A-ha "Take on Me" (1985), Steve Barron
This video is still amazing. Would we be here without it?
devilducky mp4
lusk81, February 7, 2006 5:46:57 PM CET
Maybe the best ever.hassinator, February 7, 2006 5:48:36 PM CET
oh come on - its technically excellent but also sentimental clap trap for a crap boy band!kevathens, February 7, 2006 5:53:33 PM CET
Video goes very well with the song, that's all I can say.lusk81, February 7, 2006 5:57:50 PM CET
HASS: Sure the piece could do without the girl crying at the end but c'mon - there's utter gems here: Via frame (dolly) we have our two protagonists see each other in their own respective fashion. They escape a surreal universe by ripping a hole in it. Racing bad guy pipe men come to fuck them up in illustration world! Man comes back to life by slamming himself into walls until he shakes himself of the illustration! This is just great.
Editorially this is one of the best edited promos of all time. So sharp! That opening sequence is incredible.
vijay, February 7, 2006 7:50:50 PM CET
definitely one of the best ever.noodlestickx, February 7, 2006 8:13:07 PM CET
Did they used a MAC G5 for this ? :P
homie, February 7, 2006 8:44:28 PM CET
yes.this
is
just
great.
andthesong2
depaceofbase, February 8, 2006 2:42:03 AM CET
Not sure if you guys are up on the career of Steve Barron, but check out the rest of his music video credits.www.mvdbase.com
They include, Dire Straits "Money for Nothing", Michael Jackson "Billy Jean", Tears for Fears "Mad World", and the Nat King Cole/Natalie Cole "Unforgettable". Features include Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Coneheads, the Merlin miniseries, and now (how convienient) Choking man. www.ghostrobot.com (temporary website, sorry)
cybin, February 10, 2006 9:33:35 AM CET
IMO, that "slamming into the wall" part was a direct lift from the end of Altered States.andrea.barron, April 20, 2006 3:14:43 AM CEST
I'm steve's wife. We're reading all this with much appreciation. Yes he did lift Ken Russel's Altered states images but more as a homage.claudje, August 12, 2006 12:08:09 AM CEST
About half a year ago Noodlestickx wrote:"did they used a MAC G5 for this?"
Answer is:
Nope; before the Mac age, this was all handwork, frame after frame of film drawn over by hand, by the two animators Canadace Reckinger and Mike Patterson.
Took them about three months.
avtar, January 1, 2007 8:26:57 PM CET
Hi, Just found this site.Hi Andrea/Steve.
I was the assistant editor on this video. Nice to read the comments on the editing. It was edited at Rushes Film Editing in London by top-editor-of-his-day Mr Richard Simpson on 16mm film (can't remeber if it was Super or Standard 16mm - frame shape suggests Std 16). I remember having to eye-match the rotoscoped images to the live-action edited cutting copy; not easy on 16mm lol.
Nice to have worked on a classic!
email: avtar@cutandrun.tv
progosk, October 7, 2008 12:38:09 AM CEST
literal version - don't miss. (who - apart from dustball - will do more of these?)
kappadonna, October 7, 2008 3:02:23 AM CEST
Family Guy's take on it.
dek, October 7, 2008 10:12:21 AM CEST
Quake on meloz, October 7, 2008 2:32:57 PM CEST
dek: hehehehehehh.avtar: respect & kudos. let's hear it for all the unknown assistants... it's what makes a man i reckon (having spent a long night or hundred myself as an a assistant trying to eyematch/sync/reconnect/wrangle the computer).
classic vid, classic tune, nice post.