Yes, after much head-scratching, debate and soul-searching, the band have picked the overall winner for our Hopes and Fears video contest. Over to Richard, who's holding the virtual golden envelope...
Watching back through all the song winners I was blown away again - they are all brilliant - such a variety of styles, and from all around the planet. But we've decided that the overall winner is Untitled #1 by Elmira Temirgaliyeva from Kazakhstan. I wish we could make a video that good!
I've loved watching the videos, and just want to thank every single person involved - we had no idea how huge this was going to be, and how many people would make videos!
Congratulations Elmira! Your amazing video wins you the deluxe Hopes And Fears bundle featuring a double CD, a T-shirt and a limited edition signed poster. Here is that fantastic winning video...
The seven other song winners will each receive a signed copy of the Hopes And Fears Deluxe Edition double CD. Congratulations to those guys too. Here are their videos again:
She Has No Time by Muhammad Abiyoso from Indonesia
Bend and Break by Kaidy Kuna from the US
Snowed Under by Karen Loewy from Barranquilla, Colombia
Can't Stop Now by Karla Solalinde from Monterrey, Mexico
Sunshine by Manida from Minnesota, USA
We Might As Well Be Strangers by Lareindedecoeur1 in Belgium
Your Eyes Open by Airiin from Estonia
We really had no idea that we started this that we'd end up with so many amazing videos. Thanks once again to everyone who entered.
Hello. Here is the fifth of our eight H&F video contest winners - for Sunshine. This one was judged by Richard. Don't forget, we'll be announcing the overall contest winner once we've announced all the invidual song winners. (The individual winners each get a signed copy of the Hopes And Fears Deluxe Edition.) Thanks again to everyone who submitted videos.
WINNER
Manida from Minnesota, USA
Richard: This is such a touching idea, and really reminded me of some happy trips over the last year! Great use of the photos from my blog, but also love the way you have linked them, and used UTIS artwork too. This is a huge amount of work, turning the photos into illustrations, then linking them all together. Outstanding.
RUNNERS-UP
Katherine from the UK
Richard: There's something very magical about this stop-motion animation. I love the shot of waving at the camera, and in the simple setting, there's a real sense of a story here. Thanks!
Jorgelina Ramirez from Argentina
Richard: Another really impressive production - is that the biggest cast yet for a keane video? It definitely reflected the theme of the song. I really enjoyed it.
Filip in Romania
Richard: Great idea for a stop-motion video, and really intriguing. I love all the glimpses of everyday life, like the couples by the lake. Another really creative approach to making a video, and a heartfelt, philosophical theme.
Simona from Italy/Texas
Richard: You say in your comments that you don't have too much talent for drawing, but while I was watching it I was wishing I could draw as well as you! This is a really enjoyable video - you have blended a few visual styles really well, and it looks fantastic. It must have taken ages!
ALL THE OTHER ENTRIES (AS EVER, MOST OF THEM ARE WORTH A LOOK!)
(In order of entry date)
Alzate in the US
Christine Yates in the UK
Pilar Cabello Cabalin in Chile
Regis in France
Emelie from Sweden
Dayan and Rejane from Recife, Brazil
Holly Cavanaugh from California, USA
Patrick in Germany
Michelle from the US
Silke J in Germany
Jesper Forsberg in Sweden
Juan Manuel Rizzo in Argentina
Apologies for the gap since we revealed the previous winner for our Hopes And Fears video contest (watching hundreds of videos takes time!). But here is the winner for the fifth song, Untitled #1 - as judged by Richard. Don't forget, we'll be announcing the overall contest winner once we've announced all of the invidual song winners. (The individual winners each get a signed copy of the Hopes And Fears Deluxe Edition.)
WINNER
Elmira Temirgaliyeva from Kazakhstan (video above)
Richard: This is outstanding. Great ideas, and what an amazing place! The acting is superb, and the storyline too - really feel like it's a man losing his mind, which really matches the song. It's an ambitious video, but I love it.
RUNNERS-UP
Luis Coutinho from Sao Paulo, Brazil
Richard: This is really artistic, and i love that it's quite free-form (less narrative-led) - that's a brave thing to do with a video, but the beauty of the footage really pulls it off. You get a sense of fun from the footage of the people, but quite a brooding feeling from the rest of the footage. It's like a film version of my favourite kind of abstract photography.
Marta Micol Torraca Vega from Puerto Rico
Richard: this is really frantic and intense - looks great, then it becomes something really different - I love it when videos surprise, and the way different styles are combined is really cool. It starts looking quite retro, but then becomes really modern, and that really suits the song, then goes back to what looks like really old home-movie footage, which reminds me of the cine-film my dad showed me from when he was younger! A really enjoyable video that keeps going in surprising, different directions.
