Goldfrapp - Happiness (Dir: Dougal Wilson)
Goldfrapp - Happiness
I'm sure I,ve seen that before. Can't remember where...
That was really well done.
Dooooooouuuugal!!Reminds me of Supergrass' Late in The Day....but tht might just be all the bouncing... great job!
superdupa... :)
OMG that makes my calves hurt just watching it! I would not want to be that performer the next morning...
So... was that REALLY all one take? If so it may pass up Feist's 1-2-3-4 video for Most Amazing One-Take Video, I'll have to watch it again...
go, bouncing man, go! a bit one-note but it has its charm i guess
cute indeed (on a par with ace's tellier vid). clearly not one single take.
What can you say, another great original by Dougal who is really coming in to his own in his last few vids. Impressive big budget video.
I wouldn't even put Ace and Dougal in the same sentence except for maybe that Ace will use one of Dougals ideas in his next video. ;P
boring ace bashing, glay
Blooper: You can see the camera and operator reflected when the scene passes the parked minivan. (Reminds me of scenes from 'The Rockford Files' when the detective would drive his shiny car past a guy with a camera on his shoulder, reflected in the side.)
I wouldn't say it's 'clearly' not one take. If there are multiple takes in here they are very cleanly edited.
Let's see, watching it again - one edit at the bus stop, maybe; another passing behind the person in the hoodie; a third passing by the phone box. Yeah, probably a few separate takes. Still, from the corner to the bus stop, that looked like one pretty long take...
lovin the jumping dog at the end
MSM, I know, couldn't help myself, my bad.
fucking awesome
...except for 0:40, where you can see the camera in the car window
Overall well done (colors, camerawork, performance, etc)
but something about it isn't letting me enjoy it that much.
Boring, showy, one dimensional idea that is in no way appropriate for the esoterica of Goldfrapp, wrong director by a mile.
The jumping dog at the end is fucking hilarious
That's a Singing In The Rain tribute. And i love how he always manages to put bikes in his videos.
A total joy from start to finish, I absolutely love it.
nary a mov?
It´s so good and happy that almost saves the boring song.
And it´s clearly a Dougal: very original and simple idea. I would prefer if they made it not so obvious it consists of more than 1 shot.
is the alison goldfrapp at the bus stop a reference to maddy ferguson in twin peaks?
Have any of you lot seen any films made prior to Top Gun?
Super video but I have never wanted someone to get run over by a Saab so much in my life.
Original? Hardly.. as this Peter Wolf video from over 20 years ago shows. I remember watching it on kiddie fiddler Johnathan King's Entertainment USA proggie.
Peter Wolf's version features a better jumping dog too!
aaand over to you, glayvin. glayvin?.....
ooooOOOOoooo johnnyzero...
Dougal Wilson a dirty plagiarist!!!! Who'd have thought it!
over to you progosk ;-)
What a complete disappointment. Bummer
Wee-yerd....it does kinda change you view of it...weeeeee-yerd!
I much prefer the hopping dog in Dougal's version. But yes, I'm disappointed now as well...
C'mon guys! I expected more from you. Both this video and Peter Wolf's is an homage/ripoff of an old MGM musical "Small Town Girl". It features Bobby Van in a white suit leaving his house and bouncing around his neighborhood in the EXACT manner as the Goldfrapp's video. I can't find the clip on YouTube but you can see the entire scene in That's Entertainment! Part II.
busby berkeley in da house...
to be clear: i still like this video. (and i still like ace's too.)
too much holier-than-thou round here, methinks...
will someone please u2b the original street dance sequence, either from "small town girl" or from "that's entertainment II"? dougal, can you?
otaku-house: Exactly! Music video directors are foolish to rip off other music videos when there's a century of great film history to plunder from. And your end product will probably be better for it too!
I think Dougal Wilson did an excellent job recontextualizing this 1950s number.
Strong deja vu
what's so wrong of using earlier realized ideas for new promos? Isn't that part of the game?
i don't see anything wrong at all with reinterpreting ideas, especially very old ones... it's something common to all art forms and some of the best art produced.
i also felt this was a great idea, but not for this song. i'm also put off by the dull, overcast look of the whole thing. seems to work against the concept a little. grade looks very strained.
