ufoclub said:

Black Sweat was well photographed slick boredom! That video is so dead. Black Sweat should have had triple time dancing and energy.

OldFriends4Sale said:

ufoclub said:

I think they were doing the retro thing. It looked like Electric Company! Even an old video like 1999 didn't look that retro!

Don't forget he had Warners behind him too.

And don't forget the look of his videos right before this for SOTT which were all cinematic.

With the Alphabet St video, he didn't have Warners behind him, Alan Leeds warned him of that in a last min shoot, it had to come out of Prince's pocket

But I like the Alphabet st video because I interpret it as retro... if it wasn't retro on purpose, then it's just clumsy. For example, the I Wish U Heaven video is the same techniques but more tastefully done.

Anyone who is a video producer should be able to make something that looked more contemporary than that even for only $50. I was shooting videos as a teenager that didn't have that children's tv show style!

I recently did this in my living room with a greenscreen cloth for a budget of under $75 (that was mostly spent on the green cloth form Joanne's). There was no planning, and she just showed up and performed it. I borrowed the camera for free https://vimeo.com/38990153

^Sure, one person can do more post production on their home computer in 2012 then any entire million dollar studio could in Minneapolis in 1987-88, but still the lighting, editing, and camera shots had to be intentionally composed in that wacky "electric company" way. That doesn't take money to fix. Maybe Prince just didn't have the right help that day. It's not about money, it's about talent.

ufoclub said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

With the Alphabet St video, he didn't have Warners behind him, Alan Leeds warned him of that in a last min shoot, it had to come out of Prince's pocket

But I like the Alphabet st video because I interpret it as retro... if it wasn't retro on purpose, then it's just clumsy. For example, the I Wish U Heaven video is the same techniques but more tastefully done.

Anyone who is a video producer should be able to make something that looked more contemporary than that even for only $50. I was shooting videos as a teenager that didn't have that children's tv show style!

I recently did this in my living room with a greenscreen cloth for a budget of under $75 (that was mostly spent on the green cloth form Joanne's). There was no planning, and she just showed up and performed it. I borrowed the camera for free https://vimeo.com/38990153

^Sure, one person can do more post production on their home computer in 2012 then any entire million dollar studio could in Minneapolis in 1987-88, but still the lighting, editing, and camera shots had to be intentionally composed in that wacky "electric company" way. That doesn't take money to fix. Maybe Prince just didn't have the right help that day. It's not about money, it's about talent.

I agree, I said in another post that just because it's cheeper doesn't mean it has to be low quality

I wish I had more info on the producer and his style

OldFriends4Sale said:

ufoclub said:

But I like the Alphabet st video because I interpret it as retro... if it wasn't retro on purpose, then it's just clumsy. For example, the I Wish U Heaven video is the same techniques but more tastefully done.

Anyone who is a video producer should be able to make something that looked more contemporary than that even for only $50. I was shooting videos as a teenager that didn't have that children's tv show style!

I recently did this in my living room with a greenscreen cloth for a budget of under $75 (that was mostly spent on the green cloth form Joanne's). There was no planning, and she just showed up and performed it. I borrowed the camera for free https://vimeo.com/38990153

^Sure, one person can do more post production on their home computer in 2012 then any entire million dollar studio could in Minneapolis in 1987-88, but still the lighting, editing, and camera shots had to be intentionally composed in that wacky "electric company" way. That doesn't take money to fix. Maybe Prince just didn't have the right help that day. It's not about money, it's about talent.

I agree, I said in another post that just because it's cheeper doesn't mean it has to be low quality

I wish I had more info on the producer and his style

In 1988 Alphabet St looked cheap and dated. Today it looks retro and cool. I'm not sure it matters what was originally intended. Creative work does tend to take on a life of its own.

SoulAlive said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

4 a Prince video, I don't think Kiss is overrated, I think it's just a good video

It was shot good, colors that pop, its color worked well with the era's Black & White theme

Prince Wendy & the Dancer it was simple too just done well

Alphabet St disappointed me because I don't think it was done as good as it could have been

cheap doesn't have to mean low quality. Give me some Sheila E & Cat interplay in the video not just legs of one of them and maybe it would have been better

Some scenes shot just didn't seem fitting

I never really saw what was so great about "Kiss".I remember thinking that it was odd that he didn't include any scenes to the upcoming movie.It's shot well,but I find it to be uneventful.

"Alphabet St" is obviously cheap,but it's so fun and vivid To me,it captures the spirit of the album.It looks like a video that might have been made in 1981,but that retro feel is part of its charm.

I still think Kiss is his best video. The video captured the playfulness and sexiness of the song, and the image of Prince at the time perfectly.

ufoclub said:

Black Sweat was well photographed slick boredom! That video is so dead. Black Sweat should have had triple time dancing and energy.

