A New Kind of Life

An experimental and surreal music video with eccentric people, mannequins, musical instruments, dancing and cool songs.

There is a sort of narrative in this thirty-minute-long video, although telling a story is probably not what it focuses on. A man (Lane) is looking for aCid DoL ( who is actually the front person for the musical group from London 'The Pink Diamond Revue') and he goes from one interior location to another, questioning men regarding the person's location, one of which is English singer and record producer Gary Clail and all characters appear to be playing themselves. And that is pretty much it regarding the story, which is not a bad thing, as this short relies on other aspects in order to have value, including its soundtrack and cinematography.

Filming took place inside a clothing shop and a private residence and there is a pattern regarding the structure of the scenes. The film alternates throughout between Tim asking people (actual people who also use their real names) about aCid DoL, himself playing the guitar and lengthy scenes involving a female mannequin (aCid DoL herself?). During the mannequin scenes, a handheld camera films a mannequin inside a property, the dummy usually wearing sunglasses and a necklace with the peace symbol.

As mentioned , the cinematography stands out and that is because it looks rather artistic and diverse. The image repeatedly changes colour throughout the film and there are creative lighting techniques, making the viewing more interesting.

Regarding the audio, dialogue is limited and the same phrases and lyrics are repeated. The scenes with the mannequin inside a property with no one around are accompanied by music that sounds mysterious, making the atmosphere surreal. The rest of the film has a variety of tracks that include electronic, rock and rave music and it is quite a listening experience.

Going to the characters, most of them wear stylised clothing, Tim is the lead man and when he is not talking to people, he is either sitting down, with a poker face or playing his guitar, along with a drummer and a mannequin.

This short is basically a music video with a rich selection of colours and a lot of music. It deserves praise for its creativity and it should probably be best viewed as an experimental piece of work, as an effort to explore the methods of filmmaking.