"Midnight Oil
(James Medcraft & Nils Porrmann, 'koda mluvit' music video Schneider
TM)",
We simply didnt
have the means to build an
enormous stage. Nils
Porrmann director of the
London-based
creative team Dandelion &
Burdock sounds slightly
apologetic. For Schneider
TMs latest music
video, he and creative
companion James Medcraft
(United Visual Artists) built
a rectangular
black-walled cubicle in their
shared studio-cum-living space. They filled the
3-x-3-x-4-m set
with a home-built bath made
of MDF protected by a coat of
waterproof boat paint.
This dark, confined
space formed the stage of
Schneider TMs koda mluvit
(Czech for not worth
mentioning)
video, six copies of which
are now in the collection of
Londons Victoria and Albert
Museum. To the
rhythm of electro beats,
parts of Schneider TMs
face and body slowly emerge
from an oily
substance. Shots which
gradually display more and
more of his body alternate
with visions of
flickering lights reflected
in the oil, creating an
atmosphere that is sensual,
alienating and
claustrophobic.
According to
Porrmann, the video was inspired
by nightly explorations of
our surroundings:
the light in empty
car parks, the reflection of
water at night, oily surfaces
and so forth. In actual
practice, however,
oil turned out to be too
toxic to use. Extensive research
led to a worthy imitation
consisting of water
and methyl cellulose.
Caressing and clinging to the
form of Schneider TM,
the strangling
substance and the videos
suggestion of imprisoning space
form the ultimate backdrop
for a song about
love, jealousy and the
choking effort to hold your
spirit high.
Words
Ellen Rutten
Photos
Porrmann and Medcraft