Imitation of Life - R.E.M. Deconstructed, reconstructed and stabilised
September 8, 2015 2:07 AM Subscribe
The music video for Imitation of Life by R.E.M. is a 20-odd second locked off shot, which they repeat forwards and backwards for the duration of the song. I wanted to see if they showed the whole wide 20 second shot throughout the music video. They don't. So I filled the gaps as best I could. I also then scaled and moved the whole video in order to watch how the video plays out. [The original video.]
Actually I've found another much better attempt to do the stitching here with the final result here.
posted by grahamparks at 2:55 AM on September 8, 2015 [8 favorites]
posted by grahamparks at 2:55 AM on September 8, 2015 [8 favorites]
Instant ear-worm, as soon as I read the title. Pity about the rest of the album.
posted by Foaf at 2:58 AM on September 8, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Foaf at 2:58 AM on September 8, 2015 [1 favorite]
Now I wish I'd found grahamparks's videos before making the post - that's much clearer, thanks!
posted by smcg at 3:04 AM on September 8, 2015
posted by smcg at 3:04 AM on September 8, 2015
These plated beans
They tasted sweet
posted by chavenet at 3:14 AM on September 8, 2015 [5 favorites]
They tasted sweet
posted by chavenet at 3:14 AM on September 8, 2015 [5 favorites]
What's the name of the short film that inspired this video?
posted by pxe2000 at 3:45 AM on September 8, 2015
posted by pxe2000 at 3:45 AM on September 8, 2015
Zbigniew Rybczynski's Tango. There's a rather overburdened but still interesting analysis of the REM video here.
posted by Devonian at 4:03 AM on September 8, 2015 [11 favorites]
posted by Devonian at 4:03 AM on September 8, 2015 [11 favorites]
At work but will definitely check this out when I get home.
posted by Fizz at 4:21 AM on September 8, 2015
posted by Fizz at 4:21 AM on September 8, 2015
I couldn't imagine how Tango had been made in 1980, so I looked it up.
"... I had to draw and paint about 16.000 cell-mattes, and make several hundred thousand exposures on an optical printer. It took a full seven months, sixteen hours per day, to make the piece..."
Worth it. I'm still trying to process what watching it just now has done to me...
posted by Devonian at 4:22 AM on September 8, 2015 [6 favorites]
"... I had to draw and paint about 16.000 cell-mattes, and make several hundred thousand exposures on an optical printer. It took a full seven months, sixteen hours per day, to make the piece..."
Worth it. I'm still trying to process what watching it just now has done to me...
posted by Devonian at 4:22 AM on September 8, 2015 [6 favorites]
Who's face is reflected in the mirror on the table? None of the actors seem to line up with it...
posted by poxandplague at 4:53 AM on September 8, 2015
posted by poxandplague at 4:53 AM on September 8, 2015
Zbigniew Rybczynski's Tango.
See also Green Day's video for Redundant, which I only just realised was referencing that.
posted by eykal at 5:24 AM on September 8, 2015 [1 favorite]
See also Green Day's video for Redundant, which I only just realised was referencing that.
posted by eykal at 5:24 AM on September 8, 2015 [1 favorite]
Zbigniew Rybczynski's Tango . There's a rather overburdened but still interesting analysis of the REM video here.
Your first link made me think, oh so maybe this is where Cyriak got his shit from. He does the same thing, except technology allows him to do it much faster and bigger.
The second link made me think, why is this writer such an asshole? Then, oh, it's Armond White, no wonder.
The original video isn't an actual 20 second shot. It's a digital collage, with lots of cheats involved. There's no way anyone could actually shoot a master shot and have everything line up perfectly with the song like that. But the illusion that they did is the magic trick.
posted by fungible at 5:49 AM on September 8, 2015 [1 favorite]
Your first link made me think, oh so maybe this is where Cyriak got his shit from. He does the same thing, except technology allows him to do it much faster and bigger.
The second link made me think, why is this writer such an asshole? Then, oh, it's Armond White, no wonder.
The original video isn't an actual 20 second shot. It's a digital collage, with lots of cheats involved. There's no way anyone could actually shoot a master shot and have everything line up perfectly with the song like that. But the illusion that they did is the magic trick.
posted by fungible at 5:49 AM on September 8, 2015 [1 favorite]
FWIW, if a Wikipedia mention of an MTV interview is to accepted, Stipe claims it was, indeed, a single 20-second shot.
posted by rokusan at 6:02 AM on September 8, 2015
posted by rokusan at 6:02 AM on September 8, 2015
That's maybe the closest I've ever come to agreeing with Armond White, and it still isn't that close.
