Split-screen Furry-vision
Inspired by Mike Figgis’s ground breaking film ‘Time Code’, the Super Furry Animals have documented the process of mixing their new album in glorious split screen digital video. In 21 webisodes we are promised “a celebration of the banal nature of the mixing process”.
‘Ah! Greetings friends, join us for the next few weeks as we finish up our new album for your ears. We have borrowed 4 video cameras from friends and family and we will document events as they unfold, hopefully with as little drama as possible.’ The Film Council of SFA.’
Content-wise this is probably something for the fans only (of which I am one) but creatively it once again shows what can be achieved with a playful mind and some ubiquitous technology, something the Furries have always been great at.
I last saw SFA in concert when they played a small nightclub in Bridgwater to promote the Love Kraft album. They played a great set and ended it in spectacular fashion with a venomous version of The Man Don’t Give a Fuck, my favourite SFA track.
What impressed my most though was the the closing credits they had put together for the show. This consisted of backstage footage shot on handheld digital cameras with cinematic titles added and the whole thing back projected onto the stage behind them. It was a really nice touch but it got even better!
They finished the list of on screen “thank yous” with a final thanks to “you, the good people of Bridgwater”. This kicked off a roughly edited hi-speed outro sequence of them touring the local spots of Bridgwater, footage that must have been shot that same day.
This was an amazingly simple idea that really personalised the whole gig for the audience and ensured that it remained indelibly stamped on their minds. I’ve never been back to Bridgewater since but it remains a shrine to a fantastic night in the company of one of the world’s most interesting bands and the complete antithesis of the sort of corporate rock experience you might expect from U2 at the O2.