b'Director Interviews UKA certain fondness, Ive run a few How was Robert Plant? They Dont Know in a day. We were really record companies, Island for a while, and ifHe wanted a lot of girls in his video, so Iquick. The thing about Roger Deakins it wasnt for Blackwell and his attitude, Idwent to a modeling agency and got someand these guys filmed on 16mm he is so still be running it. Its interesting, I came inreally beautiful girls. He wanted a videoquick, hell put up two lights to do what it takes another guy 36 lights to do. You just Nigel Dick, one time PRas a musician, so I always saw the bandswhere he was with a bunch of different girls.had to keep moving, you know. We started as more than products, you know.There were a few he fancied, and he was a man for Stiff Records whoWhat was the biggest obstacle whensuperstar, and in the end, theyre allusing the same crew, Nigel would turn up as would much of the Stiff staff when wewent on to become a veryyou shot videos? packing up to go after a long day, and hedneeded bodies. You can see a lot of the Well, with Madness, you had to movebeen very flirty all day, as wed all been. He successful music videoquickly, because they had a very lowreally crashed when they left because hesame people in those videos. But we were very fast. That was the secret of it all. They director, on working withthreshold for boredom. They had thesethought they fancied him and were going towerent belabored. A funny bit is a funny bit. extracurricular things they were doing theystay. I told him thats the way of a Dave Robinson:wouldnt tell you about, so I had toprofessional model, and I think I took himLike Max Sennett. I loved cranking the constantly keep them in front of me so Iout to a pub and we got pissed just to keepcameras, and in those days it looked like Firstly you never worked with Dave. knew where they were. Lock em up or thehim from committing suicide. (laugh) everything happened in a jerky fashion. you worked for him, and it was crazy.shoot wouldnt happen. They were all pettyRobert Palmer, he was great, I got someAnd if you have the right joke, the jerky When I started producing film for himcriminals a lot of the time. (laugh) Thingsgreat dancers and they were really into hisfootage makes it work. Its funny, people would fall off the back of lorries, you know,music. Island had much morealways laugh at the jerky footage. Theres a it was no easier and, in an age beforethey were street traders.I did a Blackglitz and glam in mind for him, but for thewhole period of American comedy films cell phones and the web, you had toSabbath video, and by the time we got tomoney they had for this video, I told themshot with these hand-cranked cameras, think on your feet and find solutionsthe drummer for his shots, he was pissedthey were going to have to imagine it. I canpeople laughed because of the very fast. as a rabbit and so drunk he couldnt stay onmake it look better than the budget, but notundercranking, and it wasnt what they the stool. If you ever see the video, BillTHAT much better. He loved it. I thinkwere doing, but the jerkiness of it made However, on the Robert Plant job,Ward is definitely wild-eyed and wooly. Itheyd only given me twelve grand or so toeveryone hysterical. Its an interesting his guitar player didnt show up so Icant remember which one that was. Theydo it. He was a fun guy.concept. dashed home and got my fifty-quidwere fun and it was all right. It was live. NotDid it surprise you that he became an Now when you were doing those a huge amount of humor.icon of the era? clips, they have their brand of humor. second-hand Les Paul copy and didAnything as a bright shining momentHe did those videos with an EnglishTheyd come up with five or six things my best to mime to Robbie Bluntsin that time? photographer, Terence Donovan, with thethey wanted to do. We want to have the sax solo. Halfway through I found myself Jonas Lewie and I had a few hairyjiggling girls in the rubber suits, and thatplayer, and Id say fine. And Id say okay thinking, if thats Robert Plant then ITop: Robert Plant and the ladies in his video for "Burning Down One Side" moments along the way. when he wasbecame a whole thing. Thats the thingand fill in all the rest. Id have an 8 by 4 must be Jimmy Page! Bottom: Nigel Dick (with bandaged head for anonymity) on lead guitar in video signed to the label. One of the ones thatabout videos. You never quite knew whichsheet with the lyrics on one side and the stopped the calvary was that he didntvideos would last and shine. I still crack upshots on the other. I cant stress enough want the brass band in the video. He hadand laugh at the ones we did even now.that we had this great team. John Mills was keyboards playing those brass riffs. Some of those from that era didnt reallyone of them, and all the people who worked There was always a bit of contention.age