Here are the principle dramas I found:
The main table with the gossip. This includes: the gossip herself, the couple on the camera's right (he makes a move on her - she is surprised), the disaffected young woman who throws the wine, the woman in green who seems to be making enthusiastic conversation with the gossip.
It's possible that they're talking about the impossibly drunk man who stumbles into them, being guided by a young lady.
There's the guy who goes to get a burger, and his suit lights on fire, which alarms the chef. The man on fire jumps into the pool to put out his suit, knocking over a nerdy looking fellow eating corn on the cob.
There's the Don Draper coiffed dad and his two cronies, who are insisting that their son man up and jump into the pool. The sister also seems to be pushing him along (and dancing at the same time), and his mother watches from the far rock. Eventually he jumps. One of his father's cronies falls into the pool fully clothed, his father throws a beer for some reason, and his mother sings sadly until he paddles over to her.
There's the band, with the dance party. Two women eat ice cream and bob their heads in time to the music. Other people (a man in sunglasses, a few moddishly dressed younger folks) dance along too. There appears to be a woman singer, but no band... maybe it's karaoke? Stipe's head singing on a video monitor attached to the tree, and the marquee with the song's lyrics support that idea. A teenaged boy dances with a woman many years his senior, and falls on his butt in the process.
An older couple ascends to the dance party with some food, a middle aged man descends, the two men shake hands in recognition in the middle. The older man continues on to the dance party, and is enthusiastically embraced by a younger woman at the top.
Someone is on the upper level, playing ukulele with what appears to be a chimp.
In the uppermost portion, a couple has a brief kiss. The man goes one way, and the woman goes the other. Falling passionately into the arms of the gardener. Confetti. The man appears distracted by the surplus of inflatable balls that are at the top of the screen and have either been released, or perhaps wandered away, falling down to the rest of the party. Another man chases after them.
The whole thing is apparently in service to a young girl's birthday. She doesn't seem pleased with her whale cake.
posted by codacorolla at 6:11 AM on September 8, 2015 [6 favorites]
Here are the principle dramas I found:
The main table with the gossip. This includes: the gossip herself, the couple on the camera's right (he makes a move on her - she is surprised), the disaffected young woman who throws the wine, the woman in green who seems to be making enthusiastic conversation with the gossip.
It's possible that they're talking about the impossibly drunk man who stumbles into them, being guided by a young lady.
There's the guy who goes to get a burger, and his suit lights on fire, which alarms the chef. The man on fire jumps into the pool to put out his suit, knocking over a nerdy looking fellow eating corn on the cob.
There's the Don Draper coiffed dad and his two cronies, who are insisting that their son man up and jump into the pool. The sister also seems to be pushing him along (and dancing at the same time), and his mother watches from the far rock. Eventually he jumps. One of his father's cronies falls into the pool fully clothed, his father throws a beer for some reason, and his mother sings sadly until he paddles over to her.
There's the band, with the dance party. Two women eat ice cream and bob their heads in time to the music. Other people (a man in sunglasses, a few moddishly dressed younger folks) dance along too. There appears to be a woman singer, but no band... maybe it's karaoke? Stipe's head singing on a video monitor attached to the tree, and the marquee with the song's lyrics support that idea. A teenaged boy dances with a woman many years his senior, and falls on his butt in the process.
An older couple ascends to the dance party with some food, a middle aged man descends, the two men shake hands in recognition in the middle. The older man continues on to the dance party, and is enthusiastically embraced by a younger woman at the top.
Someone is on the upper level, playing ukulele with what appears to be a chimp.
In the uppermost portion, a couple has a brief kiss. The man goes one way, and the woman goes the other. Falling passionately into the arms of the gardener. Confetti. The man appears distracted by the surplus of inflatable balls that are at the top of the screen and have either been released, or perhaps wandered away, falling down to the rest of the party. Another man chases after them.
The whole thing is apparently in service to a young girl's birthday. She doesn't seem pleased with her whale cake.
posted by codacorolla at 6:11 AM on September 8, 2015 [6 favorites]
This video made a huge impression on me back in the day. ("Imitation of Life" and "I'll Take the Rain" became my Cry Jams of 2001-02.) This is the first time I've seen it since then, and it's weird how my memory had built it up to be even bigger than it is. In my mind it was busier, flatter, zoomed out further, with a stylized and sickly color palette. Like a live-action Hieronymus Bosch painting.
It's really neat to see it stitched together like this.
posted by Metroid Baby at 6:12 AM on September 8, 2015 [3 favorites]
It's really neat to see it stitched together like this.
posted by Metroid Baby at 6:12 AM on September 8, 2015 [3 favorites]
Referencing is such a kind word in this context. As is asshole. But, the information's the thing.
