Redcap Productions

Here I will list my top ten music videos of all time (in no particular order) – hopefully it will provide some insight into what kind of work I hope to achieve over the course of the next year or so.  I have probably forgot about some great ones.  Feel free to add your own recommendations.

One: Beastie Boy’s – Sabotage

I would have to say this is my favourite music video of all time – it tells a story, the video perfectly compliments the music and it is very memorable.  Everything a good video should be.  Directed by the genius that is Spike Jonze.

Two: Blur – Coffee & TV

The story of a milk carton attempting to find the missing Graham Coxon – a very simple (and bizarre) story told in arresting fashion.

Three: Weezer – Island in the Sun

Another Spike Jonze piece (a pattern is emerging here).  Nothing complicated about this video – cute animals / sunshine perfectly complimenting the music / lyrics.

Four: The White Stripes – My Doorbell

Perfectly reflects the aesthetic of the band – evokes images of the vaudeville days.

Five: Daft Punk – Da Funk

ANOTHER Spike Jonze video.  A dog / man named Charles walking the streets of New York with his ghetto blaster at hand.  My favourite part of this video has to be the fact that no-one passes any comment on the fact that he is half human half dog!

Six: Millionaire – I’m On a High

The camera work on this one is great – perfectly compliments the energy of the song.

Seven: Supergrass – Going Out

Being a huge Supergrass fan it was hard to choose one video – this video is nothing complicated but it is brilliantly executed.

Eight: Radiohead – Karma Police

Not easy to pick the best Radiohead video – they are all great – but I picked this one over Paranoid Android.  Like a mini-film.  Beautiful.

Nine: The Avalanches – Frontier Psychiatrist

An almost literal interpretation of the samples used by the band = where else would you see a singing coconut and a turtle with the head of an old man?  The best bit has to be the money / duck dancing (3mins 23 secs in).

Ten: Wax – California

ANOTHER Spike Jonze video – could have easily filled a top ten with his stuff.  Very simple yet technically impressive – one single shot.  Ending with the girl watching from the car raises it to another level.

Bonus Video:

I couldn’t just pick ten could I?

The band were kind enough to send me through some pictures that they took during the session – have a nosy.  One of the tracks (Suns) will be shown on the BBC soon so its online release may be delayed a little.  Have a nosy:

The Polar Beyond live session videos should be up soon so here are a few images to wet your appetite:

Just a quick update on the lack of new material:

Firstly. I have made the decision to only work on music videos that revolve around narrative – there are people out there with more advanced equipment / have a better grasp of the technical side of film making – I do not see the point in competing with them and personally feel that it is more important to produce 100% original work.  After the initial ‘wow’ factor I feel that you soon forget about this type of output – I aim to tell simple stories that leave a lasting impression.

This will come into effect after the release of the Nakatomi Towers music video (which was worked on by students for the BBC) starting with the Colenso Parade promo.

Secondly. the main priority of the next few months will be the Redcap Productions Presents shoots – many great bands are set to take part starting with Polar Beyond.  We shot two tracks with the band but unfortunately the sound engineer’s laptop was stolen with the audio still on it.  This has set us back a few weeks but by the time you read this the second shoot will have wrapped and I hope to have the tracks online within a week.  It will surely be one to look out for!

Thanks for listening.

A consignment of 1000 stickers arrived at Redcap Productions H.Q. this morning.  What we want is you to send us photos of the stickers in unusual places / in foreign countries / on your instruments and so forth and we will put the best ones up here.  Send photos to redcapproductions@gmail.com – the best one will win some CDs by local artists!

Disclaimer: Redcap Productions accept no responsibility for where you place stickers.

First up we have a sticker on Joe from Joker Tattoo’s tattooing kit.  If you find one please do something interesting with it!

Yesterday (Saturday 17th April) we began the first day of shooting for the promo video for Colenso Parade’s ‘Find Your Mother’.  Here are some nice photos courtesy of Johnny McKee.  To check out the rest of the photos click HERE.

With ‘Redcap Productions Presents’ – a new and important addition to the site – we are looking to capture the best (and not necessarily the most well known) bands in the country in sessions that compliment their sound / aesthetic.  I was most pleased to be contacted by a band named Polar Beyond who in all honesty I hadn’t heard of before.  I took a trip to their myspace and had a listen.  I was very impressed by what I heard.

The dynamics of their recorded tracks will hopefully carry over to the live environment and if so session will be one not to miss – keep your eyes peeled!

Head over to their myspace and check them out: http://www.myspace.com/polarbeyond

In May Redcap Productions is set to shoot the music video for Colenso Parade’s new single ‘Find Your Mother’.  The video culminates in a garden party with the band playing to a big crowd – there will be cream cakes, water pistols and plenty of balloons.  If you would like to feature as an extra in this video please go HERE and join the Facebook group.  We look forward to seeing you!

On a cold February afternoon I was invited by my buddies from Yakuza to film a live session they were recording for the Radio One show ‘Introducing with Rory McConnell’.  The band recorded four brand new tracks that aren’t even present on their (as yet unreleased) second album.

The studio is huge and the band are spread far and wide (particularly the bassist!) so it was difficult to maintain coverage but I think the videos turned out great.  We (me and the brilliant Will McConnell) each operated a handheld camera while a clamp fastened a flip camera to capture the vocals (Ronan and Davey sang lead vocals on two tracks each).

On the editing side of things I wanted the visuals to reflect the intimacy and off the cuff nature of the session.  Normally I cut between images in a smooth a manner as possible but instead I wanted to create a jarring effect with mistakes left unchanged.  In post production I desaturated the images to enhance the intimacy of the session; the band were there to work, not shoot a video.

Anyway, you can check out the sessions by clicking the image below:

Yakuza – Live @ the BBC

P.S. – The new Yakuza album is one of the best albums I’ve ever heard coming from these shores.  I’ve had it for nearly a year now and still listen to it daily – pull the finger out and get it released guys!

If you head over to the  Redcap Productions Facebook Group I have uploaded some behind the scenes photos from the Nakatomi Towers shoot – check them out and join the group!