I think ambitious directors which regard themselves being original and truly creative have to go beyond recycling old ideas.
I love dougal wilsons work but this is too much referencing here.
not original, sorry.
fran bentos: "i'm also put off by the dull, overcast look of the whole thing."
Occupational hazard of filming in London, I'm afraid. Still, reflections/shadows would have been a lot harder to manage if it were bright & sunny. Also, white suit.
notice later in the video heavy shadows start showing up on the walls...the weather prob worked against them and they had to bring out some big HMIs to simulate their lost light. another example of its pure shittiness
"pure shittiness", plore? "pure"? "shittiness"? i have no further questions, your honour.
The Peter Wolf video was directed by Edd Griles. I think Dougal did a nice job.
hassinator what´s your opinion?
Eh, I think this has way more to do with the joy this site gets from playing "name-that-obscure-reference" than any actual idea-thieving. It's a nice homage, it weaved the band into it, and it's extremely well done. How is this any different than Spike's nod to Happy Days or some of Dougal's other work?
i think this video is ace - the artist seems keen to move herself away from electro slut to something altogether more 3 dimensonal and i think both happiness and a&e do a class job of making her audience view her in a different way
i think dougal would never seek to plunder another music video vision as the evil - and sometimes spiteful - geniuses of antville would never let it pass
we'd never seen the 80s video - good catch on whoever found it - but we do love small town girl film and thought it was a perfect vehicle for alison and this video
dougal had an initially different approach but alison wasn't feeling it so things developed in this direction and this is where we ended up with everyone very happy at the result
one comment re the weather is understandable, it would have been very nice to have had the budget to shoot this at universal studios but you guys sometimes don't get the reality of the new budget paradigm - we have limited time and VERY limited budget to try to surprise and delight a bit more every time
its also worth pointing out that dougal spent his entire fee (and the entire mark up) on A&E as well as dipping into a lot of it this time round again
if you're disappointed then make something better otherwise i feel you should sit back and enjoy. there aren't that many interesting videos anymore and things are only going to get harder.
i'm not saying good videos can't be made for no money - see keith schofield's recent slice of excellence for supergrass - but senior directors are always keen to move the plot on despite playing with half what we had a year ago and sometimes its disappointing to see so much vitriol from the frequent and anonymous haters - prarire oysters you can have my mobile number if you want to have it out face to face.
how about aiming to love, cherish, nurture and support rather than pouring scorn on people who consistently try to move the ball on?
its late. i'm tired but i do think antville offers a great space to vent which is something i've done all to frequently in the past but please people realise that directors read this page and callous responses to hard work can be very wounding.
we won't have dougal for ever so lets enjoy him while we can.
oh yeah one more thing:
SUPER REDS!
What about martin bell? Tom Wolfe? The Man From Del Monte?
This video is good fun. So well done all involved.
spit, otaku, hass: game, set, match. classy.
Impartiality anyone?
"there aren't that many interesting videos anymore"
Shhhhhh...be very, very quiet and perhaps no one will notice the elephant in the room
good one vidbot
I have been watching and reading comments on antville with increasing vexation over the last couple of years. First of all, let me state clearly who I am. My name is Liz Kessler and I work at Academy Films. I used to be a commissioner at Island records and I know both sides of the business pretty well. Here's my problem. You all are happy to slag off one of the best video directors around and you all do it anonymously. Stand up and be counted or shut up. I have had the pleasure of working with Dougal and his hard work and dedication are an inspiration. He has created a body of work which has itself been plagiarised frequently... Anyone else remember Chikinki www.youtube.com and charlotte church, (sorry can't find a link, can't bear to waste time looking for it...)
