What if every beat of the monotone urban sound is terraforming the chaotic forces of nature? Tree3 sets you off on a train-journey to explore this experiment.

Direct Link:
Music Visual: TREE3.mov
7 minutes, 720*576, Quicktime7

Song Artist Page:
Black Sun Productions

         

Like it but it reminds me too much of Michel Gondry's video for the Chemical Brothers' Star Guitar...

         

It's not so much that it reminded me of it...It's that it WAS that video (a low budget ripoff anyway). They get an 'A' for Affort though...

         

absurdly plagiarised. (what's the legality of something like this?)

         

i think it's fine to do a parody or remake of a video or whatever else by anyone, but to take credit for the idea as if it were your own is what makes me mad here. you didn't even do a good job at points-your supposed telephone post is a crucifix (i can't belive you didn't see this when you were editing), and the speed at which the wavy picket fence goes past the screen isn't fast enough compared to its closeness to the camera and the objects moving around it. also, you gave up on the idea of timing the song to the music or creating the music to the song about halfway through. it's a ripoff, a poor one at that, and i'm glad others know when they see plagarism.

         

I'm not usually into shouting 'ripoff' as soon as I see something similar to something else. This is shockingly similar, but ripoff?

I can never believe that someone would spend so much time and effort recreating something so conceptually similar. You'd have to be blessed with more than your fair share of naivety to expect to pass off work by (arguably) the world's best known music video director as your own. The optimist in me wants to think that the makers simply weren't aware of Star Guitar. It's not impossible. Even the description by the poster seems to be unaware of it.

It'd be interesting to hear what the film-makers have to say.

What is interesting about this work to me is the aesthetic. The landscape is incredible. But what I really like is how that fast shutter speed, digital detail enhancement and over zealous grade has managed to make a piece of live footage look like a video game. I was half expecting (and hoping) for it to transform into that...I actually rewound to a few parts to check if they were real.

         

PS Another link to a Real Player version of Star Guitar for anyone who hasn't seen it. Not as nice quality as shogunblues' QT, but quicker to load. ;-)

         

hm... like otaku's decemberists thing? you might have a point, ben... let's leave them the benefit of the doubt, i guess. m.m. tichy, over to you...

         

Before shogunblues comment was edited with a link, I had to go to Yahoo Music and watch all 8 Videos of Gondry -> And I was shockend, expecially the first seconds. So I must have a fair share of naivety.

But my concept was focussing on the sun - following you from sunrise to high noon. And every flickering of the sun should sync with the beat. The foggy sequence at the river (and the crucifix) is very much like the original idea. But nature wasn´t always so perfect ;-)

The video is done without budget, with my private Sony DCR-TRV70 cam. This one has no manual shutter speed, but it was filmed in progressive mode.

         

Dinofeet: It would only be naivety if you did know Star Guitar. Seeing as you didn't, the only thing you're guilty of is having the same idea as one of the world's best directors and having the brass to go out and make it on a budget that wouldn't buy you lunch.

Good for you! Go and make another.

         

Given the guy who made it wasn't aware of Gondry's video--

There were bits in here that were really interesting (particularly with the cross-country skiers). That said, dinofeet, you have some amazing footage, and you could've pushed it further. The digital nature of your recording equipment has - intentionally or not - given you a pretty unique look here. Maybe it's that Zeiss lense or something ;) Anyway, you really lucked out with your lighting situation.

More digital enhancement and duplication could've gone a long way to sell your idea, particularly if you could've implemented it in a way which played with that sunlight more. Also, the details will always get you: when you were keying the translations for a few of the digital powerlines, the vertical motion was off, which killed my suspension of disbelief. Gondry had technical issues with his matting, if you look carefully on the foliage, but he moved things along at such a pace as to overcome these limitations (same way you don't often notice wacked keyframes with intersecting objects in digitally animated cartoons).

Anyway, not sure if you'd go back and make edits on this one, but you do have what I'd consider to be an interesting sequence here (yes, it could also be half as long, but...)

         

Hello again.

         

Well, hello. mp4 Short film by Michael Maria Tichy, www.dinofeet.de, music by CCC Pierce, www.black-sun-productions.com, Mantra voice by Jhonn Balance of COIL, Song "I wish I was a mole in the ground" by Bascom Lamar Lunsford ©1928 Used under Open Source license, Song "Tree3" is available on the album "Toilet Chant" release by "Black Sun Productions". "Filmed without permission between Oberstaufen - Immenstadt - Blachach - Sonthofen - Altstätten - Fischen - Langenwang - Oberstdorf". ©2006 Dinofeet.