February 25, 2018

Weird Al-evator.

Yesterday, after reading the Washington Post article about Weird Al, I watched his video "Tacky," which — the article explains — was made in a single unedited shot that includes a ride down an elevator:



Here's the Pharrell Williams video it parodies, which is charmingly entertaining but not as inventive photographically. You can watch the 2 videos playing side by side here. There's also a video at the WaPo link with background on the making of "Tacky," where we learn that the room we see in that freeze frame is also in "The Big Lebowski."

Last night, I dreamed I needed to get around in a strange hotel with an unusual, confusing elevator. I said "The hotel had a weird elevator... a weird al-evator."

36 comments:

David Begley said...

Any other dreams Professor Althouse?

How was the elevator weird? Did your elevator go all the way to the top?

Quaestor said...

The extended one-take shot is hard enough (one reason why it's rare) but the strict timing required to sync with vocal music — that's impressive. Worthy of an Oscar nomination, IMAO.

Quaestor said...

Hitchcock was marvelously skilled at these long takes, which is why he used them more often than any other major director. Originally the maximum length of such a shot was around 11 minutes, as dictated by the size of the largest film magazine. (Larger magazines were made, but they were unsatisfactory because they tended to cause film breakage.) Interestingly the longest practical take with most DSLRs in video mode is also about 11 minutes, though due to sensor heating.

Ann Althouse said...

"The extended one-take shot is hard enough (one reason why it's rare) but the strict timing required to sync with vocal music..."

They're hearing the music, so the music kept them organized, didn't it?

One impressive thing is that Weird Al does a costume change between his appearance on the top floor at the beginning and his appearance on the ground floor in the end.

Unknown said...

Ok Go's - "This Too Shall Pass - Rube Goldberg Machine" is the ultimate one-shot music video.

check it out.

Quaestor said...

I believe the generally acknowledged "best one-take shot award" is held by Orson Welles for his opening tracking shot in Touch of Evil, which follows a bomb planted in the trunk of a car from a parking lot in Tijuana to San Diego. Welles used a crane-mounted camera which was in turn mounted on a truck. That one is only 3:30 long. Wierd Al's video rivals it because of the critical timing requirement which did not constrain Welles' opening shot to nearly the same degree.

Quaestor said...

They're hearing the music, so the music kept them organized, didn't it?

It certainly helped them, but it didn't "keep them organized". A detailed storyboard, a lot of rehearsal, and probably several flubbed takes did that.

Meade said...

" Did your elevator go all the way to the top?"

Sometimes her elevator goes over the top.

Oh no, let's go!

Bill, Republic of Texas said...

There a one shot Russian movie that goes on for about 90 minutes. It was filmed (are we still saying that in the digital world) in the Hermitage museum in St Petersburg (the old Winter Palace).

The movie was OK. They tried too hard to be edgy. But it's worth it just to see the palace and the costumes.

Bill, Republic of Texas said...

Ok Go made my favorite music video. They were in a zero g plane. Check that one out too.

Paco Wové said...

Bill: Russian Ark. Loved the dream-like flow.

Wilbur said...

Weird dreams, eh?

I remember a "Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C." episode, where Gomer was having weird dreams caused by repeatedly eating Welsh Rarebit at an off-base restaurant.

Being only 12 or so, it was notable to me because I had never heard of Welsh Rarebit. And because the plot was so preposterous even for a 12 year-old.

Eric the Fruit Bat said...

Ok Go's - "This Too Shall Pass - Rube Goldberg Machine" is the ultimate one-shot music video.

Maybe yes. Maybe no.

Decide for yourself. CLICK HERE for 3'-53" of totally awesome!

You're welcome.

Quaestor said...

The one-take shot is the whole point of Hitchcock's Rope. Except for the opening credits sequence, which is also a one-take, the entire film was done on a single soundstage set. The only cuts were for film reloads which are disguised by the camera tracking over something rather featureless which fills the entire POV — the hinged lid of a large wooden chest, or the back of a rather hefty woman's black cocktail dress, for example. The intended effect was to give the movie a stage play dynamic, though there was nothing other than perfect continuity preventing Hitch from reshooting any take he wasn't satisfied with.

All things considered, it's one of Hitchcock's weaker endeavors. The long takes are just an interesting detail. Having watched it several times I find myself more fascinated by the miniature cityscape visible through the huge window in the stage right end of the three-room set. Each time the camera tracks away from the window the cityscape changes subtly indicating the passage of time from late afternoon until night.