And he has never commented or slagged anyone off. He continues to support the industry with his own money as do many directors. What is bad about looking back and being inspired and influenced by our predecessors? Do we not wish to stand on the shoulders of giants? I adore the new Bjork video. Does it lessen it to say that it has a look of Maurice Sendak's extraordinary Childrens story, 'Where the wild things are'. Put your names to your bitching and then you may be taken seriously, until then...
come on...this is an internetforum. and I think there are some honest opinions here coming from people which just love musicvideos as an art form. they care and discuss. see other forums to find out about real bashing and insulting.
i think industry people should also respect that videos sometimes get a judgement without looking at how difficult the production was. all we see here is a VIDEO no matter how it was done. and that´s the good thing about it.
mslizzyk try this
deja vu x 2
hi msliz. always nice to have a reality check round here. (crying shame videoville's currently b0rked - thread's a classic by a mile...)
btw, on another matter altogether: a colleague of yours mentioned de thurah's kanye as merely delayed. status on that? everyone's dying to have a peek...
Ah yes Kanye, how I would LOVE to show that to you. No doubt plenty of anonymous people would slag it off, but as Martin De T has just won the Danish Equivalent of an oscar for his short film, he would probably survive....
At the moment I can't let you see it, Mr West has requested that we do not show it and of course we respect his wishes. However, you never know, one day he may change his mind and you lot will no doubt be amongst the first to know.
hi vidbot
i think my issue with the chikkinki rip off was that we actually pitched another idea for charlotte church that started off saying "charlotte is a shell suit wearing slag" but the artist requested 'something more generic' and the commissioner requested that we revisit chikkinki
when we declined i thought it unethical for them to directly rip us off and then deny all knowledge just as the 'directors' denied that they'd ever seen it. a tall story i'm sure even you would agree given the context
in this case dougal is referencing a film that has clearly influenced another director so not really the same thing but clearly you don't agree perhaps its time to dry your eyes and move on?
Hi hassinator
Interesting details thanks for the peak behind the curtains.
Firstly let it be known I think Dougal is a fantastic director my favourites of his are 'Tribulations', Klonhertz and 'Satisfaction'. I have no doubt of his commitment to the artform and in no way wish for him to stop making videos any time in the future.
However none of this reverses the fact that there are question marks over this video and in mine and a few others opinion this isn’t Dougals strongest work.
So Alison wants to move away from “electro slut” and towards a more rounded public image. Ok so then why have you wheeled out someone else’s idea and given it a fresh coat of paint.? Is it not the Director and his Representative's duty to respond to such a request in kind and produce something original and engadging whilst still being true to the artists origins.?
To me this feels discontinuous with the rest of Goldfrapps image and more about Dougal indulging himself in an homage.
hass dude,
it ain't worth your time, noble though it may be.
anyone who thinks that dougal wilson did anything wrong by borrowing something from a musical that few of us have ever seen is on the wrong foot here to begin with. I would absolutely give him the benefit of doubt that he had never seen the peter wolf video. I'd never even heard of peter wolf until a few days ago. But I know who Norman McLaren and Dziga Vertov and Cary Grant are.
removing references, homages, stylizations from the history of music videos would rule out about 50 percent of all music videos.
would all is full of love look the same if kubrick never had the infinity room in 2001?
the way i like to enjoy antville is to ignore most of the negative stuff as nearly all of it comes from psuedonyms from non regulars, and enjoy it when something gets some appreciation. great though it may be that this is the best first place for any of us to get instant feedback on videos from people who genuninely love the form, there are a lot of cowardly potshots too that are of no use.
looking forward to my next video getting me called gay / ripoff artist / uncool...
hey vidbot
you don't like this idea and that is fair enough. alison did like it so we got to make it and that's pretty much how the industry works. whatever we feel about a direction an artist takes the choices are ultimately their responsibility. personally i was really feeling electro slut but all good things come to an end
in terms of duty we try at blimp to deliver interesting work whatever the artist and brief but i think also have a responsibility to cover our costs and pay our staff (ie the lovely lily)
can we agree to differ? my favourite dougal vid is benni benassi but i've got a lot of love and a favourite cameo in fit but you know it (even if my big fat head looks enormous).
klonhertz and dizzee aren't bad either.
oh and both will youngs.
and british sea power.
the weekend is calling people - see you all back here to fight the good fight on monday.
minor counterweights to vidbot: 1. an artist has every right to be discontinuous (picabia docet). 2. originality is totally overrated.
these are our children. goodbye cruel world. weltschmertz in the cut & paste era. yawn.
