…that the director behind some of my favourite music videos is a fellow Irish man. Meiert Avis’ early work featured U2 music videos from when they were an up and coming band and went on to include my favourite U2 video Where The Streets Have No Name. But I think his best work was with Bruce Springsteen for the amazing Brilliant Disguise video.

This almost anti-music video is a one take, 4 minute long, slow zoom into Springsteen from a wide shot to an extreme close of his face. While it may be difficult to watch it really aids the song’s lyrics about the dark side of a relationship, landing on the singers face as he delivers the lines ‘God have mercy on the man who doubts what he’s sure of’. According to wikipedia it was nominated for Video of the Year and, strangely, Best Editing, at the MTV musis awards.

Check it out below and the U2 video below that.