GregHowley.com

See the Constellation

August 15, 2008 - -

Otherwise known as "Stupid stuff my friends and I did when we were in high school". This is one of the music videos I threw together back in 1991 or 1992, using random footage we'd taken all over the place. I felt it needed to be documented for posterity. We did the video to TMBG's song See the Constellation.

This was my first experiment with dual-channel audio editing. On the old VHS editing machines I had at the time, the levels were just right. But somewhere along the line, probably when I used a VCR to move the video to a digital format, the balance got thrown off, and now the music is very soft. Apologies.

Things to notice in the video:

  • My friends and I driving past a few random kids who were walking down the street and yelling loudly and wordlessly at them. We were hooligans.
  • Talk of "Phlegm TV". This was our idea for a Wayne's World-like PBS show that never came to fruition.
  • My friend Ryan sitting on top of the car as I was driving (I was the only one of us who'd hit 16 and gotten a license) pretending to shoot at things. This was for our parody show "The W-Team", which also never came to fruition.
  • "My grandfather only uses the very best quality popping corn." - I'd borrowed someone's glasses, and been told I looked like Gary Reddenbacher. Remember him?
  • Sven's evil laugh. Sven was one of my best friends in high school - a foreign exchange student from Hamburg, Germany. He comments on this blog occasionally.
  • All of us doing stuff at the public access TV station, where we had ambitions of stardom.
  • Doug actually picking the lock on Paul's car with a clothes hanger while Steve gives him direction from off-camera. Break in! Okay! Give me angry! Give me angry!
  • Ken Ferris singing 500 miles and playing the guitar. Mr. Ferris was the most fantastic teacher ever, and an inspiration. We worked that clip into every video we could.
  • Me throwing lots of kicks. I had a bit of an infatuation with martial arts, although I've never taken a class in my life. I used to joke that I was a master of "No Kan Do".
  • Another teacher, Mr. Thereault, after receiving a pie to the face at a school fair. That wasn't whipped cream, it was shaving cream, and apparently it really stings your eyes.
  • Steve and Doug operating a hair spray flamethrower. Indoors.
  • Paul beheading a snowman. By charging it with a makeshift lance. We rebuilt that thing a half dozen times, each time destroying it in a new and creative way.
  • Remember the tank I was on top of during the Rhythm Section Want Ad music video? Right after we got that shot, a guy came out of the VFW hall we were at and yelled at us. "Y'kids fall off... get hurt... you're gonna sue us!"
  • Immediately after that last clip, you can see a sidewalk gathering we taped which we convinced ourselves was a drug deal.
  • Me doing a split on the roof of a shed.
  • Our idea for "Edward Sporkhands"
  • The tennis ball cannon our friend Dave built.
  • Me pretending to look at the sun through a magnifying glass.
  • "I'm in Greg's shirt" - I put the camera in my shirt, looking up at my face.
Comments on See the Constellation
 
Comment Fri, August 15 - 7:09 PM by tagger
Your mother must be s-o-o-o proud. You'll be such a comfort to her in her old age.

Maybe your step-cousin-Colin-the-lawyer should pick ALL our rest homes? One where some old guy shows up and wants to organize a game of "kick the can," maybe?
 
Comment Fri, August 15 - 10:38 PM by pmd
Olly olly oxen free!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfHjglAr4mE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcQlxed5icI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLjxDUrBzjE