A few videos by Natalie Van Den Dungen…

So in my opinion, Dan Deacon’s Paddling Ghosts was one of the best music videos of 2009. It’s completely and absolutely adorable, it’s great fun, and (always a plus) a really good song also. Made by Australian director Natalie Van Den Dungen, it tells the story of a ghost that falls to earth looking for redemption and goes on the crazy kind of adventure a ghost encounters in that sort of situation.

Watch it. It’ll make you smile!

In an interview with FUSE tv a little while ago, Van Den Dungen goes into detail about making the clip, and the thinking processes behind the ghost’s journey.

“The story itself is a tale of redemption. I’ve always seen the 3 main characters as essentially the one person. The ghost, rejected from heaven ends up digging up his skeleton – the Pirate. This unwittingly releases the gold that the Pirate was protecting, the gold being the burden from the Ghosts’ past that needed redemption. The two of them then set off into unknown territory and are saved by Dan from the Shark (which represents the burden that can eat away at you). The Ghost is finally relieved of his past and so ejects the Pirate and Dan and flies off on his own into space”

For me though, the first thing I noticed was how endearing Van Den Dungen was able to make a white sheet with an eye patch. Also notice, if you will, the spectacular puppet version of Dan Deacon.

Electric Skeleton – Darren Hanlon
Here’s a clip made for Darren Hanlon that was voted as #27 in ABC TV’s Rage Top 50 Music Videos of 2009. How could anyone resist an adorable dancing skeleton?

Finally, I was really fascinated to see upon cruising around her site that Natalie Van Den Dungen is in the process of completing a documentary about legendary Melbourne music venue The Tote. It’s scheduled for completion this year, but here’s a preview from 2007. I know I’ll be looking forward to seeing it, with plenty of blurry yet fun-filled memories of times had at the Tote stored in my brain.