The Little Ones "Ordinary Song" Dir. Terri Timely
territimely.com/ordinary_song/Ordinary_final_4_sound.mov
Amazing stuff.
their best work?
I might have to say 'yes.'
Their stuff is so consistent.
(But is it too consistent?)
Nice. Terri Timely are smart. they produce most of their stuff themselves and they have their own studio, so they're able to get a lot more out of a small/medium budget than most...
this one's cool. Although it seemed very random. No particular story or thread in there. or i'm missing it. production wise, it is indeed impressive.
very cool - TT get a best director nomination from me.
Lovely stuff. Fav antville post in quite some time. Nice one TT.
wow! seriously great.
great video. the best i've seen in some time.
insanely well done.
hehe, i half expected a couple thousand filipino prisoners to appear at some point. nice'un.
I think I spotted the pink versions of my cat's litter box. :X
very nice
you win the prize kev.
way to pay attention to detail. We didn't make any money on this one. but we did get a sweet xmas card out of it.
very very well done
i like this alot and the guy on keyboards looks super cute
ditto everyone else
i dont know, the sound on my quicktime is not working so i watched this without any sound. The whole thing looked very clique to me.
yes definitely does not agree with me. The ending is embarrassing.
technically well done although a little of 'what you would expect' in a post gondry era. Also the art direction although is meant to be 'ordinary' is quite 'ugly' and not in a good way. Like a teenage wes anderson with a flaccid penis. The ending is definately embarrassing. Points on achieving the in camera transitions but i dont see anything special about this vid.
Yeah well, you know, that's just, like, your opinion, man.
the haters are here, terri timely have arrived!
dear captainmarc2, adambiz and anybody else for that matter, there is nothing mentioned about 'hate'. I just dont see the merits in this video except for the obvious technical achievements of the transitions and these are hardly original. Please write me an essay on the features of this video which make it stand out amongst music video, film and artistic history and would therefore make me throw off my clothes and leave a comment like 'great video. the best i've seen in some time.' or 'Sheer perfection.' or 'wow! seriously great.' Yours in love quiz?
well, i've investigated Terri Timely's web page and other music videos and at first glance it appears to be a lot of very well shot, nicely coloured, very safe music videos. These are like music videos for the sedated masses who like to dabble with art on the weekends. I thought I liked the Jonna Newsom clip but no I cant handle that muesum/ exotic object clique. The art direction is like a lobotimised version of the now defunct family. The whole site actually reeks of ikea.
Here's my flattering if a bit off argument for Terri Timely (I'm not sure the Gondry comparison was appropriate, sorry guys).
I'd do more Q&A's if I could get paid for them.
yep that re-affirms my 'teenage wes anderson...' remark for me. But doesnt really answer the 'features of this video which make it stand out amongst music video, film and artistic history' question. Thanks
hmmm. obivously a lot of work gone in, and visually pretty impressive, but i've got to say, it just left me pretty cold... maybe the song was killing it for me, but also, after you've seen the wall-sliding-away-next-set-up trick done (and it has been sooooo done) then really there's not much left to admire. non?
not to be a downer though - good shit, well executed!
Dear Terri Timely, Please note that from now on your cute, overachieving low budget music videos will be judged against all artwork throughout human history. Sincerely, Frustrated film school students
its fucking ridiuculous isn't it?
Great work. Full stop.
Who you calling "flaccid Penis", quizmaster? I think our lady, luenell, may beg to differ, as evidenced here
Our art direction always hits the right spot... with the ladies.
More importantly captainmarc22, progosk, and Kev ( the holy trifecta of antville) all gave thumbs up. So I say mission accomplished on this one. Yeah maybe not earth shattering, but fun to watch... at least I think.
quizmaster, do you ever have a positive comment to make about anything?
pretty tough and pretty miserable and pretty predictable
at least you have consistency zzzzzz
send us some links to stuff you like please
dear spit, if your into cute and overachieving i would offer this to pass your time - au.youtube.com sincerely somebody who cares
dear roid, yes i do have positive comments about some videos. I am just not inclined to say 'wow' over pretty much anything unlike some antvillers. I offer the below videos as something more substantial then the videos i have criticised recently.
talking heads www.youtube.com
tom kuntz au.youtube.com
patrick daughters au.youtube.com
nagi noda au.youtube.com
garth jennings au.youtube.com
(not sure of the name of the director but he has some other good videos for cornelius too) au.youtube.com
steve hanft au.youtube.com
saam au.youtube.com
moyes au.youtube.com
andreas nilsson www.nixonnoxin.com
spike jonze au.youtube.com
woof wan bau www.woofwanbau.com
and one with a personal message from me to you (directed by the guitarist from the liars i believe)
The Frozen Glacier of Mastadon Blood www.youtube.com
This is just a few of my favs and doesnt include many other quality videos from both unknown and famous directors.
