death cab releasing 12 vids by 12 directors
so who got a piece of the action? anyone here? waverlians? spill!
none of us waverlies were picked. here's my video treatment, though, just so part of it can see the light of day.
it supposed to be in the style of a kid using MS-Paint.
I am an executive producer on the project, along with Jill Kaplan, and Nick from the band.
Directors -
"Marching Bands of Manhattan," directed by P.R. Brown "Soul Meets Body," directed by Cat Solen "Summer Skin," directed by Lightborne "Different Names for the Same Thing," directed by Autumn de Wilde "I Will Follow You Into the Dark," directed by Monkmus "Your Heart Is an Empty Room," directed by Jeffrey Brown; animated by Eliza Kinkz "Someday You Will Be Loved," directed by Ace Norton "Crooked Teeth," directed by Rob Schrab "What Sarah Said," directed by Laurent Briet "Brothers on a Hotel Bed," directed by Chris Grismer "Stable Song," directed by Aaron Stewart-Ahn "Talking Like Turnstiles" (bonus track), directed by Lance Bangs
Jeffrey Brown is a graphic novelist whose work has never been animated before.
Rob Schrab has done a Ween video but for me most notably directed the title sequence to Heat Vision and Jack, the failed Jack Black / Owen Wilson tv pilot.
We have started to get edits in and the only dissapointing thing so far about this project is the number of amazing treatments and directors that we couldn't fit - we also needed to balance the project out across mediums and emotional range thinking of it playing as a whole. If we'd had the budget, I would've been happy to commission twice the number of videos easily. I think people wrote really, really strong treatments on this and I know a few months from now I'll be kicking myself that we didn't have certain directors on it.
But what I really want to stress to you antvillers is that all the directors have had total creative freedom once chosen and power of final cut. Unlike The Sun's project, which I found out about here a few weeks ago, none of the videos are conventional videos in the sense of promoting the band - no arbitrary performance footage. The band don't appear in any of the videos except for one but in a really left field manner. I also feel it's a good idea to let this be a compliment to the music readily being known - this is in no way a good idea to release an album.
The idea was patronage, trying to break free from the idea of making videos to promote singles. If this works and becomes interesting, I hope it's a model that flourishes because I think the directors are having a fulfilling time working free from the usual creative constraints.
Rob Schrab is great.
nice one "ford". I wonder why they didn't pick it. Maybe because it's RETARDED.
Guess what, I submitted a treatment that didn't get picked, too. Here's the link:
The more non-MTV-single commissioning the better! Hope it sells millions. The Sun look a little beat up in some of their vids, poor guys.
I'm surprised Jon's version of Soul Meets Body isn't on here??? Even as an extra?
The Willowz is doing the same thing but not all at once. We are shooting a video for them tomorrow. YAY!
hijed that was pretty fucking hilarious. is it for real?
also it's kind of lame to diss a director's rejected treatment. I think it's really interesting to see people's processes and would hate if people were discouraged from making posts like that.
um, captain marc... i don't think you need to lecture anyone about 'dissing' videos. you may have noticed that 'hijed' is a director with waverly...his post was all in good fun.
otaku: thanks for all the info!
I think hijed is part of Waverly, no? I like that Ford posted his test, which I was fond of and am glad he can share it.
What would antville be without some junior high level dissing? I was hoping for more claims about my sexual orientation and comments on how I wouldn't be able to get into a program at the New School.
We haven't settled on release yet other than a commitment to the web. We want people to see these and not make it exclusive to fans. If there is a DVD, maybe Jon and Ace's larger budgeted video will be on there (Ace is doing the single promo video for Crooked Teeth).
As kevin notes, it really is about finding a way to expand the video and get past this totally archaic notion of satisfying a single for MTV and what have you. I was really nervous about working with a major label but have found Atlantic to be an awesome partner in all this and really do get what it's all about. I don't think the labels can continue to justify the way music videos are primarily made now even from a business perspective.
Two things that made a huge impression on me were going to film in the UK in the late 90s when Glazer and Stern and Cunningham were in their stride - I didn't see much equivalent work for what I'd call mid-budget videos in the US. I think that's the perfect place to be - a decent enough budget to make something accomplished, but not so huge a financial risk that the label has to get overly involved in the creative end because it sincerely is an enormous financial risk.
The other was an idea of Peter Greenaway's that I thought was totally crackpot but like now: that the ultimate future of filmmaking would be patronage rather than the studio distribution system. I thought that was totally crazy but now given online, iTMS, etc... Think it can work for music videos.
Seriously, if you can't shoot a band as well as Talking Heads in Stop Making Sense, don't do the performance footage thing. Especially on rooftops or in warehouses.
I am working for Atlantic on this independently, so all these thoughts are my own of course and don't reflect theirs, but they've backed us all the way.
Dude Otaku your spending way to much time here... where are my NES games!?
hijed, NICE
I just emailed them to you, don't you know I type faster than Mavis Beacon. Also, you shouldn't be messing with NES emulators, you have a freaking video to shoot tomorrow! If I were you I'd be like meditating and practicing internal visualization and yelling at my AD.
True! Heres my list: Everything you got!
roboshobo; it's not dissing a finished paid-for video, but a treatment. Constructive criticism is warranted, dissing (as if getting rejected isn't already a dis) is just pointless. It will only discourage directors to post rejected treatments.... I wish more would. Wouldn't it be neat to see various "Juicebox" treatments? I bet they had a bunch of A-listers writing on it.
And if it's a joke and they're buds; all good. but how would I know that?
Hey Otaku: What kind of budgets are being given for these videos?
Hey, somebody start a blog for posting treatments.
Hey hijed: FUCK YOU!
You just don't "get it". It is SUPPOSED to be retarded.
Yeah I doubt you even submitted that as your treatment because it's too violent and NOT FUNNY!
Just because you're friends with jake doesn't mean you can be a dick!
I actually wrote on Juicebox, too! Here's my rejected treatment:
hey "ford": FUCK YOU BRO!
i'm so sick of your jerkiness on this site! hijed is awesome and he shaves his balls.
Laugh out Loud!! Roll on the floor Laughing!!!
genius.
get a job waverly boyz.
give us a job!
kids,
stop using "the board" to wage your silly antville wars. go outside and play for a change.
love, mom
i would give u a job ford but my mom has locked me in my room- get me the key and I'll see what I can do
maybe we should keep clogging up antville until we get what we want - like the gorillaz posters.
sounds like a plan- you know any good jokes??
Dude, that was so much better than Palmieri's.
give us a video or we'll keep posting on antivlle forever!! GORILLAZ RULEZ!
this is some funny shit. fuck posting video treatments. i want more parody videos.
they should have shown a clip of a dog actually fucking a woman with the juicebox song over it.
go waverlies go. (is this practice/lead-in for some sort of reality soapumentary vidcast you guys are planning?)
