shot it's all about the idea of being a expandable toy. And that the scales of the instruments don't match suddenly is very enjoyable. it's like something switched off.

Have you noticed some similar light choices with the aesop rock video?
(shadows and reverse lightning)

Srry lusk i'll try harder but english is not my first language.
         
Throughout this topic board, only excellent observations and assessments have been made about this promo, whether if it's discussing the video's weak points as well as its strongest points. From me, I simply feel it was a great treatment overall.
         
I don't think this video does much for the song. A song this good should be matched visually with energy, intensity and depth. The directors simply did not achieve this. I do think the video is good, just not good enough for this particular song.
         
word to that. I can't watch it again or the visuals might ruin the song for me.
         
on the Bloc party forum is says that they are not going to use this version with the hands and there is another US version that has just come on the music channels. It has lots of cool people in it hanging out and watching the band .. much better than the lame idea of hands.
         
maybe the directors realised that bloc party are shit and should only be listened to by people 15 or under?
         
The 'other' video is NOT a US version. It was a UK reshoot done by Scott Lyons at Factory Films.

The "cool people" were fans who answered an ad on the NME web site and the location was Hospital, a jazzy members club in Soho.
         
Just saw this "cool version" and it is heaps less engaging and does nothing innovative which at least this one posted attempted and arguably pulled off well-enough in many ways. The remix in question ( which someone should post) does not even attempt anything slightly worthy, engaging or relevant to the track. So they obviously weren't happy with this, so what's the final answer? Lets shoot a performance of the band in black & white and put coloured circles on top. Gay.