All the video needed was some slick dance moves.

paulludvig said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

I agree, I said in another post that just because it's cheeper doesn't mean it has to be low quality

I wish I had more info on the producer and his style

In 1988 Alphabet St looked cheap and dated. Today it looks retro and cool. I'm not sure it matters what was originally intended. Creative work does tend to take on a life of its own.

I thought it was intentionally retro back in 1988 when I first saw it!

I guess it was unintentionally retro. Maybe intention is not important. only outcome.

As for the disappointing ones..

I mean Prince is not into his videos as; lets say Michael Jackson was. I mention MJ, because Michael Jackson made me believe in music videos, because he changed the whole concept of it. I always watched music videos as a kid, and always enjoyed them. I still remember my sister telling me they were not really singing...

Nonetheless, when I discovered Michael Jackson, and studied his music videos..I realized before MJ the whole concept of a video never really existed.

He really added a texture that could not be matched. So when Prince does videos, one can easily tell he was not as involved. Well he became 'Less' involved.

He was the second black artist to use video in his song and be shown to a large TV audience.

The 'Alphabet Street' video demonstrated a lack of involvment in his videos IMO. He did it in a day, and the quality suffers, but it still remains my favorite because it's from 'Lovesexy' my favorite! Haha..I can think of many videos that are really lifeless, and pointless Prince has done. Prince obviously does not like making them, but they are not entirely bad. I look at videos from Prince as a treat, not as apart of the creative music experience.

Imagine MJ without his input on videos...It would be totally different. MJ helped make us believe music and film can come together in a whole new concept.

With that being said, Prince has many disappointing ones, far to great to count. LOL

BUT

"I Wish U Heaven" is my favorite Prince video! It just captivates 'Lovesexy' so well, it's a shame the video is hardly talked about? But it makes me smile everytime I watch it.

Other's just as great include, but are not limited to:

Kiss

Glam Slam

Seven

Raspberry Beret

Lovesign

Partyman

Batdance

Musicology

Diamonds And Pearls

Te Amo Corazon

Dinner With Delores

The Same December

Girls & Boys

Sign O' The Times (Ahead of its time in a way, because the way the text showed up on a screen wasn't really popular at all..So this idea was very revolutionary)

^^

Those videos in particular has a direction and a concept you can really see, it's not hard to understand. Videos to me should at least carry a meaning, and all of the above paint what the song itself is saying to great and strong lengths.

AND if you need names for some bad ones IMO:

Love 2 The 9's

18 & Over

Come On (Although..VERY FUNNY..lol)

Thieves In The Temple

I can't think of the rest, but they do exist...lol

I was really disappointed with only Diamonds and Pearls as its abit too cutesy, although the jump suit bit and guitar riffing in the middle save it. Money Don't matter 2 nite - yeech!!!!! like some sort of collective peoples hope forum. Plus the cliched winter weepie theme (Poor or unhealthy people filmed in stark wintry days with cloud, snow or long angled sun rays.

The Apollonia 6 Sex Shooter one is pretty lame, Prince is one photo and theres 2 guys dancing with them and a unremarkable dance scene....

Otherwise none really, his videos are great, LRC only as it needs to be longer, it like fades out after 2.45min.

Leave Alphabet Street and Kiss alone, those are brilliant videos, best video is Cream (I mean wow)

OldFriends4Sale said:

Then Prince dropped another bombshell: He didn't want to shoot any videos for the album. He boldly claimed to Warners' incredulous marketing team that the absence of a video would distinguish him from other pop stars, as well as create a sense of mystery about the album. No one accepted the argument, but the label couldn't force an artist of his stature to go in front of a camera. There would be no videos.

Chapter 10: Black

March 20, 1988: Alan Leeds' residence, Eden Prairie, Minnesota

p 125

Possessed: the Rise & Fall of Prince

On a gray late-winter day, as a snowstorm gained force and began coating the Minneapolis suburb of Eden Prairie, Leeds was happy to have a day off from the hectic and exhausting routine of catering to Prince's every whim. It was warm inside, an NFL game was on, and Leeds was home with his family.

Then the phone rang.

As always, there were no pleasantries, no introductions. "I want to shoot a video," Prince said in a quiet, clipped voice. Leeds had to press to find out exactly what this meant. Did he want to make a clip for Alphabet Street, after all? Prince said yes, and Leeds asked if he had spoken to Fargnoli about this. No, Prince responded, he wanted to shoot without meddling from the managers or Warner Bros. They would just screw things up. Leeds cautioned that this meant the budget for the video would come out of Prince's pocket-didn't it make more sense to contact Warners, which would readily approve financing for the video?

No, Prince said. He wanted to do it on his own.

"Ok, when?" Leeds asked.

"Today."

