AT&T Whisks us Into a World of Imagination

How can you not look up when this sweet lullaby from Gene WIlder and our childhoods breaks through TV noise? The first time it aired i was glued to the TV, smile on my face, ecstatic that someone was using the charming soundtrack from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and intrigued by the childish drawings that sprung to life, waiting attentively for the punch line - the brand.

AT&T. I was shocked and a bit disappointed at first it didnt seem to fit but i guess that was their intention, to begin to change the perception of the brand. I'm excited to see what comes next.

The new spot is part of the "Re-think Possible" campaign via BBDO, directed by Peter Thwaites.

For those who are feeling the impulse to watch the Willy Wonka scene, here it is!

Jamie Cullum Cry Me a River from the House of Blues

I had the pleasure of seeing Jamie Cullum perform at the House of Blues here in Boston over the weekend. One of the highlights, for me, was his amazing remix of Cry Me a River combining the original song from Ella Fitzgerald and the Justin Timberlake hit with the same name. Being a masshole i have to admit the Aerosmith cover off of Rock and a Hard Place is one of my favorite renditions of the heartbreaking Fitzgerald classic but this one is in tough competition, split into two videos below.



...and in true Two If By See style i have to share the originals for the full effect:

Jeff Scher Animates The Little Drummer Boy for Bob Dylan

Every now and then i see some work that blows me away and when researching the artist more i can't help but ask - have i been living under a rock?

I saw this new video for Bob Dylan's rendition of Christmas classic The Little Drummer Boy on Motionographer and was totally wowed by the dreamy surrealist take on animation, a painters perspective on animation, with all of the beautiful imperfections and personal translations built right in. I have this watercolor of Paris in the rain bought off the street while studying abroad with the people represented by impressionist streaks of oranges, purples and reds that immediately comes to mind.



i had to see more from animator Jeff Scher and felt like an excited child as i watched all of the work i could find by the artist.

No Time


Tulips


L'eau Life


Milk of Amnesia


there is plenty more about Jeff out there go check out his website for more info about his paintings and animation.

Smallbean Benefit Concert - NYC

I've talked before about new Nonprofit Organization Smallbean who takes slightly out of date electronics to Africa to teach the locals and document for the world. For all you New Yorkers putting your out of date iPods to good use will be super easy this weekend, and you get live entertainment to boot!

Rock n' Roll Wouldn't Be the Same Without Whisky

Nice use of some bad ass logos, don't you think?

DJ Hero, Daft Punk, Z-Trip, Jay- Z and Eminem

Awesome! I think this game is genius, DJ Hero going on the Christmas list under the Beatles Rock Band (and I'm so not a gamer.)

Susie and Jessie Create Bad Shoes

My dear friend Susie is getting married in Vegas this weekend, and to celebrate i want to share one of her music videos that i think absolutely belongs in the - wow i have such talented friends categories.

The video is for "Bad Shoes" by Dagger Lees, created by Directing/Editing/Writing Duo Susie and Jessie (Susie Morrell, Jessie Ward). Check it out and see below for a little background info from Sue on the concept and the creative process.

The Dagger Lees - Bad Shoes from jessie ward on Vimeo.

What came first the medium or the concept? Did you have the camera and want to experiment or did the inspiration for the look of the film come directly from the song/artist?

The whole thing was inspired by a dress! Donna, the lead singer, found this amazing vintage Victorian nightgown and from that they were inspired to make a video for their upcoming single that evoked a similar menacing, old time air. Well, I guess a nightgown isn't menacing but it's still a little decrepit and creepy! We like the idea of making videos that look vintage themselves and we all decided to make the film look like it was shot entirely on super8 (we both have our super8s and love them, but budget constraints - and practicality - make producing music vids on super8 basically impossible for us).

I love the use of the iconic villain from the silent era. Can you tell me a little about the story line and where it came from?

Once we had the visual motif in mind, we decided to cast each band member as a unique character. Donna was the little girl lost in a nightmare set in the forest. Grum (guitarist) was the pied piper villain. Benni (bass) was the living doll gone mad, breaking her dolls (possibly a little girl lost herself who never made it out of the woods). And Justin (drums) is the odd man in the background who digs graves and plays with clocks.

We came from the visual first - the characters, their individual locations in the woods, the props they held and their costumes, and from that formed the loose plot of a our girl waking up in the woods, disoriented and without her way, befriending a little boy who, unbeknownst to her, is actually in cahoots with the Bad Man in the Top Hat. [Oh, another tidbit, the little boy is Donna's real life son, Steven.]

The use of color or lack of it is obviously very deliberate - anything you want to say about that decision? (aside from the fact the red lips pop amazingly among the desaturated film!)

Thanks! Yes, originally, it was to be all black and white. Then we tried sepia. Then as we were playing with the footage, we watched Donna's singing parts in oversaturated color and thought she looked amazing and that it would be a shame to lose all that color. So a happy accident really! Some parts (like her being tied to the tree) were filmed during a wintry sunset and the sunlight was unbelievable. We decided a happy medium of the cold, old film look in some scenes and the overblown color in others was a little risk we wanted to take. Call it indecision, we think it adds another layer visually. It also adds a little more dreamlike, home movie meets nightmare quality to it. At least we like to think so.

What's in the box!?

A lamb's heart. They were out of pig that day. It was my job to go buy it. The things I do for our projects!

