10 Days of YYC’s favorite videos: Day 2

Yesterday, Tyler mentioned we would be sharing some videos that have influenced us over the past year. He led off with a really sweet stop-motion video. If you missed that post, check it out.

Here’s my submission for Day 2 (forgive the ad … I wish that could be bypassed):

YouTube won’t allow us to embed the actual video. Click here to watch the whole thing.

This video has stuck in my head for months, which is atypical for me. For starters, my attention span for online videos is ashamedly short. Hook me fast and keep me hooked, or I’m going to Control-Tab over to something else. Usually, that means I favor bright colors, frenetic movements and editing, and beautifully complex visuals. I think I have a lot in common with cats.

But Dead Weather’s “Treat Me Like Your Mother” hooks me, and for none of the reasons listed above. It’s desaturated and minimalistic. It’s basically two people walking through a dust bowl for half the video. Still, I keep coming back for more views.

I think this video sucks me in because Jack White and Alison Mosshart create a delicious sense of urgency right from the beginning. They’re not walking, they’re stalking with a purpose. They’re clearly charging into battle, only with less charge and more cool, indifferent determination. Heck yeah, I want to see what happens. The two aren’t shown in the same frame until 3:30 into the song, which is another way to create subtle tension.

That’s so hard to do as a filmmaker – creating the subtle tension. But when someone pulls it off, man, it keeps me coming back for more.

Enjoy? Let us know …

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- david