Cover songs have their place, why not cover videos?
My initial reaction to viewing this without knowing the background was that it was cute/goofy/tiring. Seeing it again, the emphasis now falls on the more cynical intrusions of normality. Also, random things in the scene are now revealed to be careful recreations of the older work. In being a recreation, this is arguable better made and more high minded.
I wonder if people are getting upset over this because they were into the perceived earnestness, when in fact it is pretty irony laden.
Also, this video is WAY better if you play it to 'Ride a White Horse' (or 'Number 1' or 'Beautiful' ).
najork - nice arrows. sometimes we don't see the wood for the trees
right now sleep beckons but we will be back all guns blazing right after these messages
h
This thread is just so totally ridiculous. What is wrong with some of you people??????
Hassinator -
There is no public doubt how talented and great Dougal Wilson is....he has done some wonderful videos, Period. Most people love many of his videos. As has colonel blimp produced and encouraged great Music Videos too.
The point at hand is you guys (both as director and producer) should admit that the Goldfrapp video (great that it is) is an exact replica of the Peter Wolf video from the 80's.
Sure you BOTH were heavily referencing Small Town Girl but the Peter Wolf video paid the homage first - 21 YEARS AGO!
Had you guys realized that this Peter Wolf video existed (if in-fact you or Dougal had never seen it prior to making Goldfrapp) then you would not have sold through this idea. Yeah it is a little embarrassing for you both but shit happens and you should just bite the bullet of debate. This time someone else got there before you and you look less original than you normally do.
Harking on with all of your essays above just makes you look a little foolish as you seem like you just cannot admit this time you guys got it a bit wrong and were less original than normal although you of course still have a great video (and you were not to know anyway, right?)
The Goldrapp video is enjoyable and fun. Anyone here with half a brain is well aware of how well referenced Dougal Wilsons work is....
You could pick apart most of his work to show it references something else, this does not make it bad, it just makes him well referenced. Something Gondry - who clearly inspires Dougal, is also guilty of.
What is next? are going to try and tell us that you guys had never seen Patrick Daughters technique for 1,2,3,4 before you made a bat for lashes video?
Dougal is a star...This time you accidentally made a music video idea that had already been made. For the budget restraints - the video you made is arguably better, but like men you just need to take it on the chin that you attract criticism and not be cry babies.
If Gondry posted a video on here that was exactly the same as an existing video from the 80's would you not expect the public to voice opinions? It seems like because - you are who you are - and you had not previously viewed the Peter Wolf video, that criticism is not allowed?
Of course it would of been great if you were the first guys to use Small Town Girl as a reference for a video but unfortunately you were not and that is that.
I would just like to add; obviously you both make the best videos in Great Britain and are respected globally. If it was anyone else that had directed this and posted it on this site, they would of been completely slaughtered by the drooling masses who frequent this blog to pull apart work.
may i, etienne? what you're saying makes no sense, apart from one sentence:
"Had you guys realized that this Peter Wolf video existed (if in-fact you or Dougal had never seen it prior to making Goldfrapp) then you would not have sold through this idea."
I happen to think this is actually true: if dougal had known about the peter wolf video, i very much doubt he would have proposed doing the hippity-hop.