I am sorry terri timely for offending you. Your work is ok and technically sound but just lacks the edge to get me as excited as that lady seems to be in your photo.
i think maybe spit you need to go back to school. A bit of a spitshine
to bring you up to speed.
Terri Untimely. Felt like a toilet fragrance commercial.
thankyou quizmaster
much of those directors' work i already know, but i'll have a look at the others when i get some time. though i think i may give your personal message a miss.
i guess i'm just saying that i like constructive criticism. i'm certainly not against diverse opinion. in the case of this video and also the saam one which you commented on, i thought they were on the whole well realised pieces of work. though not perfect by any means, they did it for me. the terri timely one particularly is highly ambitious and i think they pull it off. tonaly it's a little sweet, but so are the band, so in my world it fits. the wes anderson flaccid penis thing is lame, especially when you consider anderson is not actually that amazing - good look and real funny, but not much of a storyteller. and as cold as hell frozen over.
i'm sure most of those links you sent are highly accomplished videos, but i'm also equally sure that all those directors have had 'bad days'. but that doesn't make them bad directors. obviously you are free to dislike a director and his/her style. but if that's the case then why bother commenting?
and though i don't want to celebrate mediocrity, i am requesting leniency over spitefulness
I don't think the antville crowd will take kindly to any Wes-bashing... How the fuck is he cold as hell? His films couldn't be any more human...
pipe down hema-roid
You sound all high and mighty now roid. A typical stance for someone who actually has nothing important to say. Regardless of your tone atleast you agree that diverse opinion and constructive criticism are worth while. I never said this video doesn't fit. Its like i said i am just not amazed by it and dont understand all the comments like 'wow, amazing'. The video to me is just a product of anyone who has watched a gondry video or a wes anderson film or is into the whole cliche as a style thing. The video is technically well accomplished and good on them for pulling it off but its nothing new and doesnt stand out amongst the thousands of other music videos that are made each year. I also really do find the art direction really boring and slightly 'try hard' without it being quirky or extreme like a wes anderson film hence the teenage flaccid remark.
quizmaster, I'm not going to defend The Little Ones video as being the greatest video of all time, or of the year, or even of the month. But I think many of the issues that you have with this video come down to some key misconceptions about video production. I don't know if you have a background in film or video, but the reality is that it's extremely difficult to pull off a concept like this under the sort of budget that a band like The LIttle Ones is working with. Wes Anderson's recent commercials and Gondry's 90's music videos that you are referring to had exponentially larger budgets. Small budgets don't mean an end to creativity, but it does limit what you can practically accomplish on film. If you have an idea that involves the band flying around a hotel lobby or running through the streets of Los Angeles on fire, it's probably not going to happen on a video with this sort of budget. There's a good chance that one of Anderson's commercials had the same amount of money as this entire video budget set aside just for hair and make-up. A lot of thought and creativity go into Anderson's productions, but a lot of money go into them as well.
Furthermore, while a director might have a particularly innovative idea for a song, the band probably has their own set of criteria for what ends up in the video. Based on their past promos (also directed by TT), it looks like they have a thing for cute, quirky videos with in-camera effects and pleasant performance footage. They may have even specifically asked for something Anderson-esque. They probably have different tastes than you and I, and I bet they're extremely proud of this video. For them, it's probably not necessarily about having the most original piece of video art at the moment, it's probably about having something that reflects the song and makes them come off as charming and interesting. To have the expectations of the band and label on your shoulders, plus a miniscule budget, plus the limitations of a short shooting schedule- well, yes, I can understand why people are applauding this video- it was a small miracle that it was pulled off at all. I don't say this to argue with the points that you're making, but I do think you need to take some of these practical issues in to consideration when you start comparing two pieces of art made under completely different circumstances.
