Thursday 30 Apr 2009 - 11:16
The video for Tiga's newest single, Shoes, is a deliciously sleazy pastiche of the casual chauvinism of male-female TV presenter pairings in the 1970s directed by duo Alexandliane via Factory Films.
The song itself is a squelchy electropop standoff between a sleazy, controlling male voice and a resistant female voice, which is then dramatized in the video. The overall look and feel of the piece is magnificently trashy and weird. We caught up with Alexandliane to quiz them about the promo.
DA: What was the brief for the project?
A&L: There was no brief, but in a way the song was a brief in itself – a bizarre dialogue between two characters, which ended up in an acid rave haze. We saw the video in two separate parts. The fact that Tiga didn't need to be in the video and it wasn't primarily for TV, opened it all up.
DA: What were your initial concepts? Who/what inspired the aesthetic of the spot?
A&L: The budget limited the format and the song hinted at an interview or conversation. We wanted to give the ridiculous lyrical content weight by making it seem like a piece of rediscovered art history. Something which at first glance, looked as if it had been hiding in the bowels of Youtube, waiting to be discovered. It was important make it feel as live as possible, so that it didn't feel like an overconstructed music video. Late night public access channels were a big influence. So was Mastermind.
DA: How did you turn this into the final piece?
A&L: We made a test, because we knew it was important that everyone understood how bad it needed to be. Then we assembled a really good team of people and met regularly so we could all get on the same wavelength. We assembled our cast and all the pieces of the puzzle and just threw ourselves at it. It was literally organized chaos.
DA: How did you achieve that dated 1980s TV look?
A&L: Two Ikegami tube cameras (found in a cellar in Berlin) a Panasonic MX50 video mixer and some 1980s props and furniture.It was mistakenly interlaced at the end but that was another happy accident.
DA: What was the biggest challenge you faced, and how did you overcome this?
A&L: We thought that convincing the label to do the idea would be the biggest challenge but the artist was entirely on our side, so actually, it was pretty smooth sailing. We had some concerns about the cameras holding up, but they were very well-behaved.
DA: What software and other equipment did you use to create the piece?
A&L: Just Final-Cut and the MX50.
To watch the video click here
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