finally got my chance to see mind field this weekend. super good. besides the skating (which is predictably amazing), i thought greg hunt stepped in and made a classy little piece that fits perfectly within the alien workshop canon. lots of fantastic timelapses, trademark aws-style graphic interludes, schizo mulitple exposures, and frenzied stock juggling all of which are filled with plenty of shots of seagulls, robotic gizmos and other typical delights you'd expect to see in a workshop video... all set to an amazing soundtrack with plenty of duane, dino and j.there are several nods to classic alien projects from the past within mind field to stoke you out without ever getting the feeling that you're just watching a bad impersonation or some recycled rehash. granted the whole vibe is a little slicker this year... but what isn't nowadays. very nice.
don't mean to get all ebert on your ass, but memory screen changed my whole shit up back in the day, redefining what i thought was possible on film (let alone in a skate video) and i've always held workshop videos to a higher standard because of that. i was worried that mind field might fall short due to burton's alien abduction but was quite relieved when its overall quality and aesthetic were left intact.
now can we please get a box set!?!
16 comments:
Where did you get that flyer for memory screen? love the posts by the way. saving lives
memory screen intro is so sick (the whole video is actually)
I would drop some cash for a box set (hopefully with a book type thing, like mind field came with)
I too just saw Mind Field this weekend and I haven't seen an AWS video since Memory Screen. Memory Screen is a mind blowing film.
What I think is pretty interesting is if you check out G& S "Footage" you can totally see it as the precurser to Memory Screen. Carter and Hill were already headed in that direction.
that flyer is for the premiere of memory screen at the xenia visitor center back in the day. my brother went to college closeby and i was fortunate enough to skate the center in all its glorious roughness a few times.
excellent point larry. totally agree.
sick post!
I got to see Mind Screen on Feb 5. Really impressed with everything. I love the bag pipe intro. Greg Hunt really did do an amazing job.
Memory Screen was definitely one of my favourites. If an Alien Box set came out, I'd definitely buy it. And I never buy skate videos anymore!
Great Post! Mind Field will probably be the best video to come out this year. The combo of all the sick skaters and all the great Dino jr songs makes it a masterpiece. Like you said, the references to Memory Screen were subtle, but also got you super hyped on the video.
Does anybody know where you can find "A Little Ethnic Song" on CD or download?
a little epic post
there's a place i'd like to go...
need to see it bad.
all the AWS vids are my shit.
had a problem ordering it online and have not been down to the skateshop in a minute.
thanks for another reminder of what i have to do this week
AWESOME! I'm hyped about seeing Mind Field. Need to wait until Friday, but luckily I am off. It'll be the first skate video I have bought since Yeah Right! Can't wait. Got to love AWS! Thanks for posting all the old ads!
Chops - I feel the same way you do. Memory Screen is my favorite video of all time. Yeah, even more than Video Days. It's like you said, it showed me skating in a different context than I'd even seen before. It's a beautiful and amazing video. I recently saw the premiere of Mind Field here in SF. Greg (Hunt) was there and we caught up for a little bit. I think he understood that this was his video, but I know he loves Memory Screen too so I'm sure he wanted to keep that same feeling. I think he did a really great job.
Larry - I definitely noticed what you're talking about when I first saw Memory Screen and I realized it was the same people that were involved with Footage. I actually think Footage was an amazing video also. Not enough props for that one.
photosynthesis was a little more my era, and that video is so classic
That AWS ad with the gun, and the black sheep really stuck in my mind over the years. It was 1990, and my interest in all things involving conspiracy, secret societies, and aliens had just taken off. Coincidentally the Workshop came out, and the X-files started running on TV. What makes that ad really weird in hindsight is the cryptic "2001" underneath a black sheep waving a flag with a cross on it (!), and the cartoon of a guy pointing up in horror. I still watch my mustard yellow copy of Memory Screen about once a month, and I still find some little thing in it that I never noticed before. A memory screen indeed. Oh! check the Dino jr. myspace page for some great pics of J mascis busting a nose wheelie on his AWS longboard. Amazing
Photosynthesis holds a special place in my heart since at that time I was super into Zero-type gnarly shit, and the contrast with not only Alien's skaters but the video's style as a whole was sort of an eye opener to say the least.
Haven't seen Mind Field yet either though because I'm a slouch. But the weather's good here for once so I'd rather go skating than make the trek to the shop. I got time - there's a lot of winter left
amazing video. It was done properly without cheesing up the asthetic. Loving all the dino and enjoyed seeing J on the wood!
On a side note... There's not much i wouldn't do to have that "exalt the new God" shit. - or to find my old one that had been washed so many times it practically melted right off my back
Great site. Unfortunately we will probably never see a box set due to music rights so hold on to what you have.
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