I’ve seen these in music videos before … the video director wants to create what looks like a seamless, single take. It might involve the camera panning around, or following the artist from step to step, or maybe just a quick edit that you don’t notice. Fun fun stuff. That, plus a lot of optical illusions to create that flow.
Including…
SIMPLE MINDS
All The Things She Said
There’s a nice amount of recursion in this track, as Jim Kerr and Simple Minds dissolve from beat to beat into a single take. Not one of Simple Minds’ biggest hits, but still memorable nonetheless.
“WEIRD AL” YANKOVIC
Tacky
Now this is cool. Weird Al gets some of his Hollywood friends to sing along with this track, including Margaret Cho, Aisha Tyler, Eric Stonestreet and Jack Black. All in what looks like one seamless take. Even if Jack Black is in the video. Man, does everything Jack Black works with looks like he’s mugging for the camera?
TISM
Thunderbirds are Coming Out
The balaclava-wearing Australian rock-punk band TISM (stands for “This Is Serious Mum”) invited several of their fellow rock bands to mime the words to their hit song “Thunderbirds are Coming Out,” but by the time the camera lands on the band … the song is over.
PET SHOP BOYS
Opportunitiies (Let’s Make Lots of Money)
This is actually the second version of this music video, and it’s the one in which the Pet Shop Boys put together some digital magic tricks – handing themselves items like books, briefcases and bricks.
KYLIE MINOGUE
Come Into My World
This is wild. Kylie Minogue basically takes her song and turns it into an ersatz Inception video, where she sings along with – and walks along with – herself. And as any red-blooded American male can attest, you can never have enough Kylie Minogues in the world.
FLEETWOOD MAC
Big Love
Way back when Fleetwood Mac had a classic lineup – you know, before four-fifths of the group left to join Crowded House – they had waycool songs like this, as well as waycool videos like this. Again, more recursion and incursion and inception.
So after your mind has been twisted and rearranged with these music videos. … you can see it’s not all just a mental mind-snap.
Right here on your home for musical mental mind-snaps… K-Chuck Radio!
Chuck The Writer 
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