High Bias audio-visuals

SONIC CINEMA: VIDEO TO SCREEN
SONIC CINEMA: ANIMATORS
Various directors
(Sundance Channel)
Let's face it: music video as any kind of art form is pretty much a bust. Dominated by mindless, directionless sexual manipulation (most American videos) on the one hand and abstract, hipper-than-thou in-jokes (most British artists) on the other, it's a medium that's devoid of personality, originality and, for the most part, entertainment value. There are exceptions to the tedious morass of fake breasts and Dadaism, though, and that's what the Sundance Channel's Sonic Cinema is all about. The series showcases filmmakers and musicians who try to find the perfect point where film and music mix, whether it's in a promotional music video or a short film. Whether or not these pieces find that point is debatable, but for the most part they represent the most interesting work being done in the music video field.

"Video to Screen" highlights the work of directors who have made or are in the process of making the transition from video to feature films. Roman Coppola, son of Francis Ford and sister to Sofia, contributes a clip for Air's "Playground Love" which skillfully interweaves clips from The Virgin Suicides with scenes of singing gum. It's not as dissonant as it sounds; it helps that he's working with the best song of the episode. More interesting as a video, though, is his piece for "From Your Mouth," from electronic pop duo God Lives Underwater: a backwards film of a Japanese eating champion doing his thing. Brilliant in its simplicity, it would engage even without the song accompanying it. British director Jamie Thraves is spotlighted with two ho-hum videos for Radiohead and Travis, but also included is his short film Negative, a fascinating black-and-white snapshot of a lover's tryst and the man who needs something from them. Former makeup artist Chris Cunningham, meanwhile, shows off Aphex Twin's "Window Licker," a sublimely creepy satire of rap videos. The most technically and artistically rewarding video, however, is French filmmaker Michel Gondry's piece for Cibo Matto's "Sugar Water." Known for his innovative work with Bjork and the Chemical Brothers ("Let Forever Be"), he reveals in a pre-clip interview that he took inspiration from the symmetrical structure of the song and imagined a visual palindrome, which had to be carefully choreographed and filmed in real time in order to work. It's a compelling piece of work for a cool song and the highlight of the episode.

"Animators" obviously spotlights the work of several filmmakers in the field. The big news here is the inclusion of two songs from Gorillaz, the animated band created by cartoonist/filmmaker Jamie Hewlett (Tank Girl) and Blur singer Damon Alburn. Using a mixture of hand-drawn cels and computer animation, Hewlett displays an undeniably entertaining world for a band that revels in its cartoon existence. "19-2000" and the hit "Clint Eastwood" (which features a spectacular guest performance from Del tha Funkee Homosapien and a sly nod to Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video) are catchy songs in their own rights; seeing them brought to life by Hewlett will make you yearn for a series for this postmodern Archies. Cutout animator Tim Hope contributes a pair of works, one a fairly uninteresting clip for Beta Band spinoff King Biscuit Time's "I Walk the Earth," the other a bizarre but technically stunning short film about the beast in all of us called The Wolfman. Toei Animation Studios, the creators of popular anime characters Sailor Moon and Captain Harlock, add pizzazz to Daft Punk's prosaic Eurodisco with two narrative videos that will bring anime fans to instant orgasms, while British web designer collective Unit 9 uses Flash animation for a strange clip for Clinic's "Second Line." Underground hip-hopper Quasimoto gets a deeply unsettling video for his fractured "Come On Feet" courtesy of Tomas Apodaca's puppets. The highlights of this episode, besides the Gorillaz clips, are two short films for which the animators contributed their own music. Demented cartoonist Bill Plympton reminds us that we "Can't Drag Race With Jesus," with a hot-roddin', guitar soloin' savior and a snappy C&W gospel tune, while computer animator Mark Brierly graces the show with a subtlely hilarious spoof of British discos, "Hotspot." Watching this episode makes you wish video directors would always favor animation over live actors.

By the time you read this, these episodes will have already aired. However, the Sundance Channel will hopefully rerun them; otherwise, start bugging any friends who are compulsive tapers. Sonic Cinema is worth seeing again and again. Michael Toland

Copyright © 2001 High Bias