shame 'Fingers Of Steel' by Ja Humby
Rob Ulitski - 21st Nov 2022
Ja Humby explores the lengths some bands will go to for success, in this rip-roaring satire on the modern day music biz for shame.
The video for Fingers Of Steel reveals the 'truth' behind the group's hype... it's the work of evil genius front-man Charlie Steen, who has forcefully enlisted his bandmates in a click farm operation generating fake likes and comments on their own social media posts.
Steen plays the villainous role to perfection, bare-chested and manic throughout, as self-obsessed as he is demanding, as he bullies his bandmates into submission. And their musical instruments go unplayed as they churn increasingly outlandish comments online.
Blending narrative with glitchy animation and a 90's thriller-esque colour scheme, the video is sharp, funny and works really well with the track - remarkably it was apparently turned around in a week - and Steen's hip thrusting will stay in your mind long after watching...
It also represents a triumphant reunion between the band and Ja Humby, who worked together on the faux doc and live performance film, Live In The Flesh for the director's Molten Jets project.
"Conceived and delivered in one week with very little sleep, the frontman was somehow more narcissistic off-camera than he is on it - humping thin air between barrages of punches," claims Humby. "His hips would spasm when he caught himself in the mirror, despite the tantrum-induced snot bubbles no one dared to point out.
"Huge thank you to everyone involved in this brutally honest depiction of a modern band’s struggle for fame."
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Rob Ulitski - 21st Nov 2022
Credits
Featured here in the credits?
Production/Creative
- Director
- Ja Humby
- Producer
- Rhory Danniells
- Production Company
- IS
- Production Manager
- Ciaran K. Walker
- 1st AD
- Henry Heffer
Camera
- Director of Photography
- Jed Darlington-Roberts
- Focus Puller
- Darius Williams
- 2nd AC
- Alice Fleur
- Steadicam
- Ben Thomas
Lighting/Grip
- Gaffer
- Massimo
Art
- Art Director
- Georgia Marshall
- Art Assistant
- Fabia Martin, Sarafina Shakespeare
Wardrobe
- Make-up
- Laura Vallejo
Grading
- Colourist
- Adam Clark
VFX
Commission
- Label
- Dead Oceans
Rob Ulitski - 21st Nov 2022