# Music videos with a high 'How did they do that' factor? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 15, 2007, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-videos-with-a-high-how-did-they-do-that-factor/426480 "2007-11-15T03:09:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ianzin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ed655f/32.png) [@ianzin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ianzin)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2007, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-videos-with-a-high-how-did-they-do-that-factor/426480/1 "2007-11-15T03:09:38Z")
Can you suggest examples of music videos (or other short form videos) that have a high ‘how did they do that’ factor? Videos featuring clever optical or digital effects, or ingenious trick photography, or just highly creative and unusual visual effects? Artist, genre and musical merits irrelevant. Some good examples of the sort of thing I mean… Kylie Minogue, ‘Come Into My World’. I won’t link to it, but there are copies all over YouTube, MetaCafe and elsewhere. A truly mind-boggling video which must have required a thousand hours of extremely precise digital editing. As a welcome bonus, there’s a YouTube video clip of the director explaining how it was made. Squeeze, ‘Hourglass’. The whole video is essentially a series of visual and optical illusions, some traditional (the Ames room) and some quite innovative (the mirror). The nice thing about this one is that it was made just before digital effects came in, so almost all the illusions were created in the studio, rather than relying on post-production. Any others? ---
**Author:** ![BaneSidhe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c5a1d2/32.png) [@BaneSidhe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BaneSidhe)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2007, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-videos-with-a-high-how-did-they-do-that-factor/426480/2 "2007-11-15T04:27:14Z")
I remember being really impressed by a-ha’s “Take On Me” video. The part in the “mirror” was especially eye-catching. I’ll also second “Hourglass” by Squeeze. Excellent vid! ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2007, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-videos-with-a-high-how-did-they-do-that-factor/426480/3 "2007-11-15T05:45:25Z")
Two directed by Michael Gondry: - The White Stripes’ video for [“Fell in Love With a Girl”](http://youtube.com/watch?v=pWHyNnsjsJQ) with its animated Legos. - Steriogram, [“Walkie Talkie Man”](http://youtube.com/watch?v=7Z564GUIK7s) where nearly everything is knit with yarn. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2007, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-videos-with-a-high-how-did-they-do-that-factor/426480/4 "2007-11-15T06:13:38Z")
Chemical Brothers usually have unique effects in their videos. “[Believe](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_IkUysQASQ)” is one that is pretty freaky. ---
**Author:** ![jovan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/0ea827/32.png) [@jovan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jovan)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2007, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-videos-with-a-high-how-did-they-do-that-factor/426480/5 "2007-11-15T06:44:31Z")
Sledgehammer, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Critical1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Critical1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Critical1)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2007, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-videos-with-a-high-how-did-they-do-that-factor/426480/6 "2007-11-15T06:45:50Z")
[![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/gJmX1z1NY2c/hqdefault.jpg "Jamiroquai - Virtual Insanity MV") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJmX1z1NY2c) Jamiroquai - Virtual Insanity this one messed with a lot of heads when it was released. I know it took me some time to figure it out. ---
**Author:** ![Quint](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/76d3ee/32.png) [@Quint](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quint)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2007, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-videos-with-a-high-how-did-they-do-that-factor/426480/7 "2007-11-15T07:03:00Z")
One more from Micheal Gondry (total freak visual genius)- Cibo Matto’s [SugarWater](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNA6zzoObxg). Nothing special, until you realize that it is one single take shown simultaneously forwards and backwards (side by side) and oddly reflecting itself until meeting at one point and proceeding/receeding simultaneously from there. My brain can’t do it justice. Check [here](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCYPGmKfhqE) for the making of, which will give you an idea of just how much of a visual savant Gondry is. This guy’s C.V. is a “how the fuck did they do that?!?” greatest hits package. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2007, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-videos-with-a-high-how-did-they-do-that-factor/426480/8 "2007-11-15T07:25:56Z")
The morphing sequence in Michael Jackson’s “Black or White” was really impressive when it first came out. ---
**Author:** ![yastobaal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/258eb7/32.png) [@yastobaal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yastobaal)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2007, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-videos-with-a-high-how-did-they-do-that-factor/426480/9 "2007-11-15T08:34:06Z")
[QUOTE=Quint] Cibo Matto’s [SugarWater](http://my.break.com/content/view.aspx?ContentID=393393) [/QUOTE] That link for me shows a cop touching a suspects package. ---
**Author:** ![Achren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/898d66/32.png) [@Achren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achren)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2007, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-videos-with-a-high-how-did-they-do-that-factor/426480/10 "2007-11-15T12:28:08Z")
[QUOTE=Quint] Cibo Matto’s [SugarWater](http://my.break.com/content/view.aspx?ContentID=393393). [/QUOTE] Try this. ![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/jNA6zzoObxg/maxresdefault.jpg)https://www.youtube.com/embed/jNA6zzoObxg?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2007, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-videos-with-a-high-how-did-they-do-that-factor/426480/11 "2007-11-15T13:18:23Z")
