gattacainc.typepad.com

also see here: www.eliteproductionswi.com

here's a side-by-side video: www.eliteproductionswi.com

opinions?

         

uncanny... even looks like the same actress! (how'd those guys get to film that place for a video.... or are both just using stock footage? very nice video, btw.)

         

that is strange. Neither are stock footage, great location. it may be a case of both creators going for the obvious shots in such a location - I mean everything is quite cliche to an extent, as opposed to one completely biting the other.

         

I believe Apple is up to something. Steve Jobs is a genius. This spot and the last iPod/Lugz spot might be a very brilliant tactic. People are posting this everywhere and giving Apple more publicity. And ripping a great video like the Postal Services is a good way to catch the eye of the hipster crowd. You know Macs are the "Hip" machine. They'll probably come out with thecobrasnake.com iMac soon.

         

i don't know but u really can't do this, can u? not without paying for it. it s just too damn close.

         

maybe i missed a post about this somewhere, but why has someone anonymously edited my post 3 times today? it's obviously not malicious (extra links were added as well as josh and xander's names to the driector's credits), but i don't really like the idea of someone being able to potentially twist my words around or misrepresent me when i post...is this just a moderator cleaning stuff up for easier catagorization?

         

If u guys can edit posts please spell check mine!

         

well, news of the day is that the commercial and the music video are from the same directors. maybe apple should have used the ps song in the ad.

         

yep: False Alarm: Same Directors Behind Apple Intel Ad/Music Video @ wired blogs

         

that still means it's a pretty lame operation for apple/chiat. (so it IS the same actress... i can't believe they went through the trouble of reshooting that - chip factories are incredibly complicated locations to do....)

         

let's hope they were using spare footage they had already shot the first time … it really seems nonsense to go to the pains of doing a remake of a music video …

         

thats an interesting approach. i hate doing things over.

         

@roboshobo: we are 5 admins here and i usually only edit posts when they destroy the layout and i am sure the others do it that way too. I did not edit your post, so i don't know what was done, but your links seem a little long for this column, so maybe you should use some html code like: Link

And yes, we admins and only we admins can edit your posts. OK, not 100% true, because you can do that too. So you can always edit back, but trust me, nobody here wants to twist your words.

         

And concerning the videos: that really is an interesting tactic approach, as the hipster nerd crowd really is their target group and they will discuss and link it for sure. That is a smart move indeed.

         

Interesting thing here, that some people can blatantly copy something else and it's 'genius' or 'a smart move indeed'. Other people accidentally make something similar to someone else and there's a chorus of 'Plagiarism!' or 'Disgraceful!'.

What I mean to say is that there's dual standards at work here.

The fact is that some people (or firms), once they have established themselves as an arbiter of taste and style; can cash-in, sell-out or rip-off as much as they please and it's perfectly acceptable...even cool.

Steve Jobs' marketing genius is to have established his technology firm as an arbiter of taste and style. But the whole thing makes me feel a bit uneasy because 'hip' has been appropriated to sell our own culture back to us.

         

it's a little more subtle than that, ben.

the accusation of plagiarism you point to was quickly muted once it became clear the guy was innocent, and the similarity was coincidence and accident. even in the second case you're referring to, the negative comments were more in answer to what seemed excessive praise - that that video was no real ground-breaker, and even had some structural similarities to others, will only earn it a vote of scarce originality.

i agree entirely that chiat/day's "idea" for this commercial is very cynical - but you can't say it isn't clever in terms of a strategy to create buzz (i'm presuming they planned for someone to pick up on the similarity, and it worked out exactly the way they'd hoped.) whether this puts them in a good light in terms of creativity begs the question of what exactly that amounts to in advertising today. (i would count apple into it as knowing cohorts - it just seems unlikely that they wouldn't be in on something like this.) in the end, it's just a little unclear what exactly the offense is here: is it a rip-off when it's made by the same guys? did the directors "sell-out" by repurposing their (presumably original) idea for an ad? is a music video inherently more noble?

as regards josh and xander's choice to do this... i just marvel at the tedium. and, yes, i'd deduct them a few integrity points for the whole affair (the label they'd shot the video for were not aware this ad would happen...). also: i don't think anyone here was saying it was clever on their part.

         

progosk: true, true. I was deliberately selective in the bits I quoted, and the threads are more balanced than I made out. It was to make the point that there seemed more venom reserved for individuals with camcorders than for this large global company.

