100% custom-shot music video to fit an idea I had for this timeless XTC song. Everything you see was captured through a Canon T5i camera lens before editing in Davinci Resolve. My original concept included the flipped coins / chance aspect together with a God figure playing Russian Roulette. I knew I needed more and while driving to dinner I had an epiphany that I could include a chess board where each piece eventually becomes a pawn. Chess piece movement was done in stop-motion style. Production took 4 days.
There's a lot to digest in this video. A few things you may have missed:
1) The two superimposed heads are simultaneously nodding and shaking.
2) Pawns turn to chips/coins which are flipped by the God figure before turning into bullets for his gun.
3) At different times, the God figure claps his hands, wrings his hands, and flips off the pawns.
4) The coin flips, trigger pulls, chamber locking and end transitions are synced to snare drums and/or bass slides.
5) Each chess iteration ends with Kings becoming pawns in the new Kings' game.
If you enjoyed my approach to this video, you should *really* consider reading Lunch Special (dark stories) or Televangelist (light satire). I recommend the Lunch Special—it's five bucks paperback and a quick read. See my books and author profile here:
Lyrics by Andy Partridge:
"I ask myself, "Should I put my finger to the left? No."
I ask myself, "Should I put my finger to the right? No."
It doesn't really matter where I put my finger
Someone else will come along and move it
And it's always been the same
It's just a complicated game
It's just a complicated game
A little girl asked me, should she part her hair up on the left? No.
A little girl asked me, should she part her hair up on the right? No.
I said, "It really doesn't matter where you part your hair
Someone else will come along and move it
And it's always been the same
It's just a complicated game
It's just a complicated game.
A little boy asked me, should he put his vote upon the Left?
A little boy asked me, should he put his vote upon the Right?
I said, "It really doesn't matter where you put your vote
'Cause someone else will come along and move it
And it's always been the same
It's just a complicated game
It's just a complicated game.
They wanted Tom, they wanted Joe
To dress 'em up and stick 'em out on show
They were holding arrows in a very bad aim
It's just a complicated game
God asked me, should he ought to put his world up on the left? No
God asked me, should he ought to put his world up on the right?
I said, "It doesn't really matter where you put your world
Someone will come along and move it
And it's always been the same
It's just a complicated game
It's just a complicated game
It's just a complicated game
Just a complicated game."
Buy XTC. Listen to XTC. Love XTC.
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