kevathens, February 8, 2006 5:14:13 PM CET
Death Cab for Cutie "Summer Skin", Lightborne


Third in Directions series

streaming pile of MOV

Still no sign of Ace's "Crooked Teeth" outside MTV
This link's live only thru Feb 12
         
Otaku: You guys really have to fix this streaming situation. Every single one of these directions videos has either stalled or timed out.
         
the whole google video / youtube trend has convinced me that flash video - when done right - is a great alternative to streaming (if the concern is people downloading the video).

This one is neat - a bit slight in the payoff - but great design - they've beem getting better so far.
         
i needed that. thanks
         
Maybe it's the faulty streaming, maybe it's the low budget, maybe it's me, but none of these 'direction' videos has impressed me yet, or have really managed to capture the songs I feel...sorry for the negativity.
         
I have to agree with glayvin. They're all very uninteresting. It has nothing to do with the budgets, it's the ideas. There are no ideas that last longer than 10 seconds. Then they just keep playing out the idea over and over. If you can't fill 4 minutes of time with interesting ideas, then why make a video?

I'm sorry to unload on this video in particular, but I've just been so disappointed with videos in general. There are so few every year that really blow me away.
         
i thought this setup was kinda poignant, the styling nice, the casting pretty great.
and it really could've been something if, say, they'd played more with the personal chemistry, or, else, if they'd done more symbolic things like the starfish - anything to keep me wondering. instead they (he?she?it?) chose to string up a series of tropes desperately belonging to the cliché thread: spinning clock/advancing calender, dutched camera (!) contextually written lyrics, the heart/mugs (!!) shattering (!!!). (also: you should never let a video peter out.)
         
Again in my opinion, they get better. The stretch that starts with Jeffrey Brown's, then Ace Norton's, then Rob Schrab's, then Laurent Briet's... I think that'll be the chunk the antvillers go for. hakai already says he thinks Rob's is awesome... I can't wait to see reaction to Laurent's. And then there's always mine to end it all with, so you at least have one for the haters.

But a lot of death cab fans being either young or office workers, reaction to this one in their audience has been strong. It doesn't get me so much, but it seems like people who have been pink slipped or worked in corporate drudgery get this one. I worked in Dreamworks feature animation so I have been an indentured servant to the corporate grind (they don't act like Pixar there, trust me), but I never really get the whole office breaking free video. I think the performance by the kid with glasses is really amazing.

I actually suggested .swf for streaming video but was told I had to choose from Windows Media or Quicktime. Given those two it was obvious. We really haven't had that many complaints and did do really extensive beta testing. Sorry lusk.

I will bring up swf again. I agree it's the best streaming solution.
         
i liked the cinematography on this more than the others (granted, i wasn't able to watch the first two with much success), although it still looked supervideo.
         
Are you all really having problems watching these? Broadband connections and latest version of QT?
         
otaku- it was clean for me. re: the video i agree with some of the above that it's a little one-note, but you're right the kids really are superb. the crestfallen look on the face of the boy with the heart mug is golden. it's like "deadweight" crossbred with "that scene from airplane."

the whole concept of the series is really cool and it's awesome to see it executed. cheers.
         
its funny that some of gondrys work always comes up in every post.
he is one of the greatest video directors ever . But is everyone so influenced by him?