Start Choppin

Video for “Start Choppin’” from Dinosaur Jr’s Where You Been

Directed by Paul Devlin of DevlinPix
Arthor Hurwitz (aka Artie Sinatra / the Sun from Dinosaur) is also featured in this video.

Video Backstory

“Before video editing could be done on a laptop, it often involved a complicated tape-based off-line/on-line process. A music video, for example, would be worked on for days on inexpensive equipment and low-quality video, generating an edit decision list (EDL). That list would then be used to on-line or conform the final edit on the high-end very expensive equipment and tape. Lot’s of time off-lining, quickly as possible on-lining.

I on-lined edited dozens of music videos back in the day. This one was off-line edited by my friend Ernie Fritz, who has the back story:

If there is a video that is the definition of “fucked up”, this is it - - and looking back at it now, that’s why it’s great. I was the editor and this video, and I must admit, I thought it was doomed the first time I saw the footage. My friend Drew Carolan directed and I had no idea what he wanted or what was on his mind. I don’t think he knew either - - no let me rephrase that; he clearly didn’t know what he wanted but he was director who loved to have fun and always pulled something out of the hat.

And so it was that we set out to edit it. He had some vague idea that he would key in some footage behind the band and then the girl with green paint on her hands would have some of that same footage keyed onto hands. What the guy in the net was, nobody knew. On top of that, I don’t think he actually had any footage to put in the background. Did I have anything that would work? I found some old tape of fish that I laying around in the machine room. I think Drew found some other footage of a field also somewhere else.

To make matters worse, The green screen that they shot was actually terrible and would not key right. In fact, you can see the seam on the floor where it meets the background. Were they high when they shot this?

If this was not enough, we were working on 3/4 tape(U-Matic) in a 3 machine room. (for those of you who don’t know what that means, the simple answer is that it was like drilling teeth on a wiggling dog) It was painful, but according to Drew we were going to have a great time doing it. We had to; Jay Mascis (the lead singer and leader of the band) was going to be coming down and hanging out while we were doing this. This meant that the edit session would have to start at 6PM because he wants to be there, but he couldn’t get there before then.

I went in early. I wanted to try to get a head jump on this edit before anyone got there and see if I could work out a plan…”

- Paul Devlin - http://www.devlinpix.com/blog/2012-07-13/music-video-dinosaur-jr-start-choppin

More via Drew Carolan:

“That’s hilarious! I guess I have a different perspective. Were we high? I can only speak for myself, I wish I was! Our off line edit was approved by Warners the day before and when J showed up he didnt want to key any of the water stuff which was the whole point.

We had shot all this stuff of these slackers slam dancing in pools of water and then decided when things got going really good (it was freezing in Queens where we shot it) we would drop a net over the crowd and make them look like struggling fish in the sea. Why? Why not? It looked cool, it was fun and to quote J Mascis “they’re just words that rhyme.” J.j brought a dysfunctional friend by the name of Arnie or something like that and he wanted to feature him in some way so we got him completley wound up and wet and he went beserk in the netting. He hurled. J was pleased. Next. The woman was named Siobhan and she was my buddy Leon (Cool Runnings, Madonna Like a Prayer video) and J wanted a “hot chick”. Nothing more, nothing less. I wanted to shoot some beauty stuff for my reel so we did. The smearing of the paint was a joke about beauty. The backgrounds or the watery green screen on the floor was supposed to be all the moving trees, foliage, etc that we shot in East Hampton where I lived at the time. The reason you see the seam in the floor once again was because J. didn’t want anything keyed. His Manager who was also managing a band called Nirvana at the time was adamant that J gets what he wants. i kept saying that I have a contract with Warner Bros. to deliver what they approved. That didn’t go over. The reason Matt Dillon showed up at 3 in the morning was because he was a close friend with J. and myself. In fact he suggested I direct the video. I asked himto come down and reasonwith J about the green screen. I was desperate. I also had a lot of respect for my friend and editor Ernie. My favorite quote of his was “previews for pussies”! You gotta love it! Anyway J got his way, the video was fucked and I started working at Mc Donalds soon after. Oh yeah, Dinosaur Jr offered me a job as their tour manager and I politely passed.

The fish footage was provided by cinematographer Jim Gucciardo. The idea was to key in the fish below J in the watery green screen. Believe me, we had an idea it just got away like the fish!”

- Drew Carolan - http://www.devlinpix.com/blog/2012-07-13/music-video-dinosaur-jr-start-choppin#comment-613141484