That being said, I will 100% agree with you that in an era of smaller budgets we shouldn't lower our standards. If we want music videos to continue as a vital art form, it's going to take ingenuity and hard work, and it doesn't do anyone any favors when we pretend something is great when it's obviously not. Sometimes I wonder if the stuff that gets praised on this site is getting props mainly for reminding older video fans of stuff that they loved a decade ago. I hope that you continue to post here, as I sometimes find your comments interesting and hilarious.
I like your last paragraph spit.
I think we only notice that a video has a small budget when the video sucks. If the video is good, there is no pity (as is often seen here. I have seen plenty of videos done with miniscule budgets that rub shoulder to shoulder with large budget videos, and no-one knows the difference.
My point is, I think some videos would suck regardless of what the budget is. It's the concept that blows, as we see in this video.
Parmezan, I see what you're saying, but the problem with all of theTerri Timely bashing in this thread is that it 1) doesn't take into consideration that maybe the directors had to please the band/label here, and 2) doesn't really give the directors a fair chance. Take a look at Gondry's video history- mvdbase.com - there are some serious clunkers in there, and he didn't even start producing his most groundbreaking work until he was about 30 videos into his career. If we immediately decide that Terri Timely is either genius or a couple of hacks this early into their career, we aren't really giving them the fair chance that's required for them to blossom into great directors. There are very few artists in any field who produce their best work right out of the gate. I think that TT is showing a lot of potential- the lashing that you're giving them seems undeserved.
well done promo - without any doubt. I am not sure about the last shot where you see all locations 360 degrees. it takes away some magic created before.
Oh, Terri Timely, see the discord thy talent hath wrought? For my two cents, I love this video. We can go through the entire history of stage transitions (which goes way, way beyond the recent work of Wes or Gondry), but that all doesn't matter as this video creates its own tone and sticks to it throughout. That's the challenge of great directing. Not whether you were the first person to slide a wall away to change a scene, but whether it means a damn thing beyond sliding a wall away as a cool effect, and I think that this video calls for those exact transitions as they're the perfect visual expression of the video's conceit of aural dissemination. Fantastic job. As always.
Jeezus Christ. Terri Timely is cool. wack niggaz go back to school.
this is wack. give the money to charity
thanks for your comment spit, I am aware how hard it is to make something especially with any budget music videos get these days (unless ofcourse your working for madonna or the klaxons). But after checking terri timely's web page (which has some solid work) i was left feeling empty and bored. Parmezan is right its not the budget that matters or what technique you have accomplished with no money. Its the concept that in the end is for me which makes or break a music video, film or art piece. With my earlier reference post which roid asked for i was merely pointing out that those videos had an attitude and feeling that i think a lot of terri timely's work is missing. Terri timely are skilled and could maybe live up to the praise of some of the comments here if they were only to get a hard-on and do something daring with it. At the moment they seem to be just working the missionary position.
i'm with luenell. good job tt.
Spit, I don't care about Terri's career, the concept of this video is mind numbingly boring. If you want me to give them a pat on the back for using moderately high production values and "pleasing the band" then look elsewhere.
Well, I gave it a shot.
I'm not sure why all of these Russian gymnastics coaches decided to post here all of a sudden, but if their unrelenting insults and bullying result in better videos I guess I can live with it.
I'm sorry I can't lower my standards to yours spit... forgive me. Maybe you name should be swallow instead of spit?
Whatever you do, promise me you'll never lower your standards when it comes to your charming self-effacing sense of humor.
I'm glad to know that you're in it to win it though. My next treatment will include a lot of wind sprints and push-ups, just for you.
No chance of that ever happening spit.
oh you two.... kiss and make up.
it's a good video and obviously a lot more interesting than most if it has garnered over 52 comments for it on this site.
!
Lets be scientific videobitch..... from 28 individuals Since I ain't actually seen it, my comment is only a technicality! And the reason ~ I'd have to go into firefox coz it wont load in my IE
applause. download.
note to TT: in the muck of it all, you've made a new fan out of me and expect even better work from you in the future. i'm supporting what you do and appreciate what you've done and can do for indie musicians. i'm no expert nor am i all too seasoned (and i may not even be as smart as some of the people above make themselves to be) but i thoroughly enjoyed watching your vids and how they compliment the artists and songs. if it's worth anything, you've inspired me to become a better cinematographer and conceptual artist...not because you're the best but because you're better than the rest.
