adam levite (aka associates in science)

adam levite (aka associates in science)

Adam Levite AKA Associates in Science / Bessy & Combe / Brand New School / Ben Dawkins / Martin de Thurah / Chris Milk / Hideaki Motoki / Muto Musashi /ne-o / Pleix / Jonas Odell / +cruz / Ramon & Pedro / Vernie Yeung / Woof Wan-Bau
VIDEOGRAPHY
IN MY HEAD, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE
TITO’S WAY, THE JUAN MACLEAN
C’MERE, INTERPOL
ABEL, THE NATIONAL
BLACK TAMBOURINE, BECK
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ME AND MIA, TED LEO AND THE PHARMACISTS
SALT THE SKIES, TORTOISE
MISFIT, ELEFANT
A DECADE UNDER THE INFLUENCE, TAKING BACK SUNDAY
MUTESCREAMER, BEANS
ARCTIC SNOW, BURNING BRIDES
MY KIND OF SOLDIER, GUIDED BY VOICES
NYC, INTERPOL (DIRECTED WITH DOUG AITKEN)
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REINVENTING MUSIC VIDEO | DIGITAL-AGE MUSIC VIDEO: THE DIRECTORS | ADAM LEVITE (AKA ASSOCIATES IN SCIENCE)
26
ADAM LEVITE
(AKA ASSOCIATES
IN SCIENCE)
“I try to build a framework in which
beautiful accidents can happen and
then make the video from those
moments”ADAM LEVITE
27
Adam Levite AKA Associates in Science / Bessy & Combe / Brand New School / Ben Dawkins / Martin de Thurah / Chris Milk / Hideaki Motoki / Muto Musashi /ne-o / Pleix / Jonas Odell / +cruz / Ramon & Pedro / Vernie Yeung / Woof Wan-Bau
(01)
(03)
BLACK TAMBOURINE
BECK
(07)
(06)
(08)
Levite worked with his friends at digital artgroup
C505 to use an ASCII filter to transform live-action
shots of Beck and entourage in the Black Tambourine
video. Other videos from the album continue to
filter these specifically early digital age styles.
“Beck brought the cape and sombrero. The grasshopper
was on the wall at our production design meeting
so he made it into the video.” says Levite.
Beck begins jabbing at an old typewriter and
the characters come to life in a sequence of
images made up of ASCII characters.
(11)
(10)
(09)
REINVENTING MUSIC VIDEO | DIGITAL-AGE MUSIC VIDEO: THE DIRECTORS | ADAM LEVITE (AKA ASSOCIATES IN SCIENCE)
28
(02)
(04)
Levite: “Up until the day before I flew out to LA for
the shoot, I had no idea how to make a broadcastresolution ASCII piece. I knew that, in the worst
case, I could make it frame by frame using any
of a bunch of ASCII apps or Web sites.” >>>
(12)
SLATE
(01–13) ;^cVaø[^aiZgZYø6H8>>øk^YZdø[ddiV\Zøø
VcYøgVløeZg[dgbVcXZøk^YZd
[02, 04, 07, 09]øGVløk^YZdø[ddiV\Zøh]dl^c\ø
XdbeVg^hdchøidø[^cVaø[^aiZgZYøh]dihø
(05)
STYLE: PERFORMANCE, ANIMATION
DISTINGUISHING FEATURE:
CUSTOM ASCII SOFTWARE BY C505
PROCESS: DV CAMERA
VIDEO FOR ALBUM: GUERO, BECK
(13)
29
Adam Levite AKA Associates in Science / Bessy & Combe / Brand New School / Ben Dawkins / Martin de Thurah / Chris Milk / Hideaki Motoki / Muto Musashi /ne-o / Pleix / Jonas Odell / +cruz / Ramon & Pedro / Vernie Yeung / Woof Wan-Bau
(06)
(02)
(07)
(03)
C’MERE
INTERPOL
Playing like a contemporary fable, a
beautiful witch and children track the band
to a wooden Hansel and Gretel-style shack
in a snow-laden forest. They promptly begin
to set this alight; the visual twist being
the flames and gowns that adorn them are
made from flowing, undulating, fabric.
Levite says, “I love this video because
it’s so weird. We shot all the outdoor
stuff during a single, short winter’s day,
using all natural light, and after fighting
traffic from New York City out to the
country. The fabrics on the kids and witch
were all custom-made for the shoot.”
(01) Dg^\^cVaøh`ZiX]Zh!øh]dl^c\øXVbZgVøVcYø
a^\]i^c\øVc\aZhøVcYøegdYjXi^dcøcdiZh
(02–09) K^YZdøhi^aah
REINVENTING MUSIC VIDEO | DIGITAL-AGE MUSIC VIDEO: THE DIRECTORS | ADAM LEVITE (AKA ASSOCIATES IN SCIENCE)
30
(01)
(08)
(04)
SLATE
STYLE: OUTDOOR NARRATIVE,
PERFORMANCE
DISTINGUISHING FEATURE:
CUSTOM-BUILT WOODEN SHACK,
CUSTOM FABRIC COSTUMES
PROCESS: 16MM FILM WITH FLAME
DIGITAL POST EFFECTS (THE MILL, NY)
VIDEO FOR THE ALBUM:
ANTICS, INTERPOL
(09)
(05)
31
Adam Levite AKA Associates in Science / Bessy & Combe / Brand New School / Ben Dawkins / Martin de Thurah / Chris Milk / Hideaki Motoki / Muto Musashi /ne-o / Pleix / Jonas Odell / +cruz / Ramon & Pedro / Vernie Yeung / Woof Wan-Bau
32
(01)
(02)
(03)
(04)
SALT THE SKIES
TORTOISE
Levite considers this his best concept in
one sentence: “We will throw things at
the band and shoot them jumping out of
the way at 1,000 frames per second.”
The video is filmed in a highly minimalistic
fashion, locked-off shots documenting
everything from chairs, colored balls,
pencils, plush dolls, and household
plants floating in space against a black
backdrop. And generally toward, and
presumably hitting, band members.
(05)
“I am pretty hard on myself, so I don’t think
many of my videos are that successful, but
if my arm were twisted I would say that the
Tortoise and Taking Back Sunday concepts
were pretty successful. I feel like there is a
good match between the video, the mood
of the song, and the vibe of the band.” >>>
SLATE
STYLE: INDOOR, ABSTRACT FILM
DISTINGUISHING FEATURE:
SLOW MOTION
PROCESS: IN CAMERA
VIDEO FOR THE ALBUM: IT’S ALL
AROUND YOU, TORTOISE
(06)