Incredulous, Leeds did everything he could to dissuade Prince from making the video. It was mid-afternoon on a stormy Sunday. No respectable team of filmmakers could be assembled, particularly in Minneapolis where, as Leeds reminded Prince, there was not a film crew on every block as in Los Angeles. Even if a crew agreed to do the shoot, it was unlikely that adequate equipment could be rented and that everyone would make it through the snow to the set. How could this possibly be pulled off?

"Sounds to me like that's your problem, not mine," Prince retorted.

Leeds realized that, at the very least, he would have to placate Prince by placing some phone calls. Although the local community was not large, Leeds knew several skilled directors. Predictably, they refused the assignment. Working through his Rolodex, Leeds called filmmakers whom he considered B-List, and began to worry that even if someone agreed to take the job, the end result wouldn't be worth the time, effort, or money. As Leeds waited for callbacks, Prince continued to hector him by phone, "When are we shooting?" he asked repeatedly, undeterred by Leeds' warnings that no top-flight filmmakers were available. Prince told him to keep trying.

Frustrated that a rare day off was being spoiled, Leeds continued his efforts and finally found a director, Michael Barnard, who was eager for the assignment. But the question remained: Could Barnard locate a facility and equipment? The afternoon dragged into evening, and the snow kept falling. Prince kept barraging Leeds with phone calls. Finally, Barnard called: The shoot was a go. He had located a facility owned by a cable television company, as well as a truck full of basic equipment typically used to cover city council meetings for local access channels. Leeds, not surprised that matters had come to this, called Prince and told him the shoot was on.

By eleven p.m., with most of the city under snow, film was rolling. Prince had rounded up Sheila E and Cat Glover to participate. The video was shot against a blue screen, with the result that the footage looked startlingly amateurish and homemade. During the post-production process, Prince had Barnard jazz up the video by having various textual phrases dart across the screen, including "Don't buy The Black Album, I'm sorry," and "Ecstasy."

This is an interesting story It shows you how unpredictable Prince can be...constantly changing his mind,lol.The people who work for him must always expect the unexpected.

I agree with those of you who say that "I Wish U Heaven" is one of his best videos.That song and video deserved much more exposure than it got.The video is excellent!

SoulAlive said:

I agree with those of you who say that "I Wish U Heaven" is one of his best videos.That song and video deserved much more exposure than it got.The video is excellent!

I with you guys on I Wish U Heaven. It's always been a favorite of mine the song & video

^ I have always loved the Lovesexy music videos.

Alphabet Street

Glam Slam

I Wish U Heaven

great memories, from another highlight in Prince history...

maybe a little amateurish and very simple compared to now a days monster productions,

I still love those old Prince videos,

those old videos have a lot of personality.... just like Prince himself.. haha....

There was something special about the Lovesexy videos.All three videos capture the excitement and spirit of the music.

d you would be correct.

NouveauDance said:

Was he doing a retro thing? I've never read anything about that before - from all accounts it was done on the cheap very quickly with a local crew last minute because the project was performing poorly and a video on rotation would hopefully help that. I don't think it was a stylistic choice to make it look like it was done in 1977.

And you would be correct.

P

ufoclub said:

rdhull said:

I thought it was a Caligula tribute. And the My Name Is P video looks like what you said for Gett Off. Rushed and just him on some street with a video cam. Gett Off is lush.

My Name is Prince had that whole intro with the newscast, and the "riot" situation concept, and it looked good, and the outfit was interesting. It even had Mayte busting in with some little prop (that can only be explained when you watch the whole 3 Chains of Gold video) The colors and comp of any frame were good. It was even on a location at night. It had fires in barrels and a police car (like he even has the cops in his pocket). My Name is Prince actually had great edits and everyone was dressed and presented in a way that fit the song (however cartoonish that is). Prince kept his face covered with chains! That's kind of cool.

To me, Gett Off looked like a performance on a talk show. They didn't even leave Paisley Park's studio! (they should have shot somewhere that had steps, marble, atmosphere, a "feel").

Here's a frame from Caligula:

[img:$uid]http://content7.flixster.com/photo/11/81/00/11810017_gal.jpg[/img:$uid]

Here's the Gett Off video:

[img:$uid]http://mv-urban.com/v6/svcs1110/02.jpg[/img:$uid]

But scratch that whole Caligula idea anyway, it's lame unless you put $$$ and art direction into it. Since they weren't going to leave PP, it should have been wild and pimp. They should have taken a cue from the yellow fur artwork on the Gett Off single and gone with that. I think his cat suit outfit was terrible for that aggressive slow funk growl song (it worked so much better for the Arsenio performance of Cream), and the performance was unremarkable. Him miming the scream and being pinned was bad, so was his little dance.