A few (5? 6?) years ago there was a pretty forgettable song with a title, and by a band, that I’ve forgotten, but the refrain had something to do with “it’s closing time, I want to take you home (or I want you to take me home)” or something like that. Anywho, I saw the video once and thought it was cool; it was a split screen and started out with two people in the same shot, then they got separated and went different directions. Each side of the split screen followed one of them, and I think there were no cuts/edits. By the end of the video they had made their way back to each other. Everything was timed perfectly. I just sort of stumbled across it once and never saw it again. Sorry for the vague references. ---
**Author:** ![Kid\_A\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Kid\_A\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kid_A_1)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2007, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-videos-with-a-high-how-did-they-do-that-factor/426480/12 "2007-11-15T13:33:40Z")
[QUOTE=McNew] A few (5? 6?) years ago there was a pretty forgettable song with a title, and by a band, that I’ve forgotten, but the refrain had something to do with “it’s closing time, I want to take you home (or I want you to take me home)” or something like that. Anywho, I saw the video once and thought it was cool; it was a split screen and started out with two people in the same shot, then they got separated and went different directions. Each side of the split screen followed one of them, and I think there were no cuts/edits. By the end of the video they had made their way back to each other. Everything was timed perfectly. I just sort of stumbled across it once and never saw it again. Sorry for the vague references. [/QUOTE] Semisonic - Closing Time [Youtube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdmLmIArqWM) ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2007, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-videos-with-a-high-how-did-they-do-that-factor/426480/13 "2007-11-15T14:22:59Z")
I’ll take your word for it. Can’t watch vids from work, but it sounds right. ---
**Author:** ![flight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbce88/32.png) [@flight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flight)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2007, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-videos-with-a-high-how-did-they-do-that-factor/426480/14 "2007-11-15T14:25:31Z")
[QUOTE=ianzin] Kylie Minogue, ‘Come Into My World’. I won’t link to it, but there are copies all over YouTube, MetaCafe and elsewhere. A truly mind-boggling video which must have required a thousand hours of extremely precise digital editing. As a welcome bonus, there’s a YouTube video clip of the director explaining how it was made. [/QUOTE] I don’t really like Kylie Minogue, but that was sweet. Thanks for posting that. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2007, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-videos-with-a-high-how-did-they-do-that-factor/426480/15 "2007-11-15T14:26:03Z")
Another one by Michael Gondry. [Lucas With the Lid Off.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5HOsnq_2j4) One hit wonder but an amazing video. Looks to me like one long take. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2007, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-videos-with-a-high-how-did-they-do-that-factor/426480/16 "2007-11-15T14:26:21Z")
[QUOTE=GuanoLad] Chemical Brothers usually have unique effects in their videos. “[Believe](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_IkUysQASQ)” is one that is pretty freaky. [/QUOTE] Or try to find their video for “Let Forever Be”. They swap between special effects and real set pieces seamlessly so you can’t tell what you’re watching. ---
**Author:** ![ianzin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ed655f/32.png) [@ianzin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ianzin)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2007, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-videos-with-a-high-how-did-they-do-that-factor/426480/17 "2007-11-15T19:26:17Z")
Thanks for all of these suggestions… keep 'em coming! Thanks to **Quint** for bringing the ‘Sugar Water’ track to my attention. It’s my favourite so far among those mentioned. Simply amazing! ---
**Author:** ![Quint](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/76d3ee/32.png) [@Quint](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quint)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2007, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-videos-with-a-high-how-did-they-do-that-factor/426480/18 "2007-11-15T21:15:30Z")
Uuuuuuh? :o I am seriously embarrassed. Can anyone destroy the link in post 7 or fix it to the correct link given in post #10? Someone sent me that other link which I opened but never finished watching because it was stupid, and I somehow cut and pasted the wrong link. My head is a pretty serious shade of crimson at the moment. :smack: :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Jayrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Jayrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayrot)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2007, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-videos-with-a-high-how-did-they-do-that-factor/426480/19 "2007-11-15T21:36:32Z")
Not really a much of a “how did they do that” but rather just a super badass video. [Bjork – Bachelorette](http://youtube.com/watch?v=x5nNfbTS6N4). (another Michel Gondry) ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2007, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-videos-with-a-high-how-did-they-do-that-factor/426480/20 "2007-11-15T22:24:07Z")
“Cry” by Gottley and Cream, with all of those different faces morphing into each other was quite ground-breaking at the time (Mid-eighties?) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-videos-with-a-high-how-did-they-do-that-factor/426480.md?page=2)