20 Minutes of Oxygen

It’s always good to see a band making a science fiction video especially if they approach the genre with respect but not too much reverence.  This is a particularly good example, especially when you take in to account the fact that it was made for a budget of only $1500.

The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets is the name of the band (bit of a mouthful, chaps!) and this track, 20 Minutes of Oxygen, is taken from their album Spaceship Zero.  There is a moral to this little tale – but we will let it be revealed to you at the end of the video – but there are plenty of atypical spaceman situations and dilemmas in this video to keep you amused for four minutes.  Of course without a song that is any good the video would fail – and this is a very catchy song. If you have not heard of the band before, they are an indy nerd-core band with a small but rabid following.

The video was made by Mike Jackson of Steampowered Films who cut it and created all the FX in After Effects. It was shot over the space of a single weekend on three Canon 7Ds. Toren Atkinson, who plays the astronaut in trouble, had to learn his lines backwards for the re-entry shot but we are assured that no astronauts were harmed in the making of this film.

To see where the band are coming from more fully you should go to their website.  However, if you take a look at their most recent gig poster (left) you may well get the idea. They also have the (nowadays obligatory) Facebook page.

Cthulhupalooza 2 brought  a Rock Band contest, the Call of Cthulhu movie, and Darkest of the Hillside Thickets show together to help raise money for the Child's Play Charity in Vancouver BC.

The rest of The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets comprise Jordan Pratt, Merrick Atkinson and Warren Banks who have recognizable roles in the music video if you have ever seen Star Trek.

I would, however, have to admit that there is probably a little more of Red Dwarf in here than of Rodenberry’s Baby.