I’m the kind of guy that sees the genius in stupid shit.
When I first saw Kris Moyes’ video for The Presets - Are You The One? the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. That’s usually a good indicator that I’m seeing something exciting and unique, and a music video hasn’t done that to me for years.
So I took great pleasure in asking Kris a few questions about his work… And after reading his answers, I can’t wait to see what he creates next.
Mechanisation, digitisation and computers are all prominent in your clip. We even see a parody of an 8bit videogame. Were you into videogames as a kid?
As kids my brother Kim (1/2 of the Presets) and I would spend hours playing video games.
Was the use of 8bit-style graphics nostalgic for you?
I guess, but you have to remember I wasn’t asked to make a clip for myself. If you look at the clip as a whole you can see nostalgic triggers pop up on more than one occasion. It was a conscious decision to use familiar images of sentimentality as a way of attracting an audience. If you think about it, this technique has been used extensively in advertising in recent years. Pepsi used Spartacus in a TVC, some car company used that famous scene from “Singing In The Rain”. It is arguable that music videos are commercials in a slightly longer format.
I’ve covered many audio and visual artists who produce work that fits the glitch aesthetic. Were you aware of this movement before you created the effects used in the video?
I had no knowledge of a ‘movement’. I knew of an art piece called “The Minor Threat” by Aussie fashion photographer Tim Richardson. It fooled around by fast forwarding or rewinding mini DV footage. I found some images of Woody Vasulka’s work from the 70’s but both were very different to what I wanted to do. I probably didn’t look hard enough.
How did you create the effect?
What did curiosity do to the cat? Ha ha. Just kidding, you’re alright.
At first, people who saw the video on the Internet weren’t sure if the transitional effects were part of it, or just Quicktime breaking. Were you aware people would have this kind of reaction to them, and did this make using the effect risky?
The clip was made for the “bww” (Big Wide World) so hopefully nobody watching MTV would have blamed it on poor reception. I’d like to imagine some kid smacking his tv whenever the clip came on. I expected people wouldn’t get that the artifacts were intentional on the “www” (World Wide Web) and that discussion of this technique and the 50 other ideas would earn the respect of the audience.
Computers break, some people parody this in their work. Others peruse the moments at which things break for a chance at seeing something new, something unexpected. Would you like to explore these lines of thinking in future work?
Uh, maybe. I have other ideas I’d like to do first.
There’s definitely a sense of humour to your work, but there’s also a high level of detail. Was making the video a labour of love?
When directing a commercial I am always working within a parameter set by the client and with music videos I am very aware about making something that is a reflection of the band’s values. I guess my work is in some ways a reflection of my personality as well, so yeah, having a sense of humour and a high level of detail is just intrinsic. (And perhaps you can see, I’m the kind of guy that sees the genius in stupid shit.) The Presets clip took 4 weeks from start to finish - it was the easiest project I’ve done. I love what I do.
Links:
The Presets
Kris Moyes
Are You The One?