Hanne O, 15, from the Netherlands
Richard: you picked a really long song to animate to! I love the starkness - it really picks up the dark lyrics of one of my favourite songs. The drawings of the birds are brilliant, along with the raindrop. It's great when it goes white at the breakdown - really well matched to the music, and the ending is properly great (don't want to spoil it for people who are about to watch it!)
ALL THE OTHER ENTRIES (ONCE AGAIN, INCLUDING SOME REALLY GREAT VIDEOS!)
(In order of entry date)
Alejandro from Paraguay
Brandi Perez from USA
Craig Winsor from USA
Jenny Castner from USA
Daniela and Natalie from Chile
François Mernier from Belgium
Video by Kittichan in Ireland
Nat Wood and AlexB
Kozo in UK
Matthew Scott from UK
(We're genuinely amazed by the quality of all these.)
Hello again. We reach the halfway stage of our H&F video contest winners rundown with Can't Stop Now. This was another song judged by Richard. Don't forget, we'll be announcing the overall contest winner once we've announced all of the invidual song winners. (The individual winners each get a signed copy of the Hopes And Fears Deluxe Edition.)
WINNER
Karla Solalinde from Monterrey, Mexico (video above)
Richard: The idea to do this in the computer game is really great - a really fresh and modern twist on animation, but with a storyline there too. Five years ago this video would have cost a fortune to make! There are so many details, like the keane drum head on the drum kit (trust me to notice that!) you've also got a fair few of Tom's moves down. I'm really impressed by the way you made the creative side work with the Sims idea. Fantastic.
RUNNERS-UP
Pedro Atiénzar from Murcia, Spain
Richard: This was one of the first videos I watched, and it set a really high standard. It's really professional - the shots, the editing, the movement… my favourite moment is when the camera swings with the actor's hand. Really enjoyed it.
Ryan in Australia
Richard: This is a great-looking video - really nicely shot. I love the almost day-for-night effect, and the different angles to keep it fresh, cut with the shots of the guy's eyes. Tom will confirm that videos where you run and run are hard work, so props to your lead actor! feels like the guy is trying to escape from everything, but i guess he works it out at the end. I felt really bad for the guy with the coffee - good cameos!
Bumble & Pingu in Edinburgh Zoo
Richard: This really had me laughing - it is time we did a video with a dance routine, and the costumes remind me of making the album… how many takes did you use? my fave move is "slow down", plus the impression of Tim's piano playing - we do the same thing!
ALL THE OTHER ENTRIES (YOU MADE SOME GREAT VIDEOS...!)
(In order of entry date)
Charlotte and Anna in the UK
Fidel G in Mexico
Rachel Cisto in the US
Rachel Q also in the US
Krista from Massachusetts, USA
Maria Jose Vazquez-Mellado Petit from Mexico City, Mexico
Gretel Cervantes also from Mexico City, Mexico
Eugenia from Argentina
Eva in The Netherlands
Kat from Canada
Great work folks.
The second of our eight winners, for Bend And Break, was very kindly judged by Richard. Remember, we'll be announcing the overall contest winner once we've announced all the invidual song winners.
WINNER
Kaidy Kuna from the US (video above)
Richard: I love this video! it's a full-on production with so much going on - huge cast, fight scene, proper acting - the sepia-filmed images of the past. It's heavy, too! properly depressing early-on - even the looks the baby and child give are spot-on. The little lad is so cool - there's real intensity to his stare. Honestly, I'm blown away.
RUNNERS-UP
Liouba and Svetlana from Moscow, Russia
Richard: I love the central idea of leaving the balloon as a message - it's really effective, and every good video needs a strong central idea like this one. Looks like you had a lot of fun making it, too, despite the cold! It's a really positive video that i really enjoyed.
Angélica Trujillo from Bogotá, Colombia
Richard: Firstly, this is great - and I'm amazed it's your first animation! i love the angles (e.g. the drums, zooming in on the tv), use of mirrors, the details, the models… plus the way it becomes more intense as it goes on. Really really good.
ALL THE OTHER ENTRIES (BECAUSE YOU ALL DESERVE SOME CREDIT!)
(In order of entry date)
Richard: Thank you all so much for making them - there have been so many entries, it's amazing.
Luciana from Brazil
Dionne Waterman from Winnipeg, Canada
Carlo Bosco from Italy
Lali, Eve, Lu y Rodri from Argentina
David Rosa González
Kris Ty in Spain
Lonelykeanefan in UK
Cesar Aurelio Gallardo Sánchez from Mexico
William Brown from the UK
Watassja Keaneski in Japan
Becky Courrier and Hannah Nitecki from Minnesota
Kaiada from L.A, United States
Laura & Shannon in the US
Daniela Aparicio in Mexico
Margarita Tovar from Colombia
Ariadna from Barcelona, Spain
There's a saying in showbiz, that you should never meet your heroes in case they let you down. Well, I'd like to add that the opposite is also true. Never meet people whose work you're not that bothered about, because they might win you over in other ways.