However, if, as you yourself are allowing, dougal hadn't seen it, then there's nothing to "bite the bullet" /"just admit"/"take it on the chin" about - no prior knowledge, no replication, no "direct rip". you need either to affirm (and eventually prove) that hass (& dougal) are lying - that is, to keep your comment from being mere envious bitchery. or else you need to brush up on your semantics.
no one's disputing that ed griles "got there first". bravo to him - but that's just not the point. (in fact, it's actually irrelevant to the worth of dougal's video - given that he hadn't seen it). it makes dougal's "look less original"? well, only in the same way that seeing my five-year old playing "i-can-spend-all-of-today-hopping-instead-of-walking" does so too: only if you're trying real hard to demean/demolish.
do take a brief look at the articles i linked above - if you give a fuck, that is.
the video nerdery around here is fun, until its fastidiousness reveals the petty little frustrations of that vast majority who could never get their act together enough to make half of such a video.
etiennec's comment is laughably the most ridiculous comment on this thread. it has snowballed into an unnecessary and ugly attempt to try to elicit a confession out of Dougal & Hass!!!
Whatever pointless, pre-pubescent mutterings are aired here, they both will ultimately have the last laugh as they walk off into the sunset with a great video behind them and more great videos ahead. Now that's Happiness!
to all the directors out there (hass and liz included): just come up with 100% original ideas and discussions like this won´t happen again. simple as that.
I've been scripting/sketching ideas for THE 100% ORIGINAL MUSIC VIDEO for the last few years. It's been an epic voyage I can tell you. I found a small corner of a pet shop in peru that has never been filmed and have got my art director researching into the backs of table legs and fortified garage doors. I'm thinking of filming the video on a banana.
Personally I am pretty fond of 46.5% original ideas. Although sometimes, just sometimes, someone pulls a 87% original idea out of the bag and it really knocks me sideways. There was this great video made a few years back that I think was a 34% original idea and I think that they really pulled it off.
I'm currently working on a video that is hovering around 11-17% originality and quite frankly I'm not looking forward to it being posted on this website.
"simple as that". lolz. omg.
87%, ok. so there are TONS of 87-100% originals out there:
see some of the work of dougal wilson, lynn fox, encyclopedia pictura, mike mills, michel gondry, jonathan glazer, ok go, sophie muller, rozan & schmeltz, chris cunningham, alex & martin, saam, nima nourizadeh, alex and liane, saam, hammer and tongs, martin de thurah, jaron albertine, spike jonze, pleix, john hillcoat, and...and...and...
so it´s possible, keep on trying.
I have 2 points to make. It is rare that I find myself contributing on antville anymore for a multitude of reasons. However I think the biggest reason is the shear love for carnage.
All too often I see witch trial "burn her at the stake" remarks. There are just way too many people here who love a car crash and I find it less than interesting. As Liz K points out, there is no moderation nor are half of the people on here open about who they are. While I truly don't mind the anonymity factor, I believe when coupled with no moderation we end up with less than intelligent discourse.
In the last 10 years I have worked on countless projects at many different production companies, as well as design & animation studios. On every one of those projects, at some point the table is usually covered with references. This is just part of the creative process for most. And it seems to me that many people on this site are hung up on distinguishing the difference between a reference, an homage, or stealing.
I too love music videos passionately. I think the idea behind this blog is that we all do. It is about a shared love for these funny projects that attempt to strike a balance between art and commerce.
In this case, if Dougal's treatment actually had a line saying"this video for Goldfrapp will attempt to work as a recreation blah blah blah," I wonder if the pessimists or the disappointed would somehow feel better? Would this rationalization somehow feel more honest?
And honestly who gives a fuck. I do believe Dougal to be one of the best and brightest directors of the last several years; he quenches my thirst for inspiration. I love when pixel pusher types criticize inanely, the most minor details of a video's totality. When they do so, they neglect to show any appreciation for the immense dedication and passion it takes from countless people to complete such a project.
This video is wonderfully crafted. All too often great directors make beautiful work and are expected move each of us the way they did before, video after video. I think often our expectations are a little out of wack.
On a personal level, I am finding that I am becoming less attracted to videos that feel like puzzles, spectacles or overly aware of the process of creating it. And while I know often these are the ingredients involved in some of the most fun videos, I start to feel a little bit like everything must rely on trickery.
Sorry for the rant. I'm not on here too often and seeing that this is comment #72. I see no harm. Its good to see Dougal's got people commenting again. And its great to see that Colonel Blimp have continued to raise the bar for wonderful work despite all obstacles.
now that kayser_sauze posted the .mov file i finally decided to give it a try. honestly, i don't understand what all the fuss is about: it's a perfectly enjoyable mv, sporting some crafty dynamics & blocking camera moves. i couldnt care less if he borrowed from or plainly ripped off some obscure video, cuz it aint the meat, but the motion (that makes my baby wanna stay).
i find it mildly curious that a lot has been said about this video, whereas the mighty 'wanderlust' passed almost unnoticed (in comparison).
yep to matel. methinks because wanderlust was the kind of video antvillers would have liked to like more, whereas this is the kind of video people like to dislike, ie. a juicy target.
for my twopence, i like the vid, but personally not feeling for one-shotters as much as everyone else (ahem, since feist)
or something.
Dougal has always been one of the great innovators - If the worst case scenario were true - Dougal saw 80's vid and ripped it off shot for shot - then he would absolutely deserve the scorn. It drives me nuts that people call antvillers petty cowards (and we call them classy for saying it) just because the heat's on Dougal. If this had been true this type of plagiarism would have been twice as offensive because it was Dougal. No less offensive than:
But alas it wasn't true and we can all holster our guns. I personally think in some remote, deeply subconscious way the court of opinion that is Antville serves as check and balance for directors. I bet some director just reconsidered writing a shot for shot rip off of "Safety Dance". And for that I say Bully!
having seen the mov: is that a blow-up ref at the very beginning? also: when's someone u2bing bobby van's??
dougal's work is worth a look when it surfaces, but he, like almost every other commercial director is disposable and completely irrelevant.
hire him for ikea. go fuck all the "he's one of the great innovators" talk.
Hass you come across as unbelievable disengenuous and entirely self serving. I run Blimp and we here at Blimp delver the best product we can. Drop it.
I've been staying out of this argument, because it's intimidated me somewhat. But it's gotten to the point I have to say something:
This video entertained me greatly for the three minutes or so of its duration, I got a kick out of Spot The Alison, and it succeeded in making me think differently about Goldfrapp.
It doesn't affect my enjoyment of the video at all to know it's a homage/lift from Small Town Girl.
Sometimes, all I want is something that makes me smile.
Is the point that finer_comb makes intended to mean that when a creative person makes something of commercial value, they no longer are relevant or worth taking serious??? If so, I can point out about 10,000 examples of creative people (who have made work of commercial value) whose worth can be tied to defining generations, making people happy, inspiring others, etc etc.
finer_comb's comment is interesting in that it seems completely removed from the current realities of music video production. It's like a flashback to the early 90's when Gen Xers debated whether their favorite bands had 'sold out' or not. There is no 'underground' anymore, everything is mainstream thanks to the democratization of the internet, and classifying a director as 'commercial' is as silly as getting uppity when a Sub Pop band licenses a song to an itunes commercial. If you have to categorize things in the age of youtube, I think the only classifications that make sense anymore or the ones that make a distinction between professional filmmakers who pursue their craft as a career (everyone from dougal, encylopedia, joseph kahn, ace norton, and marc webb) and those who do it as a hobby. Get with the times f_c...
whoa, cool video. Who directed it?
anyone got any info on the story behind it?
(For gratuitous pictures of penises, please refer to this)
there's only one thing worse than being talked about...
extreme.colonelblimp.com nice videos
talking of 'influenced vids etc...' this is funny:
Hi shatner...intersting who is this band?...which came first Klaxsons or ????
klaxon'sis just way more beautifully executed...and of course what makes it is the track!
golden skans came first! The above video is one of the most cynical, hilarious, terrible rip offs I can remember seeing...
I guess they got one of those "We wanted Saam but he was busy" briefs that I keep getting.
and that original clip in full:
i love this one. dir: zoran bihac
interesting to note dougal's use of twixtor - or similar - to tweak the sync of some of the hopping (watch for distortions in the hopper's aura).
dougal just won the inaugural best british video award for happiness at the edinburgh film festival this weekend.
sean connery gave him the prize and asked for a dvd to take with him.
more news as it breaks...
Clang!
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