great stuff. congrats Andres

         

smashed it.

         

BOOM! Bravo Andres. Last sequence is amazingly directed and (one) shot.

         

Dug it.

         

Brilliant! Andres! Brilliant!

         

i like that you're all calling me andres. makes me feel like i'm home.

         

Great production. Personally it could have ended at 4:20 and it would have been perfect.

         

the one shot part is really great

         

love the one shot. killed it for 9 minutes.

         

TEARS IS ALL I GOT

         

Just felt like the Tranny scene in Irreversible taken to 9 minutes. I like both their work. But there's a definitive lack of distinction directorially than say, the work of Romain Gavras which taken the edgy stuff he carries the torch. Maybe it's the sameness to Gaspar Noe's, It's bravado sustains it. I'd like to see one director do a story vid and NOT use the same milky look and employ handheld. Now that's revelatory inducing.

Didn't much care for it. Where's the song? in all this?

         

i only like it from 4:25 till s/he enters her client's room, the motel parking lot scene. i liked that scene ever since i saw the teaser. otherwise, the video as a whole is boring and it lacks the drama in akerlund's video for metallica. it shows its been done by a kid who cannot yet swim in deeper water.

however, although rojas does indeed employ a lot of hand held and steadicam shots, he's really good at it. his videos stand out among other videos using the same camera techniques.

and i think he's story-driven, what he did for tinnie tempah (hits) and emily sande (daddy) shows a peculiar interest in storytelling. and properly captured mood.

so. the video kinda sucks, but i still have a lotta faith in this kid.

         

In my own personal opinion, I believe TINTIN is the inspiration for the one long shot, not IRREVERSIBLE.

         

i feel like this is the month of icarus. Both AG and daniel wolfe made fantastic videos and were shamed for copying or not being "original" enough. both were narrative and really drew the viewer in. I mean when was the last time you sat through a 10min video. that's crazy. and the fact that it's look wonderfully real and gritty? no performance just straight narrative? rare and perfect.

Also the grade in both are prefect. If you want a high key crush blacks and poppin whites just wait for the next hype joint.

Plus the connections to the other "projects" seem a bit absurd. They may conceptually have similarities but they feel very different.

good videos are rare. try not to shit on them too much.

         

No Ugly, I think point's valid. Justin cool insight.

I have a problem with narrative videos as short films done to soundtrack, I feel it works best the other way. That Metallica clip is a great example of what works to story. Go make a fucking movie then I'm all ok. Music videos work when the song isn't treated as elevator music. I like the natural flow of the events but the execution of the story isn't directly attributed to the song, a fact that watching with the sound off will make possible. This is what I meant.

That said, each has their opinion. I liken to Legions.

         

victus - i will never submit to the idea that a music video is simply a commercial/marketing tool for an artist. i may be naive in thinking it can be more than that, but i've been enjoying the trust artists and labels have in me to create narratives with or without performance. i don't agree with you that there is a disconnect between the track and the images. i didn't have this idea in my head for a while and decide to just use it now. it was directly inspired by the track. if that's not clear for you watching it, then that's ok. i will go make a fucking movie now. thanks.

legion - you're a cunt.

         

haha shitstorm is brewing...

         

I think ugly kittens might be the only intelligent person on this useless dying blog full of internet trolling cunts.

AG obviously has an original voice. I've known him since before he directed, and he is one of the most intelligent young directors out there. To simply dismiss and criticize his and other videos on such petty things as you think Steadycam shots are overused or his use of Trannies means he's copying Gaspar Noe, is just plan ignorants and a pathetic understanding of the process of music videos and film making in general.

The bigger picture here is that AG gets to make videos that he wants to make for cool artist's that love his work and pay for him to do so. AND YOU DONT. He and others like Daniel, myself, and many other hard working directors are trying to use music videos as a platform for learning, experimenting and pushing the medium to places that aren't bullshit formulaic pop videos. So what do you guys want from him? you want a small budget music video for the best band in the world to be as perfected as "A Thin Red Line" ever fucking time. You should be thanking and praising AG that he is helping the music video community push this type of work into a arena where we all get to make narrative work, because at the end of the day no director really wants to film a band rocking out on a rooftop.

