Before “Get the Picture”, Springbok Nude Girls’ ongoing collaboration with multi-disciplined artist Lionel Smit gave us beautiful, multi-layered psychedelic journeys through “Emerging Submarines” and “Crystal Ball” – setting a standard that the latest video from the South African icons’ SAMA winning album Partypocalypse simply doesn’t meet.
Shot at what appears to be Daisy Jones in Stellenbosch (although I could be wrong) the video starts off as a standard concert-video with the band playing the song to a packed house and mesmerising lights before things start changing as abstract imagery gets super-imposed and the cameras start shaking.
Normally Lionel Smit’s combination of psychedelia and dynamic camera-work pays off and takes the band’s videos into worlds the songs alone can’t access but in “Get the Picture” it all feels contrived and represents a missed opportunity.
The Nude Girls are known for electrifying live performances that could rouse a hibernating bear out of its slumber and I’m sure this show was no exception yet what comes across on screen feels limp and run-of-the-mill.
With its resounding choruses and general freneticism the song allows for and even encourages visual experimentation. There’s scope for in-your-face shots of Carstens and co. and, with the dazzling stage-lights, shots that stun the brain into momentary submission.
Instead what camera movement there is feels forced and the imposed visuals feel half-hearted, like someone filling out a brief without taking the time to understand it completely, making “Get the Picture”’s video the least interesting and engaging of the three we’ve seen from this collaboration so far.
Feature pic supplied by artist