Rybczynski's own music videos, of which he made a lot in rather a hurry in the 80s, are all a bit charmless and lazy. A man's gotta eat. Stuff like Close To The Edit, which at least has a central joke, looks rather more fun to make than to watch.
posted by Devonian at 6:20 AM on September 8, 2015 [1 favorite]
Rybczynski's own music videos, of which he made a lot in rather a hurry in the 80s, are all a bit charmless and lazy. A man's gotta eat. Stuff like Close To The Edit, which at least has a central joke, looks rather more fun to make than to watch.
posted by Devonian at 6:20 AM on September 8, 2015 [1 favorite]
Tango was also "referenced" in this early 90s advert for washing machines in the UK. Which also uses the strangely lovely title screen music from the gameboy version of a Robocop game for some reason (original C64 version here).
posted by dng at 6:51 AM on September 8, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by dng at 6:51 AM on September 8, 2015 [3 favorites]
One thing I've just noticed from looking at the composited version is that they simply play the sequence *in full* forwards and then backwards over and over again throughout the video. I always thought the editing was more complex.
Here's a YoutubeDoubler so you can watch the composited version with sound.
There's no way anyone could actually shoot a master shot and have everything line up perfectly
Which bits line up perfectly? All of the lip syncing is either short or terrible or both.
posted by grahamparks at 8:49 AM on September 8, 2015 [1 favorite]
Here's a YoutubeDoubler so you can watch the composited version with sound.
There's no way anyone could actually shoot a master shot and have everything line up perfectly
Which bits line up perfectly? All of the lip syncing is either short or terrible or both.
posted by grahamparks at 8:49 AM on September 8, 2015 [1 favorite]
I think that Ariston advert is the best so far. It even has the falling man yelp, which is a really nice nod to Tango.
posted by Devonian at 9:04 AM on September 8, 2015
posted by Devonian at 9:04 AM on September 8, 2015
Kind of a shame the rest of the band died in that house fire after Berry left and never produced any more albums ever.
posted by klangklangston at 10:49 AM on September 8, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by klangklangston at 10:49 AM on September 8, 2015 [1 favorite]
Kind of a shame the rest of the band died in that house fire after Berry left and never produced any more albums ever.
C'mon, if you're going to go there just go full throttle and declare that everything after _Reckoning_ is unlistenable.
posted by aught at 11:40 AM on September 8, 2015 [1 favorite]
C'mon, if you're going to go there just go full throttle and declare that everything after _Reckoning_ is unlistenable.
posted by aught at 11:40 AM on September 8, 2015 [1 favorite]
Nah, LRP through Automatic were all either killer or above average albums, and they had the same slow mellowing decline that most rock bands do, culminating with the still solid but below REM standards NAiHF, but after the fire we're all left wondering what might have been had they recorded any albums after that.
posted by klangklangston at 12:14 PM on September 8, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by klangklangston at 12:14 PM on September 8, 2015 [4 favorites]
Please, everyone scroll back up to read codacorolla's excellent comment above, and tell me that he hasn't just provided a scene-for-scene description of David Lynch's next film.
Because I can't stop reading it that way.
posted by rokusan at 12:44 PM on September 8, 2015
Because I can't stop reading it that way.
posted by rokusan at 12:44 PM on September 8, 2015
There's no way anyone could actually shoot a master shot and have everything line up perfectly with the song like that.I don't get it. The way the video scrubs backward and forward through the shot, it seems pretty easy for the editor to make any part of the video line up with any part of the song they want.
posted by mbrubeck at 2:25 PM on September 8, 2015
Tiny bit of trivia: The chords for that song were inadvertently taken from the verse chords of Driver 8.
posted by 4ster at 7:21 PM on September 8, 2015
posted by 4ster at 7:21 PM on September 8, 2015
Stipe claims it was, indeed, a single 20-second shot.
Am I crazy? Maybe it's just bad compression but this looks super AfterEffects-y to me, particularly in front of the pool.
posted by modernserf at 7:52 PM on September 8, 2015
Am I crazy? Maybe it's just bad compression but this looks super AfterEffects-y to me, particularly in front of the pool.
posted by modernserf at 7:52 PM on September 8, 2015
This was the first REM video that really caught my attention, back when it was released, and I really enjoyed the song, too. I bought Reveal on the strength of those good vibes, and have enjoyed it very much. A lovely, sparkly, well-produced album with many pretty, slightly melancholic songs.
posted by paleyellowwithorange at 8:04 PM on September 9, 2015
posted by paleyellowwithorange at 8:04 PM on September 9, 2015
« Older Clegged out | We don't need pink canes and jewelled pill boxes Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
posted by grahamparks at 2:51 AM on September 8, 2015