Chris Cunningham DVD Collection Released
It’s the video you saw all over MTV. It’s Madonna’s Frozen, her first single from Ray of Light. Out in the Mojave desert, the duo brought Madonna’s image to a new level.
Says Cunningham: “The nature of the artist is such that with Madonna I concentrated on her image, on how she came across. The styling of the video, the way it all looked. Whereas the Björk video was more conceptual.”
There must have been some sort of guidelines though.
“No, not at all, she was quite good actually. She let me style her, and let me have a lot of input on how she was going to look. Madonna definitely likes to be directed, and let directors do their job. She was very respectful.”
Every time you shoot anything, it’s a nightmare but this was more of a compromising nightmare. I mean it was brilliant in one way because she’s a great performer but the scale and the budget of the thing makes everything so restrictive. The irony of any big budget video is the more money you have the less you can actually do because every step has to be reorganized, discussed, and explained in endless meetings.
Cunningham utilized morphing technology to create several compelling images. One such shot is of Madonna falling: when she hits the ground, she breaks into dozens of flying ravens.
There also exist two other versions of the video: the “Club Edit” and the “Stereo MC’s Mix“. One of which features added images of lightning and such. The original version is available on Madonna: The Video Collection 93-99.
Concerning winning awards for best special effects, Cunningham said in the London Times:
“God knows why,” spits Cunningham, who remembers the shoot for the torrential rain which sank the crew’s vehicles and scuppered his finer visual plans. “The effects are fucking bollocks. If I am unhappy with something, and it wins an award, that tells me others do not look at things the way I do.”
Frozen is included in The Work Of Director Chris Cunningham, a DVD featuring a collection of videos, short films and commercials that has been released by Wea Corp. on October 28 in the US (Region 1 NTSC DVD) and will be released on November 17 in the UK (Region 2 PAL DVD).
You can find MadonnaTribe Magazine‘s review ot the DVD here.
Click the Full Article link below to read the complete video production details.
Source: Director-file.com
Madonna:Frozen
Directed by Chris Cunningham
Production: Black Dog Films, New York
Producer: Nick Wrathall
Director of photography: Darius Khondji
Hair: Peter Savic
Make-up: Joanne Gair
Post Production
Editor: Gary Knight at Itopia
Producer: John Payne at The Mill
Personnel: Steve Murgatroyd, Dan Williams, Steve Hiam, Anthony Walsham at The Mill
Client: Maverick Records, Warner Bros Records
• Awards
1998 MTV Video Music Awards
Best Special Effects : Steve Murgatroyd, Dan Williams, Steve Hiam, Anthony Walsham at The Mill
1999 MVPA Awards : Best Special Effects in a Music Video
• Nominee
1999 MVPA Awards
Best Hair in a Music Video : Peter Savic
Best Make-Up in a Music Video : Joanne Gair
Best Cinematography : Darius Khondji
Best Direction of a Music Video : Chris Cunningham
1999 Music Week CAD Awards
Best Special Effects in a Video
Best Editing in a Video : Gary Knight
Best Dance Video
Source: Director-file.com