Compared to the other videos the two of you have created this one stands out in tone I think. Do you aim to be diverse or is your style more circumstantial? Is this a look you'd like to explore further?

The variation in tone from project to project is both circumstantial - the artists we've worked with so far and perhaps most importantly their non-existent budgets - as well as our completely all-over-the-place personal preferences. Clearly, we both LOVE silent movies, super8 films, nostalgia, vintage imagery, experimental cinema, abstraction. We are also interested in technology and using that to create interesting art, hence our dabbling in somewhat "techy" looking video effects on the Neosupervital vid, which suited that band's synth-pop style. I think it's a coincidence that the majority of bands we've made videos with so far are into making stuff look old, but it's a coincidence that suits our interests too. (And actually, ever since the Dagger Lee video, everyone seems to say they want a super8 looking video like that one!)

How do you and Jesse work together...does one of you tend to be more involved with the talent while the other with the camera for instance or is it a full on collaboration in all aspects?

Definitely a total collaboration. Jessie would have been more into the technical side of film school at NYU (she intended initially to become a cinematographer) while I was more interested in writing. Seems we've both ended up in the directing arena, but our two distinct jumping off points in studying film is probably the reason we both like to come up with the ideas, shoot, direct and edit simultaneously. I think we've both mixed nicely as well in that we both collaborate creatively on each project, while both manning the camera (I'm always trying to become more technically adept). It also helps that we're very close friends - I'm sure not many directors are able to share camera and directing duties, then sit in front of an editing suite for days on end without killing each other! We find it fun, if exhausting.

Check out more work from Susie and Jessie here

Now I Wanna Be Your Dog

Love this "subversive take on the casting process" from Legs and Georgie Greville. The aesthetic is somehow perfect for the song, isn't it?

I Wanna Be Your Dog from LEGS on Vimeo.

Animated Deforestation New Music Video from Clyde Peterson

Set to the tune of "Already Gone" from The Shaky Hands, Clyde Peterson illustrates a story about the destructive consumption of human kind with his unique style of animation. I love his use of Lincoln Logs and other toys, there is something poignant about using childhood references to produce such a strong message. Check it out.

Zooey Deschanel in Cotton

Another lovely commercial job from Ms. Deschanel...this time showing off her vocal skills too.

"The touch, the feel, the fabric of our lives..."

Seu Jorge does Bowie

My friend Sue has got some Bowie up on her blog today, what a good way to start out the morning? Since i'm a little sleepy I'm feeling a little more like Seu Jorge does Bowie myself.

I heart They Might Be Giants

I love They Might Be Giants - it's the melodic geek in me. It started as a child when i was drawn to them because of the pure silliness - I returned a Bag of Groceries, Particle Man, Istanbul was Constantanople. Over the years they have written a number of my favorite tunes - Twisting, First Kiss, End of the Tour - and they have amazing videos to accompany many of them - which I surprisingly haven't really explored before. Here is a little film done to the tune of Dr. Worm for Nickelodeon's Ka-Blam.




expect much more in the near future!

Puff the Magic Dragon

So sad, another iconic loss this week, Mary Travers has passed away.

Novocain for the Soul

I couldn't help it, I just came back from the dentist. A classic from the Eels, actually, probably the song that put them on the map. The Music Video was directed by Mark Romanek.

Revolution 9

Number 9, number 9, number 9....

It's a strange day isn't it? We already know the Beatles Rock Band launch is taking advantage of the bands connection with the number, Tim Burton's new movie "9" also opens today. I found a great version of Revolution 9 backwards, with a translation on YouTube (for those of you who aren't near your record collection!) Check out the videos below for the song forwards - and backwards.

Making up a song about Coraline

Yep - finally, finally saw Coraline this weekend. So cute. I can't get enough of that clay stop motion animation look. Loved it. As many of you probably know, They Might be Giants originally was to create up to 10 songs for the film but it took a darker turn in production and the only one that made the final cut is the Other Fathers Song, sung by TMBG's John Hodgman who also played the role of Coraline's fathers in the film.

R.E.M. and MoveOn.org We Can't Afford to Wait

R.E.M. loaned their 1988 tune You Are the Everything to MoveOn.org to help members tell their personal reasons why they can't wait for Health Insurance Reform.

Digging for Vinyl

These ads for Merchant Records popped up on Ads of the World today - I like the idea, though i might have executed it differently, done it animated, or as a kid in a sandbox or something - regardless I like vinyl in advertising - makes me smile.

Also, i have records on the brain as I met my wedding DJ last night - who knew it'd make me so excited?!

ps. i know i said these and only posted one ad, they are all the same basically the same with different shoes, the shortcomings of the campaign.

John Lennon Resurrected, The Beatles Come Together for Rock Band

Check out the official commercial for Beatles Rock Band, I think they did a pretty good job of putting the band back together, creating a time and a place - and getting the viewer in the middle of it.

Though, the initial sneak peek from E3 still gets me a little more excited - and I've never even played a Rock Band of any kind! I wonder what the fanatics must be going through...

Machine Head Sound Quilt

A week or so ago a friend and former client, Stephen Dewey composer and owner of Machine Head put a post on Facebook asking his friends and colleagues for their favorite sounds. What did he do with them? See for yourself!



Amazing, right? I love it and was happy to hear that the success of this experiment has been so positive there is already a second in the works. What's you favorite sound?