cmyplay

I’ve just completed my 2009 showreel and uploaded it to my Portfolio page. For the music, I made use of a piece of the Munchausen By Proxy track Yes Man.

Desmond & The Tutus is a band that continues to set themselves apart as different. A group of four haling from Pretoria, everything about the band speaks of their peculiar, hip approach. Their latest EP has launched and it succeeds in maintaining their idiosyncratic image. The EP itself comes in an unassuming, black cardboard cover wrapped in a cellophane sleeve.

The oblique, white, serif typeface loudly displays a celebrity inspired naming convention that has become popular over the past few years. Seemingly each of these copies is branded slightly differently, however, upon opening the wrapping, the front image is revealed to be a 12cm x 12cm sticker. Behind this is the actual cover with the title _ & The _“across the top third.

The 4 tracks on the EP are exactly what a fan would expect from the group, littered with Shane Durrant’s distinctive vocals that apologise for pointing out the striking resemblance someone’s girlfriend has to Country musician Willie Nelson. On the visual side of things, the minimalist branding carries across to other below the line items: 10.5cm x 7cm stickers; badges; and online spaces.

Albeit done by other musicians (Harry and the Potters, Molly & the Ringwalds, Atilla and the Honeys), the naming convention of splitting a public figure’s first and last names with the inclusion of & The is something I personally identify with Desmond & The Tutus. Through this campaign, Desmond & The Tutus has effectively laid claim to the convention and undermined all others who use it by opening their identity up to the myriad of other possible band names.

South African public personalities sit alongside other well-known pop-culture figures and include Lance & The Klusners, Zola & The Budds and Barney & The Simons. My personal favourite among all being Steve & The Jobs.

I’ve just completed my 2008 showreel. It contains work from 2007 to present. For the music, I made use of a piece of Kevin Drew’s track Big Love.