Prince should have been shirtless in the Gett Off video. The video should have had these colors and he should have been crazy like this:

[img:$uid]http://cdn102.iofferphoto.com/img/item/202/894/192/prince-la-coruna-nude-tour-dvd-ex-quality-f5f42.jpg[/img:$uid]

Dude..the Gett Off set looks like the Caligula one.At the very least it does NOT look cheap.

rdhull said:

P

Dude..the Gett Off set looks like the Caligula one.At the very least it does NOT look cheap.

Gett Off looks like a performance on a talk show set with studio lights to me. It's not far removed from the limp MTV butt out performance. It's shot like it was on a talk show sound stage too. Boring lighting, boring shots, boring editing. And the costumes and dancing are bad. It so disappointed me when I saw it in 1992. I felt like the cool song deserved so much better. I had been imagining a video for weeks, with the cassingle going in my car.

The video should have been him crawling through passages after virgin girls, through yellow shag carpet, to opium den type environments. It should have been gritty and grainy and rough. It should have been a little more Apocalypse Now temple then Arsenio Hall stage.

And if you're going to limit the music video to a performance of the song on a soundstage give it the intensity and cool shots of the Batdance video, or Partyman, or Hot Thing in the SOTT concert film. That's what the song deserves. I think Albert Magnoli directed all three of those.

SoulAlive said:

Timmy84 said:

I always thought Kiss was his best video.

Visually stunning and sophisticated. Kind of looks like an arthouse film.

ufoclub said:

rdhull said:

P

Dude..the Gett Off set looks like the Caligula one.At the very least it does NOT look cheap.

Gett Off looks like a performance on a talk show set with studio lights to me. It's not far removed from the limp MTV butt out performance. It's shot like it was on a talk show sound stage too. Boring lighting, boring shots, boring editing. And the costumes and dancing are bad. It so disappointed me when I saw it in 1992. I felt like the cool song deserved so much better. I had been imagining a video for weeks, with the cassingle going in my car.

The video should have been him crawling through passages after virgin girls, through yellow shag carpet, to opium den type environments. It should have been gritty and grainy and rough. It should have been a little more Apocalypse Now temple then Arsenio Hall stage.

And if you're going to limit the music video to a performance of the song on a soundstage give it the intensity and cool shots of the Batdance video, or Partyman, or Hot Thing in the SOTT concert film. That's what the song deserves. I think Albert Magnoli directed all three of those.

I like the "Gett Off" video

I give Prince credit for not making bloated 20 minutes videos for every song he released as a single. Not every song deserves that treatment. Michael Jackson got gassed up off of Thriller's success and tried to turn every video he put out into some sort of epic event when the song didn't justify it! This is not saying every Prince video is great but they are fun to watch. The Cream video with the long intro was just playful flirtatious fun between him and Diamond & Pearl so it worked well.

HonestMan13 said:

I give Prince credit for not making bloated 20 minutes videos for every song he released as a single. Not every song deserves that treatment. Michael Jackson got gassed up off of Thriller's success and tried to turn every video he put out into some sort of epic event when the song didn't justify it! This is not saying every Prince video is great but they are fun to watch. The Cream video with the long intro was just playful flirtatious fun between him and Diamond & Pearl so it worked well.

He did movies that was enough

But what would have been cool is videos for extended versions of songs

OldFriends4Sale said:

But what would have been cool is videos for extended versions of songs

There are some of those - Thieves In The Temple and Partyman spring to mind, and a few videos have bits from the extended versions in them (U Got The Look, Raspberry Beret).

HonestMan13 said:

I give Prince credit for not making bloated 20 minutes videos for every song he released as a single. Not every song deserves that treatment. Michael Jackson got gassed up off of Thriller's success and tried to turn every video he put out into some sort of epic event when the song didn't justify it!

bingo g-money

Lianachan said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

But what would have been cool is videos for extended versions of songs

There are some of those - Thieves In The Temple and Partyman spring to mind, and a few videos have bits from the extended versions in them (U Got The Look, Raspberry Beret).

Both of those videos were perfect because they weren't overdone ego projects. The extended Thieves video was plain funky and Partyman was so much fun to watch with the antics going on.

HonestMan13 said:

Lianachan said:

There are some of those - Thieves In The Temple and Partyman spring to mind, and a few videos have bits from the extended versions in them (U Got The Look, Raspberry Beret).

Both of those videos were perfect because they weren't overdone ego projects. The extended Thieves video was plain funky and Partyman was so much fun to watch with the antics going on.

lol that monkey with the exploding banana

rdhull said:

HonestMan13 said:

Both of those videos were perfect because they weren't overdone ego projects. The extended Thieves video was plain funky and Partyman was so much fun to watch with the antics going on.

lol that monkey with the exploding banana

that's his jab at Weird Al.

ufoclub said:

rdhull said:

lol that monkey with the exploding banana

that's his jab at Weird Al.

For channel uhf? I thought it was a jab Bubbles for MJ him dissin him (Prince) in Moonwalker