Years back, I worked for a little outfit that did 'coolhunting': hitting the streets with video cameras, seeking out niche-markets, early-adopters and any youths at the cutting edge of style; all funded by big brands whose agenda was to appropriate subculture before it hit the mainstream.

It was a fun job, but I was always aware of its insidious nature. The big brands sought to dictate style, not merely follow a few paces behind. (and I was their snitch!)

So I remain wary of brands that have achieved that status. (nothing against Apple specifically or the directors....it's a nice ad). It's simply that I still find something oxymoronic in the idea of a 'cool brand'.

         

The Postal Service video is now added to iTunes. They have a big ad on the front iTunes page. They know what they are dong. Buy into the hype of Steve Jobs! Remember the 1984 Apple Ad? Remember they reused it to hype the iPod? Its cool to be brainwashed!

         

ben gibbard ain't smiling:

01/19/06 A Note from Ben It has recently come to our attention that Apple Computers' new television commercial for the Intel chip features a shot-for-shot recreation of our video for 'Such Great Heights' made by the same filmmakers responsible for the original. We did not approve this commercialization and are extremely disappointed with both parties that this was executed without our consultation or consent. -Ben Gibbard, The Postal Service

         

what a buncha naive bullshit from gibbard.

would a video director be able to make the same complaint if a band turned around and sold a song they'd made a video for to some other commercial outlet?

granted it's a weird move on josh & x's part, but spare me the sanctimonious psa, ben.

         

what the???. Hey where are my roms!?

         

mhm. that’s quite a lot of harsh criticism. i agree: a bad idea not to talk to the band/the label. definitely. pretty lame to merely reproduce the shots (though that s probably what apple demanded) - but: if they have a chance to go commercial with a decent idea, let them. the commercial still is cool & they deserve to make some money after all. i still see the bad side of the whole thing, but hey, should we really bash them?

         

I produced a low-budget golf club commercial a number of years ago, when DCFC were on Barsuk. I approached them about liscencing a song for the spot & they seriously seriously considered it (for an extremely low price). One of their conditions was that they would get golf gear out of the deal. The fact that they were avid golfers and actually considered the deal surprised me...

If Ben wants to cry, they should have gone the Fugazi route; moreover, the potential for other such "commercialization" is probably heightened by their signing to atlantic records.

Whatever; there are no sacred ideas anymore in commercial film-making and those who choose to cry about are usually the ones left behind to chew on their "original" ideas. The second you decide to "commercialize" your "artistry", it's open to pilfering.

         

Dear Ben G.:

Shouldn't the integrity of the original piece over-ride any subsequent rip-offs? That is, if the "original piece" is so sacred, why would it matter what other people did with the idea? Unless, that is, the idea is more important than the product, in which case, the directors should be able to do as they wish...

         

I can't believe anyone scolded me for ripping into that jap-fag otaku-house last time. What a pompous, naive and hypocritical dip-shit he is. Not only does he spout out the most inane fucking bullshit, but he closes sentences with phrases like "and that's not up for debate." Well let me tell you something you little half-nip cock-sucker, only a two-bit hack "depends" on the "generosity" and "graciousness" of a band. If you had any talent or were able to stop taking dick from band members, you'd understand. I'd love to see the postal service conceive and shoot their own videos. It's a good thing they don't depend on director's graciousness to make them look cool. Oh yeah, and bands are usually so fucking generous, as opposed to those Madison avenue advertising people who pay so little.

But no, you're the kind of dumb asshole who goes around talking about "integrity" and creative bankruptcy when all you have to offer is a cheap knock-off of rushmore passing for a music video. Amazing, did you "check in" with Wes before stealing his shot list?

And by the way, thank you otaku-house for saying that it's all-right to "work a gig to get paid." I was a little worried it wasn't. I just feel sorry for you that no advertising firms are knocking on your door asking you to shoot spots based on your prior work, I bet you'd charge a lot less than Wes.

         

nothing like a never-ending intrigue: it's now been pointed out that the version of the Postal Service video sold on the iTunes music store has been sanitized: all appearances of the "Skyworks" logo (the real logo of the chip facility the video was shot in) have been removed.

1. why would that be... as a favour to Intel?
2. was the label aware of this (hard to imagine the contrary)?
3. i wonder what skyworks has to say... they tout the video on their site, and having their logo prominently displayed was very likely a condition behind letting the shoot happen...