I mean, how am I supposed to maintain a good head of steam about Keane and their posh-boy pianola guffola, if a brief telephone call is all it takes to convince me that drummer Richard is as thoroughly pleasant and decent a fella as you'd ever hope to clap ears on.
All I had to do was talk to him for a short while about the re-release of their debut album 'Hopes And Fears' and how the past five years in the public eye has changed the band. Surely my mild prejudices and not-that-deeply-held ambivalence wouldn't collapse in such a short time? Surely I could keep my inner snarky blogmonster alive, even if he does reveal a huge admiration for my beloved Ting Tings?
Well, it seems not, as this interview transcript clearly demonstrates...
================================
ChartBlog: When was the last time you listened to 'Hopes And Fears' all the way through?
Richard: Actually, I haven't listened to the whole thing straight through for a very long time. But we did listen to a few tracks a bit on the tourbus. The last thing we did was a tour of North America and Canada and Tim played a couple of songs on the back of the bus, late one drunken night, and I was amazed at how fresh it sounded. I think I had in my head an idea of how it sounds and it was a little bit better!
ChartBlog: You didn't listen back appalled and thinking "I had no idea I was doing that, and I have no idea why I was doing that..."
Richard: To be honest, when you listen back to it compared to the way we play now, I think we've played something like 500 gigs in the intervening period between now and when it came out, and the way you play songs changes over the course of that length of time. But it sounds relatively politely played, rather than us hammering the songs as loud as we can in the studio or whatever. But I guess that's the way a band develops, so I guess that's pretty interesting...
ChartBlog: [long pause] ...er, yeah! Sorry, I was just...did you say you've done 500 gigs in five years? That's an average of 100 gigs a year...one every three days...or thereabouts. That's quite busy, isn't it?
Richard: Yeah, that's about right. I only know this because we've got an archive of all the gigs we've done on our website, and I was ichatting with the guy who runs our website recently and he said "yeah, you've got 570 gigs in our archive". So I'm guessing that 70 or more of them will have been done before we released 'Hopes And Fears'.
ChartBlog: Sheesh! Could you be the only band in the history of popular music to have a band member collapse with ACTUAL nervous exhaustion?
Richard: It is a lot of gigs but...we like playing live. Which I guess is a good job.
ChartBlog: And you can afford a bass player now...
Richard: Well yeah! For the last year we've had a guy called Jesse Quin with us. He's been with us since before we started 'Perfect Symmetry'. He's a lovely man, I actually play the drums in his band sometimes.
ChartBlog: Yeah, cos what you need is more gigs! Still, he must take the pressure off Tim's right hand...
Richard: Yeah, that's the thing about the development of the band, you try new things.
ChartBlog: There was never any suggestion that you would take up a multitude of simultaneous instruments to try and lend Tim a hand?
Richard: Erm...we have talked about it! [laughs] I think my total lack of musicianship probably counts in my favour there.
ChartBlog: So you escaped Tim pointing at the Ting Tings and yelling "SEE? HE controls the loops and keeps the drums going, now HELP ME OUT HERE!"
Richard: I did go and see them, and I've got to say Jules is pretty impressive the way he does all that. I'm in awe of the way they run their show. I love that there's this two-piece band who do all this stuff on loops and it is actually live. Cos so many people would just press the space bar on iTunes.
ChartBlog: That's what made their first Jools Holland appearance so amazing, cos it's Jools Holland, it has to have been live. They don't let people sing along to backing tapes...
Richard: Exactly. I've seen them a few times. In fact while we were mixing the record Tim and I went along to see them in LA. Cos Tim had been banging on about how great he thought that album was. And I was saying "I like it, but I can't quite get my teeth into it", and then I saw it live and it just clicked. For the entirety of the 'Perfect Symmetry' tour, we used 'That's Not My Name' as the song that we had played on the PA just before we came on.
ChartBlog: Ahh...that kind of works for Keane, doesn't it? Cos that song is all about people feeling misrepresented and devalued, and you've had that ride with the critics and people like me. Do you ever crave a bit more respect?
Richard: I think it took us a long time to get used to the idea that we were never going to be critical darlings. In fact our most recent album got much better reviews that we were expecting, and in a way, at that point it was a shame because we had finally reached the point where we didn't care!
I don't think you can ever claim that it has no effect on you, but definitely I would never have it round the other way. We have fans that travel around the world with us. We got to Australia, there were some British fans that travelled there, and then they showed up in Moscow!
ChartBlog: Just to hear you play the drums, Richard.
Richard: I should probably give the other two a little bit of credit.
ChartBlog: They're not here, they'll never know.
Richard: No...where are they? What are they doing?
ChartBlog: Well Tim's a busy man.
Richard: Yes.