Frenzy, which may have been Hitchcock's last major release, has a few very effective uses of the extended one-take tracking shot. Worth a look.

michaele said...

Thanks for that...it made me happy on several levels.

Quaestor said...

Bill wrote: (are we still saying that in the digital world)

It makes as much sense as the commonly used verb taped. I'd rather use filmed, myself whether it's digitally electronic or chemically analog. Filmed seems more permanent.

Clyde said...

Looks like something Justin Trudeau might have worn on his recent trip to India.

Quaestor said...

Looks like something Justin Trudeau might have worn on his recent trip to India.

The costuming reminded me of a Batman movie helmed by Tim Burton.

Quaestor said...

A self-correction: Any movie helmed by Tim Burton.

Quaestor said...

Another self-correction: The opening tracking shot in Touch of Evil is only 3:18 long.

Charlie Currie said...

Eric The Fruit Bat - THANK YOU...

meep said...

Youtube started autoplaying some other Weird al parody/original video comparisons.

I like the one for Eat IT/Beat It, because it's one of the few where Weird Al tries to closely match the original vid, and even uses the same actors/dancers: Eat It / Beat It Comparison - Weird Al / Michael Jackson

Amexpat said...

The one-take shot for the Copacabana scene in Goodfellas is also very impressive. It's only three minutes long but there's a lot of different things happening. According to wikipedia, it took 8 takes to get it right.

holdfast said...

My friends and I used to listen to Weird Al cassettes in elementary school and tried to write our own parody songs - I Wanna Wash is the only attempt that I recall. Now I am indoctrinating my own kids and they love the videos - Jurassic Park (McArthur Park) is a big hit, as is Eat It.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

I’m not convinced it was one take because of the sideways movements the camera makes between characters. Very easy to splice cuts in with that kind if swooshing movement. Still a very good Weird Al video! He kind of took over the parody song space. Focus on currrent pop and stay relevant. It’s a killer formula for Al.

Roger Sweeny said...

The Eat It/Beat It comparison video is great. The Bad/Fat one also shows remarkable similarity. And is just as good.

YoungHegelian said...

The black woman in "Tacky" is Aisha Tyler, who's the voice of Lana Kane in Archer. Archer is a guilty pleasure of mine. It's one of those shows you watch & go "Wow! Somebody just said that on network television!"

Henry said...

Last night I dreamed I was driving through the city where I grew up. Schenectady New York. I took the wrong exit ramp in my dream and knew exactly what wrong exit it was.

Sydney said...

How can it be one shot when the camera ends up on the opposite side of the elevator window as the guy in the pink pants?

Rob said...

This is a charming one shot version of “Happy” recorded live on a tour bus.

https://youtu.be/IbVoo7YLWnI

loudogblog said...

I used to work with a woman who went to high school with Weird Al. She always said that he was the nicest guy on the planet.

Ron Winkleheimer said...

The black woman in "Tacky" is Aisha Tyler, who's the voice of Lana Kane in Archer.

I love Archer too. I recognized Margaret Cho and Jack Black. Black is fantastic in the move Bernie, I highly recommend it.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1704573/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_41


mgarbowski said...

I'm mostly left wondering whether Althouse thinks the shorts worn by Pharrell Williams in his video are tacky.

mgarbowski said...

"How can it be one shot when the camera ends up on the opposite side of the elevator window as the guy in the pink pants?"

You can see the doors close.

Shawn Levasseur said...

The "Tacky" video contains some cut points (the camera swishing off to the side when getting off the elevator is the most obvious). Many celebrated "one-shot" scenes these days have similar cut points.

With the original "Happy" video, the final video was made up of the parts of 24 hours worth of actual single take "Happy" videos. This is where Wierd Al likely got the idea for the single shot video as part of the parody.

All are available online by the hour. Each hours worth of videos represents a certain timespan of the day, starting with midnight to one A.M..

Each hour's worth of videos are also connected by how they transition between each other. One ends by panning up to the sky, then pans down to start the next one, usually in the exact same location. Sometimes it is an actual cut between separately filmed videos, sometimes it is a continual shot itself. Pharell himself usually only appears in the opening video for each hour.

Bad Lieutenant said...

So that WAS Jack Black! I would never have dreamed he had that sort of athleticism or agility. With those high kicks? I can't do that. [sob]