well, but I think most of the Stiff oneson those videos ended up doing That is essentially my attitude. Thatsin a day. The thing about TV commercialsHow about tthe Descendents? Not everyone said, oh, what a greatdid. And the Madness style worked. I shotfantastically well in film or other things. A lot exactly where I was at, because of timeis the people who make the money areI was in L.A. at the time, their directorvideo youve made. We made videos forthe Madness movie in five days. of people learned and trained with us, at constraints. I was basically selling records,the production companies. As a director,pulled out, and the head of Epitaph, and weeverybody on the label, so no one felt leftWith Tracey Ullman, I came up with allthat speed. Everybody had to concentrate that was my job, with running a recordyou only get a fee. To do TV commercialsshot it like it was at a sperm bank. ( out, and if someone didnt like theirs, well,of those concepts. She said Dave and me,and be prepared to get some geezer off his company. I had to get back to the job, soand make money, you have to set up aI gave a speech to the NY annual do- thats the way of the world.but the concepts were all mine. Now, shebutt so we could shoot. We never asked the videos were always shot quickly. Youproduction company, and thats what I did.dah music thing they had, and I said, ItsAnyone come to mind? did have six or seven tricks we incorporatedanybody, we just put people in position and had to be dogmatic about time. The scriptsThe production companies I had workedall over now, and its called MTV. Music asI used to have a baseball bat, and onceinto it. But she was good fun, Im notshot until the police arrived. No permits, no were always simple and usually about thewith were usually upset that I hadntit was would never be the same again. Iin a while, Ill pull it out and smash it on myknocking her or anything. We shot all ofsafety nets, and thats it. lyrics.stretched it over several weeks.I shoot it inthought the video would take over, and Idesk for emphasis. I found that when I did On the Madness ones, they reallya day, and the production company couldntcredit Stiff with getting some pretty obscurethat, I wouldnt have any arguments for a bring their personality. make it ages long and inflate the budget. Ipeople on the charts with the videos. If thecouple of hours afterwards. BABY YOU CAN DRIVE MY CARWell, the first time we made the saxjust never took that much time.videos are funny and people look forward player fly, everyone said, how did youDid you feel as the era moved alongto them, you can barter them into key do that? and its just a harness used bywith more outlets for music video, inshows and get them on. trapeze artists. People say thats amazing,the business did you see the videosWhat were some of the shows?but in reality, you can do just about anythingchange? TISWAS, thats the one I remember the as if you have a team and a basic wish toI cant understand why anyone wouldthe key one, and the breakfast television make it work. Its the illusion business.want to watch syncopated dance steps.would interview the artist and show the These videos, they were all illusions, so youThat just leaves me cold, I couldnt get intovideo. Each release was part of a movement can make anything happen. And there areit, it just looks like crap to me.I like wheninternationally as long as we did itHow Dave got Paul McCartney to techniques in using film crews, and I hadthe video reflects the song, the lyrics andsimultaneously.And having a video was some great people.Roger Deakins wasthe atmosphere of a song. I was running aeasier than trying to get the band to everydo the car scene in Tracey Ullman\'s our lighting cameraman on a lot of videos.record company, so the video was always acountry. "They Don\'t Know" music video:I think we made Roger and we should becommercial for, say, a really good album I In retrospect since were looking back, do getting a percentage of his income. (laugh) wanted people to hear, and I wanted it toyou look back at that time with a You had a run of clips about 1983,have humor. I remember the funny ads, Ifondness?you didnt direct much after that. remember the funny videos, so all my goodI promised Paul we would only need him for I did three Robert Plant videos, a fewones were funny. If it wasnt funny, I wasntten minutes, and if it ran over, I wouldn\'t use Robert Palmer videos, some commercialsreally good at it, really. for British television, the Madness clips,it. He said that if it took longer than that, he and I did several in America for Epitaph,would want us to honor our agreement. He a little bit. If I needed a little cash, I was always up for it, as long as it could be donecame in, we shot it in four minutes, and I said, "You owe me six minutes."Paul & Tracey take a drive in "They Don\'t Know"56MVTMISSUE #1ISSUE #1MVTM57'