Tag Archives: high5collective

Video Rundown: Tittsworth & Alvin Risk / Bikini / Does It Offend You, Yeah?

The “party as video” is nothing new, but here are three distinct takes on an age-old concept.

Tittsworth & Alvin Risk – “Pendejas”

The one you’ve all been waiting for: a clip that captures the sweat and swagger of moombahton, filmed in one of its chief incubators. Directed by Rand Rosenberg, “Pendejas” combines footage from a rowdy Tropixxx party with just enough touches of urban life to keep it grounded. “Que Que” might have beaten Tittsworth and Alvin Risk to the punch, but this is the first true moombahton video.

Bikini – “ACheerlaeder”

Dance-pop outfit Bikini paints a picture of Hamptons-style extravagance in their (NSFW) video for “ACheerlaeder.” Vivid with the clarity that only HD can provide, the clip fills in the blanks of what you don’t see in Gossip Girl or American Apparel ads. Fleeting scenes of boarding school preps firing Roman candles out of a Mercedes convertible, a suited duo steering a speed boat, and the requisite between-the-sheets intimacy mingle with some stray images: one woman in armor and another planking nude. Trashy, yet refined.

Does It Offend You, Yeah? – “The Wrestler”

The latest from unofficial video mavens the High5Collective is less a party video than their offering for “T.I.O.N.” Still, hipsters recreating the most famous scene from Office Space is evocative as any scene from a rager. The video’s second half gets tribal; the man versus machine/return to nature theme fits the natural/artificial contrast that DIOYY inhibit in their brand of dance-punk.

http://vimeo.com/25991303

Meet the High5Collective, masters of the unofficial video

“We make videos for artists that inspire us.”

That simple credo comes from the High5Collective. If you don’t know their name yet, you soon will. While music video directors CANADA use the traditional, artist-commissioned model, the High5Collective (or H5C) is trying something different: producing high-quality – but unofficial – videos on spec. Coupled with a low-information mystique and a reliance on social media like Tumblr, H5C is firmly in touch with the zeitgeist.

H5C appeared out of nowhere about a month ago, with a video for The Weeknd’s “The Morning.” Like the song, the clip is a lurid tribute to debauchery, complete with half-dressed club rats and expansive shots of the desert. Straying from form, however, is the video’s dip into darkness: a metaphorical take on the psychic damage that the club lifestyle entails.

http://vimeo.com/24453255

The collective has also tackled songs by the Internet driven, crew-of-the-moment, Odd Future. H5C’s video for Frank Ocean’s “We All Believe” continues the visual feel of “The Morning,” even if there isn’t as strong a thread from song to video. Like a better version of Rihanna’s “Man Down,” the clip is a tale of assault, revenge, and murder. Again, H5C opts for a sinister narrative and an unsettling conclusion.

http://vimeo.com/24812777

Their recently released video for Tyler, the Creator’s “Transylvania” attempts to capture the spirit of the earliest Odd Future clips (notably “EARL“). “Transylvania,” one of the hardest songs on Goblin, is the perfect soundtrack for some wolf gang-esque mayhem: skateboarding, drug-use, underage drinking, violence, theft, and eventually (and predictably), date rape. Like KIDS, it’s shocking because of its verisimilitude.

http://vimeo.com/25394063

Rounding out the collective’s output is a clip for Sander Kleinenberg’s electrohouse anthem “T.I.O.N.” The video is straight-forward but effective: one of those mythic parties of youth, with enough oddly colored drinks and sexual experimentation to go around. Also, body paint.

http://vimeo.com/25065341

Will the High5Collective be able to convert unofficial videos into official ones? In an age where Kreayshawn gets a $1 million contract after one video goes viral, the right combination of talent and savvy goes a long way. The High5Collective is blessed with both.