Mike Vaney ([email protected])
Wed, 13 Jan 1999 02:00:05 +1300
Okay, so I finally gave up with waiting for the 'Popmart - Live from
Mexico City' DVD (aaarrgrggh!) and reluctantly hired it from my local
video store... on... VHS (ooowww - saying that was painful). And, since
I've worked in the television production industry for the last 12 years, I
think I'm qualified to comment on the lack of professionalism that exists
within it. (My comments here are based on a video-production perspective,
rather than a band performance one.)
Obviously, in conjunction with U2's management team of Paul McGuinness and
Sheila Roche (who have been credited as Executive and Associate Producers
respectively), there would have been a number of television industry
professionals involved in the initial broadcast - and subsequent video
production - of the Mexico concerts. This production team had two
performances to pick and choose from to give them a complete show for
commercial distribution. Effectively, they had a whole extra concert to
cover their arses with if anything went wrong. Yet the released product
is marred with on-air camera repo's, jump-cuts, non-synch audio, and
continuity errors (all fundamental "do not do's" that even the most
inexperienced industry trainee would be able to point out). Add to that
the less-than-subtle audio cross-fades, and you have a somewhat
"amateurish" looking master cut.
Compare that to 'Zoo TV - Live from Sydney' and you can see how
"Mexicofo" *should* have been done. During the broadcasts of the Sydney
concerts, a large percentage of the cameras would have also been recorded
on their own dedicated videotape machines, which could later be cut in at
will during post-production of the video. Images from the laserdiscs that
fed the on-stage video screens were also cleverly used during the editing
process. What resulted was a highly professional and visually stunning
concert video.
I guess 'Popmart' was always going to struggle to compete with the
conceptually superior 'Zoo TV', but the 'Live from Mexico City' video
should have been afforded the equivalent degree of professionalism that
was given to its forerunner. These recordings, afterall, will forever
serve as archives of U2's career. What a shame that the 'Popmart' era
hasn't been done justice.
Just quickly - and on a positive note - Larry's drums cut through the mix
on this Mexico video more clearly than I have ever heard before
(especially the toms). His live work has seldom sounded so good.
Mike Vaney
[email protected]
ICQ# 6096753
This Burning Desire - A U2 Odyssey
http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~mvaney/this_burning_desire/
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