So don't come up with reasons to hate just because your flexing your pathetic knowledge of some indie movie or old video your impressed by. HEY JANE isn't a 100% perfect but neither is Blade Runner. But it's a impressive undertaking, really well crafted and a brave video created with the support of the band and label

Also, if you have a strong opinion and want to smartly discus it, use your real name so we know who were dealing with. In the words of AG (that he actually stole from me :)

DONT BE A CUNT

         

         

@vincent.. did you miss the part where everyone but a couple of commenters actually praised the video and liked it? Anyhow, for the director and you to come here and whine, actually makes me lose respect for what is indeed a good video.

         

I have to agree with Vince on this one (with less caustic fumes).
I don't understand this nostalgia for the performance video or performance "with a twist". I've got a ton of amazing narrative treatments from the mid oughts that probably would have a much better chance of getting made today, and for that I say Bully! We've certainly endured far worse trends over the last few years. Although I generally respect legions insights I think the "done by a kid who cannot yet swim in deeper water" comment deserved it's salty response. Great shit storm guys, certainly has been a long time.

         

Since when do we listen to legion?

         

Standing up for someone is not whining. I actually dont give a fuck what you or anyone thinks of AG's work because he keeps working and making good stuff, despite the antville's popularity contest.

your pathetic response is the exact reason why this place has zero respect from any credible working director.

harden the fuck up.

         

Well that shitstorm sucked. :)

         

vincent, you obviously are not very familiar with this blog.. I'm with kev here.. "Since when do we listen to legion?" :)

         

pucker up pancho

         

I think "harden the fuck up" will be my closing sentence on every treatment I write here on out. I've said it before, great work Andres, keep it up

         

wow...i love this video. AG is a righteous fella and has nuts the size of Jupiter. Do you? I highly doubt it, doesn't take too much to work at the local vegan restaurant, serving hummus to other film theorists. So that settles that. My real question is this...why aren't there more wizards and faeries and elves in videos? personally I love them and never tire of seeing them flit about. They'd look so beautiful and pretty dancing to rhythm of a wonderful new beat. Imagine putting a bunch of goblins and elves against the new Rihanna track, i feel like it would be better than anything Julian Temple ever did. Do you remeber the michael jackson video for Thriller? picture if all those creepy zombies were actually elves (really humans we'd cast and dress up like elves). it would be perfect! thanks for welcoming me to this intriguing website!!! back soon

         

I'm late to the party. What did I miss? oh yeah it's a good video.

I consider the case settled. But this was a great wine cooler moment.

If you don't like music videos with a narrative drive, then #don't watch em. Go shoot something else. There's a place for all this stuff.

         

"Victus, March 21, 2012 5:51:52 PM CET No Ugly, I think point's valid. Justin cool insight.

I have a problem with narrative videos as short films done to soundtrack, I feel it works best the other way. That Metallica clip is a great example of what works to story. Go make a fucking movie then I'm all ok. Music videos work when the song isn't treated as elevator music. I like the natural flow of the events but the execution of the story isn't directly attributed to the song, a fact that watching with the sound off will make possible. This is what I meant.

That said, each has their opinion. I liken to Legions."

i concur and i'd add wolfe's kill-all-hipsters video to this list.

@ag rojas - yes im a cunt mate. and i believe that only 40yr olds can direct "hard hitting dramas". i loved hits to bits, but that set the bar appropriately high , and this video fails to deliver. its tear-jerking in a bad way, way too long, immature and i'm sick of short films camouflaged in music videos, unless its a song for the lovers. want a good example of narrative intertwined with music? check out this bad boy here:

         

"Music videos work when the song isn't treated as elevator music" ??? "i believe that only 40yr olds can direct "hard hitting dramas" ??? WTF ? Not being able to direct "hard hitting dramas" after 40 y.o (or anything else) seems to be your own drama Legion. 100% with Haycock. When you know what it takes to give birth to a piece like the aforementioned pieces (whatever their budgets are), you can only say: bravo AG, bravo Dan it is fantastic, you won the right to shoot another one and we're looking forward to seeing it !

         

Hey Jane is a stellar music video- the beginning with the precocious kid grabbed me from the start and at that point I was engaged until the end. Awesome video that I must of sent to 100 people to view. In the end you hate the main character for the choices he has made but care about him as well. There are a lot of mixed emotions and to me, you get a sense that the extreme situation at the end (no spoilers) WILL turn Jane around. It is chilling that the kid does what he does in such a nonchalant way but it is believable. Bravo for stirring my emotions!