http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJWJE0x7T4Q
Peter Gabriel Sledgehammer
This video was made in 1987 and it won several awards it won nine MTV awards and a Brit award and in 2011 it was made the most played music video in the history of MTV.
This video is one that seems to have steamed from quite a simple idea but it is so cleverly made and unusually for a music video it had special effects like the use of CGI. Similarly to Franz Ferdinand there is this opening with an eye and showing how it dilates and then how it goes small again. It is also slightly similar to the Relient K video with the use of stop motion or stop gap film.
0:03 The video opens with a black screen and the word Sledgehammer written on the background.
0:11 There is a fade to black as the music begins
0:13 There are random dots of light on a black background
0:16 Here there is an increase in the number of the dots but also there is movement and the camera kind of pans across all the lights that are used.
0:18 There is a larger shape made out of the lights
0:19 Here one single light takes up the whole of the screen
0:22 To add to the random pattern of events that the audience has seen there seems to be an animation of something which resembles sperm and it moves about the screen
0:27 Then there is light like lava that is moving around the screen
0:32 Here there are several pictures shown in a kind of spitfire sequence
0:35 There is a focus on the liquid that is moving around and it looks like lava that is moving around through rocks or something
0:39 A close up of an eye appears and it is closed then it opens and there is a sequence of the pupil being small then big then small again
0:41 The camera moves to show a finger that is tapping on a forehead near the hairline all these movements are in line with the bass line or the rhythm of the song.
0:43 The camera moves to focus on the mouth which moves from a smile to a frown
0:44 The earlobe is then shown in close up and it moves up and down
0:47 There is focus on the eye again and it is shown opening and closing
0:49 Here the whole face is moving but the audience is not shown the singers mouth
0:51 The camera then reveals the mouth and it moves to show the teeth and then covers up the teeth
0:53 Here the mouth opens and the singing starts so there is a heavy performance element because the mouth is always moving and showing the words are created
0:54 There is a zoom out which again shows the whole face which is continually moving
1:01 Here there is a black background and a train track encircles the face which is kind of like the moon in George Melies A journey to the moon film
1:03 The lyrics are "steam train" and a train appears on the tracks so it is kind of literal and physical representation of the song
1:05 The tracks and the train move higher up the face as if going up different stages
1:12 Here the train tracks move out of the shot
1:13 The lyrics now say "airplane" and a paper airplane encircles the face
1:17 As the plane moves out of the shot it drags across a blue background and the face is painted blue then a sequence of clouds move across the background and the face
1:21 There is a new background and the singer is speaking through a cone
1:22 The cone gets bigger and there are moving coloured stripes in the barrel of the cone
1:26 The singer then moves the cone to his ear
1:30 The background changes again and the singer is strapped down
1:31 The background is of a chalk board and the chalk shows different roller coasters which changing the singers hair style makes it seem as if the singer is on one of the roller coasters.
1:41 Another background change which is a background of popcorn again in line with the rhythm of the song but also in line with the lyrics
1:43 At this point two bumper cars appear on either side of the singers head which is again in line with what the singer said
1:45 The two cars bump into the singers neck then the singer has candy floss for hair and the cars and he swing their heads in a synchronised manner.
1:51 The head ends up at the opposite end of the frame as it hangs upside down
1:57 There is a change in the suite that the singer is wearing and the neck falls down to the bottom of the screen
1:59 Flames appear in the background and a white statue like head appears on top of the neck
2:05 A sledgehammer appears and smashes the statue head to reveal the singers head underneath the statue
2:08 There is an ivy leaf background
2:10 Another quick edit shows a bunch of different backgrounds
2:14 Randomly a fish appears at the right side of the singers head
2:15 The fish goes into the singers ear and comes out of the other side like a splash of water and then a bunch of other fish appear on the screen
2:22 There is a blue background and a banana goes into the singers right ear
2:25 The singers hands are shown and there are two cauliflowers and then there is also another green background which kind of shows foliage
2:28 There is a bunch of fruit which encircles the singers head
2:31 The fruit which is moving takes over the whole of the screen and makes the shape of a face then a cherry goes into the originals singers mouth
2:52 The screen is then taken over with moving wooden planks which move around to fit into place a flap opens and shows the singers mouth and the tools move over the wooden plank
3:04 The singer is shown again but he is made of clay
3:09 Here there is an animated clay sequence which is kind of like Wallace and Gromit it has the same kind of quality
3:22 An egg is shown moving from side to side on a stage and there are a couple of sledgehammers that appear.
3:26 A raw chicken appears out of the egg and begins to dance around the stage
3:33 The chicken spins and then 2 chickens appear
3:41 The chicken jumps in the air and the singer appears jumping in a similar way to the chicken
3:45 There are six women who appear on the screen and the singer stands in the middle of the women and they create a kind of V shape
3:47 There is a quick transition sequence and the mans shirts change
3:55 A dance sequence beings
4:10 A television appears in the room where the dancing is taking place
4:15 All the dancers sit in chairs
4:23 A crowd appears and they are all jumping around but this is intercut with a wooden figure which is a piece of furniture dancing
4:29 There is a close up on the mans face
4:34 The singer is dancing around in the middle of a load of dancing furniture
4:42 The man falls asleep in a chair
4:46 There is a black background with lights and a figure who is dressed like the surroundings that moves around
This is a really good video because it is well thought out and well made and this is the kind of video that I am hoping to make.
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