Death Cab for Cutie
“Directions”

The “Directions” DVD is described as a visual companion to the album Plans by Death Cab For Cutie. A number of filmmakers and visual artists were given the chance to make short films inspired by a song from the album. An interesting venture to be sure, but does this DVD become a successful flirtation with artistic merit or does it fail?

Firstly I have to admit, that while there are many music videos that I adore, I do not watch the medium regularly. The music video realm is a fascinating one, but much of the time I feel the videos are boring or pretentious. Below are some videos I feel are successful in selling the bands or artists for which they’re made as well as manifest the song in a likable fashion.

Eisley: Marvelous Things
This is one of the best music videos I've ever seen.


Daft Punk: Around the World


Jem: They


My own love of Death Cab is growing. I enjoy their music immensely, but I consider myself a much large fan of the Postal Service (another of Ben Gibbard’s bands). But it is clear that Death Cab is a huge success having crossed from and indi music label to the big time.

“Directions” though is not a typical collection of music videos. No, these are meant to be short films inspired by a song.

Below are individual reviews of each film on the DVD. I did not review the numerous extra features, just the videos.

Marching Bands of Manhattan
Its hard to judge this film on its aesthetics without heavily relating the song. This first film has me fearing for the rest. Its hard to do something like this. The exercise is by definition a pretentious affair. The video of one man viewing the world and his love through a paper bag is a poorly crafted film. With post induced slow-motion effects applied to the video a strobe effect is actually achieved. This is a limitation of video and in film would be called step processing. It’s a look that I hate in nearly everything that uses it. From its overtly 80s watermark on a film like Chronos to the bloated 2005 King Kong. It’s a bad choice but is by no means the worst thing here. The video is poorly edited for such a short piece and conveys nothing of the song to me the viewer. I don’t feel any connection to the character, his surrounding, or to the story that barely hugs the surface of an idea.

Song: A-
Video: D

Soul Meets Body
Thankfully this short film recovers from the loss of the previous one. An interesting blend of 8mm home movies and original material makes for eye-catching visuals with great texture and vivid nostalgia. I love 8mm for several reasons. It is film, which for a purist like myself makes me happy. Secondly 8mm has a built in nostalgic quality. Immediately when I see 8mm footage I feel like I’m witnessing the memories of another individual. There is a surreal quality inherit in 8mm created by the akward way in which it records motion.

The editing is fine, it relies heavily on the numerous short bursts of imagery. Apparently this is also supposed to take place on Thanksgiving. Family and turkey abound doing a solid job of creating false impressions of nostalgia. I particularly loved all the winter images. The snow looked wonderfully desolate and depressing in the graveyard. Add to that the novelty of a singing mounted deer’s head and you have a fun little video. I stress video because so far after two of these I do not see them as individual films, they are music videos, visual representations of the music.

Song:B+
Video: B-

Summer Skin
Excellent. Finally a really good “visual companion”. I found the imagery very powerful. Children dressed as little office workers whose playground is an open-air work-a-day office. The playground rings are handholds for a make shift subway, wide open spaces are conference rooms. It’s a fantastically realized video. The photography is powerful with the very cold look of an over cast sky. A great use of shallow depth of field creates isolation in the working environment. The idea that these kids are seeking connection in a playground turned office is just neat to me. This video made the purchase worthwhile, as it is the first successful of the bunch with a story, emotion, and stark beauty.

Song: B+
Video: B+

Different Names for the Same Thing
An excellent song but the visuals of the short film aren’t. The idea of a high school band playing a Death Cab song is not only a trite concept for a music video but this one just isn’t interesting. The photography is competent but not remarkable. The only thing worth mentioning aside from the song is the little girl lip-syncing the song. Her enthusiasm is great and makes it almost worth another look. Its unfortunate that her efforts don’t salvage a rather bland concept.

Song: B+
Video: C

I Will Follow You into the Dark
Amazing. This is not only a fantastic song but the visuals actually feel inspired by the music. More than someone being filmed singing the song, the stop-motion style gives weight to an already heavy track.

The images of a sketchbook/journal feel intimate and storybook like. I loved it so much I rewatched it immediately after because I couldn’t believe how choked up I felt. This was largely due to the images. With each page turn it becomes evident that what seems like random sketches are actually telling a story. That’s a great sign of a successful film or artistic endeavor, if you feel something, some emotion. I felt a great rainbow of emotions in the span of two maybe three minutes. This is just a beautiful film.

The first of these “films” to be able to stand on its own, “I Will Follow…” has a strong resonating poignancy. If they published the story depicted in this film I would rush out to buy it. I want to own a sketch from this artist, Monkmus, who did all the artwork as well as direct the video. He apparently prides himself on his “heart” and it is highly evident in this video.

