Over the New Year I got a presale copy of On Air: The Visual Messages and Global Language of MTV, a book I was invited to contribute a couple of essays for. I’ve finally had a chance to check it out properly.
Lovely looking book, and very tactile. DGV have done a great design job. It makes my writing look good, which is always a bonus…
Yes, I am obsessed with lists right now.
So recently talking via Skype to Brand New School founder, Jonathan Notaro, and Creative Director, Jens Gehlhaar, I kind of found out their favorite 5 videos from 5 directors of the last 5 years.
The 5x5x5 goes something like this:
Gehlhaar: “You have to mention Michel Gondry, White Stripes, and Roman Coppola‘s Strokes videos. As far as rock videos are concerned, Shynola‘s Go With the Flow for Queens of the Stone Age, had everything a rock video has to have; sex, cars, guitars, psychedelia. I am also a big Tim Hope fan.”
Notaro: “I like Gondry‘s The Denial Twist a lot. Also, Dougal Wilson is great. There’s a good range of play in his work. You can tell he’s trying to find his voice.”
Adam Levite, AKA Associates in Science, was one of the first directors that came to mind when choosing the directors list for the upcoming music video book (and not because he once bought me lunch somewhere in Tribeca).
I asked Adam to answer the horribly obvious (horrible and obvious) question relating to best five videos in the last five years. And because I’m not using it in the main interview text to the book I thought I’d publish the answer:
Studiedly eclectic.
The US ITVS (Independent Television Service) have a useful downloadable PDF guide on Digital Futures usefully covering the basics of a next generation moving image landscape.
“Digital Futures: A Need-to-Know Policy Guide for Independent Filmmakers
From the quagmire of copyright to the broadband revolution, digital technology has changed the game for independent filmmakers everywhere. What do these technologies look like? How will the battles over new policies affect filmmaking?
Digital Futures is a free guide designed to help independent filmmakers survive and thrive in the digital age. 51-page guide includes: an explanation and glossary of digital technology terms; expert analysis of today’s legal, distribution and funding landscape; directory of resource organizations for indies.