Point of View

Stone Temple Pilots - 'Between The Lines' (2010)

directed by Christopher Sims

For years the Stone Temple Pilots have been at the forefront of the music scene. Songs like Plush and Sour Girl are staples in any alternative music lovers black book. Their newest single 'Between The Lines' is far from their previous sound. Nevertheless their return to the music scene has brought a vibrant, fast-paced and edgy as ever music video by director Christopher Sims.

Utilising the fisheye lens, continual motion transitions and a POV camera technique Sims has created an ultimately back-to-basics music video for the Stone Temple Pilots. We'll look at these techniques and transitions in more detail below to examine what aspects of this video work and which ones don't.

Let's start by examining the videos colouring. Sims use of the two complementary colours orange and blue are evident throughout the video. Adding two complementary overtones creates that ying-yang balance that further accentuates time and place, yet cohesively threads the video together.

I recently produced and directed a music video that utilised orange overtones to create a retrospective look for one portion of the video. The addition of that colouring re-established the time and place.

Often colouring is an area that gets overlooked when it comes to music videos. But, if you can allocate a little extra time for colouring your video, which we all know is not always available, it can only add to your video. I highly recommend taking time to professionally colour your video.

One aspect that I don't really think worked in this video is the lighting used when they are at the pub. It's a bit cheesy, a bit low-budget disco feel, which I don't really think lends itself to the overall look of the video. The first time I watched this video the pub scene was the only part that stood out of place to me. I'm not sure if this scene was a last minute addition, so the lighting wasn't predetermined, but I think it's just a bit cheap looking.

I may be over stating my point here, but the execution of the lighting at the pub scene is poor, I don't really think there is any reason to sugar coat it. Keep in mind lighting at all times, at all locations. It can effect a videos outcome and is something that does need to be justified and thought out before executing regardless of how last-minute, on-the-go the production may be.

In saying all this Sims use of the continual motion transitions with the POV camera work and quick cuts is really intriguing. I found that the transitions worked so perfectly with the song itself; it keeps the audience moving, the pace of the continual motion, always pushing forward was well done.

I actually found myself getting drawn into the video through the clever POV shots and the interaction with the female and the POV. It made the video interactive in a sense. Movement, always moving forward, always pushing. By the end of the video I felt almost out of breathe and I find that in and of itself incredible intriguing. It's clever. I've just watched the video again to get in the head space and once again I am not disappointed by what I feel at the end. I love the pace of the video, the quickness of the edit, the handheld and POV work, the subtle fisheye lens, the interactions....it really does work on so many levels and so effectively.

Now the song itself is so left field from what the world knows as Stone Temple Pilots, but I think it's still got an edge to it which is reflected in the video. It is that edge that makes 'Between The Lines' a bit less poppy and more like the alternative edginess that is the Stone Temple Pilots.

Hit & Miss

Rihanna (feat. Justin Timberlake) - 'Rehab' (2008)

directed by Anthony Mandler

Some videos, though directed by highly talented and well-seasoned individuals, can still miss the mark. I recently came across a music video called ‘Rehab’ by Rihanna and Justin Timberlake. Although I am not a fan of either Rihanna or Justin Timberlake, I have seen director Anthony Mandler’s work before on other music videos for people like John Mayer, The Killers and Maroon 5 and I’ve always appreciated his use of lens flare and lighting effects to create feeling in a clip. However, I was very disappointed with his use of lighting in the ‘Rehab’ music video and thought it would be good to explore why this particular clip does not work.

For starters a lens flare, for those of you who don’t know is: ‘the scattering of light through a lens system through image formations, such as internal reflection’ – Wikipedia, 2010.

If you look at these photos you can note a few things, firstly the different colours of lens flares, the anamorphic streaks (horizontal streaks of light), the use of the basic glow and the contrast of light and dark (or day/night shots). Now the use of one or more of these, if combined the right way can convey or further push an emotion. However, if they are overused as evident in this video, they end up creating a sense of confusion and boredom. Like anything, too much of a good thing is not too good after all.

Let’s break this down further, the use of the anamorphic streaks are a favourite effect of Mandler’s and are present in many of the music videos he directs. There are other music videos where he has used lighting and lens flare techniques sparingly and it is greatly effective, such as on The Killers video, ‘A Dustland Fairytale’ (see below).

He manages to enhance the night scenes and create a good flow of the video with re-use of the streak when the band is performing. The light and dark portions of the video are balanced out, without the over use of lens flare and lighting effects.

The ‘Rehab’ video on the other hand is completely dowsed in lens flares, coloured lighting and streaking effects to the point that it overpowers any story or emotion the clip is trying to convey. I’ve watched this video a few times, once with the audio and a few times without and each time I tried to understand what emotion and purpose Mandler was trying to portray using the green coloured flares. The best I could come up with was something to do with alien abductions which I am sure, is far from his intentions. The green flares I think really bother me more than any of the other shortfalls of this video, it is too distracting and does nothing to enhance the song, does nothing to convey an emotion and is just too much that it becomes pointless.

Other areas that I think could have used a bit more thought are in the black and white, and day and night scenes. Once again this is an area where Mandler has proven time and time again that he can master, however this video lacks any melding or uniformity as a video. Though the cuts are quick and could work, the overall composition of the shots and over use of the lens flare leave everything to be desired.

There are plenty videos where a director chooses to go from day to night and full colour to black and white and there may be no special transition or gaudy effect. But, there is a thread in the video that makes it work as a whole from start to finish, even if it is not a storytelling video; so whether that means the composition of frames, the movement of the shots, a prop, or even a lighting effect. Something has to make the clip cohesive, even if being in-cohesive is the thread that makes it work, it has to be achieved on some level.

John Mayer’s video ‘Who Says,’ also directed by Mandler uses the day and night and black and white flawlessly. Though it is a storytelling video and the cuts are strong, the video works on a whole and it is Mandler’s expertise in both composition and use of lighting that attributes to the success of that video.

In summary, some things to keep in mind when making a video: lighting effects and lens flares can add just as much as they can subtract, so it is important to use them sparingly. Videos do not have to have a story or a point, but they do have to have a thread that makes them work as a whole. Audiences do want to see progressive videos that push the boundaries, but over using something you know that has been proven to work simply to be progressive or because you can, is not the way to the set a benchmark. Below is the music video 'Rehab' for you to judge for yourself.