nebkheperrure said:

Really interesting story, but who would belive that nonsense? where is that local film students who hit fame overnight? Still is a bad ass video, really daring for it's time.

aarontj said:

Made by Michael R Barnard Productions

AS quoted on their website


here is the link
http://www.afatherandson....arnard.htm
[Edited 12/17/09 0:32am]

his hair on this video & the slow motion way he looks in2 the camera. beautiful brown eyes!!!

Okay so now that I'm trying to research this out, I'm not reading ANYWHERE that the director of this was the same as I Wish U Heaven (Jean-Baptiste Mondino). If he's not the director then aarrontj's post is wrong! Ha.

ufoclub said:

You're right. According his wikipedia page, at least, only "I Wish U Heaven" is listed.

ufoclub said:

Where do I say Jean-Baptiste Mondino directed Alphabet ST????

ernestsewell said:

This what I say:

Well, Prince was working with legendary music video director Jean- Baptiste Mondino in the 1987-1989 period, a master of cinematography and concept art, even the Lovesexy tour was pretty ambitious for it's time, I really doubt that he( I MEAN PRINCE, THIS WAS MY ANSWER TO SOMEONE WHO SUGEST PRINCE SET UP A SHOOTING IN A GARGAE) will set up a green screen in a garage just for the sake of it.

The Lovesexy videos (and the album cover) were a calculated concept even if you don't like it (or don't understand the imaginary), the "Alphabet St" video was on the french Mondino vibe (MEANS PRINCE WAS IN THAT MOOD, INFLUENCED ETC.)

Some of Mondino/Prince related projects were "Mia Bocca" by Jill Jones,(an homage to "Los Olvidados" film by Luis Bunuel), "I wish you Heaven" and Ingrid Chavez song "Justify My Love" video by Madonna. (DID I MENTION ALPHABET ST????)

I MEAN PRINCE WILL NOT SET UP A GREEN SCREEN IN A GARAGE JUST FOR THE SAKE OF IT (ON THIS ERA, POST 90'S HE DID HORRIBLE VIDS), THIS WAS MY ANSWER TO SOMEONE WHO SUGEST PRINCE SET UP A SHOOTING IN A GARAGE, I MEAN PRINCE WAS IN THAT MONDINO MOOD, INFLUENCED BY ETC. CHEK THE ANALOG MONDINOS VIDS AND YOU'LL SEE "MANCHILD" LES RITA STUFF.

Do I mentioned "Alphabet St" in my comment about Mondino/Prince related projects? Right.

ernestsewell you know your music very well (amazingly well) but I know my videos.

aarontj said:

Then who directed the video?

Uhh Alphabet St.
The 1 Prince song i just can't listen too.
The vid is only alright because of the subliminal ..'don't buy the black album, im sorry.' thing and the freaky thumb.

ernestsewell said:

Made by Michael R Barnard Productions

AS quoted on their website

PRINCE had an urge to do a music video. One Sunday afternoon, MRBP was asked if Prince could get a video shoot for a music video?for 7:00 that evening! MRBP delivered a full ten-hour four-camera shoot, producing the artist's Alphabet Street video.


here is the link
http://www.afatherandson....arnard.htm

mostbeautifulboy said:

That still doesn't list the director who called the creative shots. That's a production company.

ufoclub said:

Or who had to move stuff in the storage room to set up the green screen.

I bet Prince owns one of these.



.
[Edited 12/17/09 12:43pm]

I love its lo-fi loveliness.

The song - average

The video - horrible

ufoclub said:

Just email them and ask who the director was. I am sure its no big secret
[Edited 12/17/09 12:54pm]

I have emailed the production company, I will let you know when I get a response

ernestsewell said:

I did homemade greenscreen right here (just hit the skip intro button on the lower right)
http://www.crashthesuperb...video/4955

I produced the ALPHABET STREET video. Prince himself directed it.

The car was his dad's car, he was the original owner and gave it to Prince. In spite of the lyrics, it was really a 1964 Thunderbird. For Christmas 1988, I gave Prince a sign declaring "T-BIRD PARKING ONLY!" for his garage for that car. After I moved to Los Angeles, I ran into Prince at Mr. Goodbar in Beverly Hills in 1990, where I found out he had a small accident on wintry snow-covered Chanhassen streets and damaged, maybe destroyed, the T-bird.

We shot ALPHABET STREET in Prince's cavernous PAISLEY PARK STUDIOS sound stage in Chanhassen. Not in front of a green screen, just in the center of the huge stage with the white cyc hanging in the distant background.

Prince called on Sunday afternoon to see if we could put together a video production shoot for that evening. We did, using four professional video cameras (at that time, "professional" meant cameras with 2/3" tubes, shooting on 3/4" U-matic cassettes--although 1" Type C reel-to-reel would have been preferred).

Warner Bros. was not impressed with Prince's "shot in a basement" video (their description, which Prince was delighted to tell me as soon as he could), and dispatched Tim Clawson from Propaganda Films to come to Minneapolis to shoot additional 35mm film footage of Cat doing her rap to add to the video.

Tim and I went to Williams Pub in Uptown to scout it as a location for the additional 35mm film shoot. We then retreated (literally--as soon as word got out what we were doing there, we were chased by girls) to the Ediner diner in Calhoun Square to discuss the project. (The old Ediner space on the second floor is now a bar--at least, it was when I was in Minneapolis this past July.) Tim and I decided that it would not be practical to add a 35mm film section to the video that we had already shot, and Prince didn't really want to do it anyway.

So, ALPHABET STREET ended up being Prince's personal vision for a video for that song. In fact, he closed the set during the shoot so it was just him, me, the girls, and the camera operators. It's his work.

Michael R. Barnard

Thank you for sharing.

Told ya'll it looked like it was done on a weather set. "shot in a basement" Close enough. hahahaha Good story though!

Thanks for sharing Michael.

mrbarnard said:

Thanks for sharing.

mrbarnard said:

I was right! Yes!

mrbarnard said:

Thanks to you Michael R. Barnard: for the true story behind this beautiful music video that is Alphabet Street...

Good work, at least I like it, just ignorre the Alphabet Street haters, cuz they just don't know what they are talking about

To me the Alphabet Street video is one of Prince's best, I love it and it's no joke


ALPHABET STREET rules....