Dire Straits, Mark Knopfler, Notting Hillbillies videoclips

[ds1984]

Paul Cummins is definitly one DS insider who would also have great stories to tell.

[Brunno Nunes]

It is a bit funny, but it popped in my mind as I was reading the posts about videos. If I recall correctly, in the SOS videos, there were transitions from one video to the next, which I didn't like, but one of the transitions had a David Knopfler photo, similar in aesthetics to the Making movies insert photos. Imagine how far the production has gone, to have photos of David and then everything went down the drain. I don't know if there is somewhere a mix with David's guitar parts, but to tell you the truth, apart from remembering this curio, I have lost my appetite for videos. I don't know why, maybe starting to realize that I can't spend time looking over and over to the same things, if not because of feeling the precious little time I have, then the collapse of the fond memories, by revisiting the videos

The Dire Straits The Videos VHS is pure nostalgia for me; it was my gateway to the band. Through this VHS, I saw the band, Sultans of Swing, and Wild West End for the first time. Wow, it was love at first sight. I was struck by the perfection and simplicity the band conveyed.

I know which photo you're referring to; it's actually from the same section of photos that appears in the MM album (MK, JI, PW). David's ended up being left out, but they were used for this release. By the way, it's a sensational and tasteful montage. I've always liked the way it portrays the band's trajectory.

Here's that photo; it's not in good quality, sorry.

[Robson]

Indeed! I've never noticed that before. Thanks.

[wayaman]

Paul Cummins is definitly one DS insider who would also have great stories to tell.

Actually, he's part of John Illsley's shows "The Life and Times of Dire Straits, A Q&A of Music and Memories" that John has been doing for many years now, where John is in conversation with Paul Cummins, and it was the root of John's book.

Just a reminder that John Illsley and Paul Cummings are doing this show this autumm and there are still tickets available:

https://www.johnillsleymusic.com/tour

October

Friday 24th Theatre Royal, Winchester

Saturday 25th Savoy Theatre, Monmouth

Sunday 26th Park House Centre, Bude

Monday 27th Stables, Wavendon

Tuesday 28th Huntingdon Hall, Worcester

Wednesday 29th The Old Market, Hove

Thursday 30th The Lens Studio, Portsmouth



November
Sunday 2nd Sub Rooms, Stroud

Monday 3rd City Varieties, Leeds

Tuesday 4th Playhouse Theatre, Norwich

Wednesday 5th Tivoli, Wimborne

Saturday 8th Landmark Theatre, Teddington

Monday 10th Dorking Halls, Dorking

Tuesday 11th The Apex, Bury St Edmunds

Thursday 13th Playhouse, Alnwick

Friday 14th Tung Auditorium, Liverpool

Saturday 15th The Witham, Barnard Castle

Sunday 16th The Met Arts Centre, Bury

Thursday 27th Marine Theatre, Lyme Regis

Friday 28th St Georges Arts Centre, Beckenham

Saturday 29th White Rock Theatre, Hastings

[vgonis]

I loved the transitions on "The Videos". I believe most of these were created by Paul Cummins, the artistic manager of Damage.
He was also involved in album covers and other design aspects. And not to forget, he's one of the reasons why the OES album & tour took place, according to what Terry told me.

Nothing wrong with the visual aspect of the transitions themselves, really,  but they were put there in order to create a stream, a program, a new wider narration that contained all the videos. (though peculiarly Skateaway and Wild west end were missing and I would prefer to also have  the alternative videos of Tunnel of love https://youtu.be/_pralShcl9E?si=FGe-6lXt3rB8qXW5 and walk of life https://youtu.be/H55KgeOaanY?si=T0Q-IrePzNgImGPz  )  On the other hand, there was always an artistic effort to tone down the real purpose of the videos which was to promote a product, namely the music. (I know it is hard to call it product but this is a totally different discussion.) In any case, any artistic merit, any visual narrative, made sense when you watched a video by itself, and the little stop gap, time it took the video to fade out and the next to begin, made  more convincing the narrative and the illusion that this is something more than an add and closer to art .  In other words I liked it better when each video had its breathing space. Apart from that, if i remember correctly there were slight trimmings of the endings of the videos as well. So the transitions may have been fine but the overall logic of making the videos a program didn't cut it for me. I know that this is personal taste, but it is lovely to have other people with the same vices to discuss it. 

Yeah, the older I get the harder it is to justify spending time watching and reading things again when there is so much I haven't got to yet 

True. Yet, sometimes I seek to watch a film even if I remember it by heart. I fear it is the much dreaded nostalgia people of a certain age get, or in psychological terms, getting back to a safe place of my youth.