I would also like to mention that the formal aspects, the animation, the choice of song, the artwork, and the over all style are enhanced greatly by the sparse but pointed use of color and a lighting gag of sorts. This moving texture of shadows, soft and organic, makes up the lighting trick. It gives a great sense of the passage of time, almost as if decades are passing by in seconds. I am truly impressed by this piece and cannot wait to share it with the world.

Song: A-
Video: A

(At the point I’m slightly afraid to go on since the last video was so good I don’t want to spoil the emotional high I’m on, but alas I press onward.)

Your Heart is and Empty Room
I don’t have much to say here. The song is great. The visuals are interesting. Its an animated video. I guess I didn’t feel much of anything, just a whole lot of nothing. Its not bad, its not good. It feels stilted. Which is a shame considering how beautiful the song is.

Song: A-
Video: C+

Someday You Will Be Loved
Well executed stop motion animation makes for a most morbid and dark video. I’m sure every emo kid in America will love this, but I don’t like dwelling on pain and heartbreak. I don’t sit in corners and cry.

To be fair, the animation is inspired. Its very intricate and does manage to tell a story that is easy to follow even in this morbid fashion.

Song: B-
Video: C

Crooked Teeth
What would make Death Cab a cooler band? If they were composed of a treasure less pirate with a hook that plays bass, a lovesick dragon on drums, and depressed robot chased from his home leading the band on guitar and vocals. This is a really fun and well-designed video. Excellent effects and puppetry make for one of the stronger elements on this DVD. I love robots, especially when they sing.

This is a style I’ve seen a few times before and I find it effective. A world is created using cardboard crafted into 3D objects and puppets. These are improved with CGI and other effects. It gives great scope to the storytelling but keeps costs at a minimum. Highly original, the concept is easy to recognize but different enough to stave off criticism of copying other music videos or projects.

Song: B+
Video: B+

What Sarah Said
What did I say about pretension? I’m sorry, but the artist versus artist’s girlfriend thing is tired. If anyone reading this thinks they’ve got a great idea for a film or video and it involves a painter and his girlfriend in a fight then stop, just stop. I’m sick of it and I lose interest in this faster than you could imagine. Which is a shame because this video ends in an interesting fashion. It has a trick to it and I like that, but the rest of the video is useless to me. I don’t feel anything but boredom. Too much angst for me.

Song: B
Video: C

Brothers on a Hotel Bed
I like Baraka, I like Chronos, I like this. Time-lapse photography is really cool, especially when you see star fields rotate, clouds fly by, and light move. This is a really effective video and I can only explain it further thusly; while watching it I audibly said “This is great, but it would be better if it had snow.” And then there it was, snow. Snow falling, snow in time lapse, snow covered streets. When you as an artist can create such a desire subconsciously in such a specific way you’ve won me over. This is abstract. Its visual poetry, not storytelling and I loved it.

Song: B+
Video: A-

Stable Song
This was interesting. Post-Apocalyptic bunker life made poignant by Death Cab’s music. It’s pretty cool. I found it effective because it made me at that moment appreciate what I had as far as my life and my parents. Its bitter sweet and sure it’s a little ostentatious but it works.

Song: B+
Video: B

Bonus Tracks

Jealousy Rides With Me
This is another successful short. Great effects and photography make for a jealous moon of he sun. Its cute. All the visuals of people “playing” with the sun and forced perspective is really neat. Its just a clever little video.

Song: B
Video: B+

Talking Like Turnstiles
This was kinda cool? I can’t tell if its fake or real. Whatever. Its about a guy with a video camera that gets on stage during a Death Cab concert and gets chased by the security. I guess its fake. But its interesting.

Song: B+
Video: C

Something I got out of this experience is an even greater love of Death Cab For Cutie and for Ben Gibbard. He is such a prolific songwriter. He does tend to live in the dark sometimes, but when he emerges it is into sun drenched pop bliss. His songs are filled with tenderness and intense imagery. Keep and eye on him and his numerous bands and projects.

Over all this is a successful effort by many of the artists involved. I am very happy to own this and cannot wait to share this with others. It seems that while a few of the films fail miserably others are soaring triumphs. Particularly I Will Follow You Into the Dark. This is the finest piece on the entire DVD and it alone is worth the $12.99 I paid for the disc. It is the best video I’ve seen in a few months, and really made me feel a strong dynamic of emotional resonance all at once. That’s hard for any kind of art to accomplish, especially in the span of less than 5 minutes.

I recommend this DVD highly for its efforts and because it is a great work of art. I think everyone can find something to like on it, and I also believe it will be a great source of conversation in the future.

Hopefully we will see more of this sort of thing in the future. If any other bands wanted to do this I would be interested in participating; namely for Postal Service and Eisley.

If you do like this sort of thing, I strongly recommend getting a subscription to the magazine Paste. Each issue comes with both a mix CD of new music and a DVD of music videos, film clips, concert clips, and short films.

Grade:

Album: Death Cab For Cutie Plans A-
DVD: Directions B+