»A good video is one which gets shown«,

declared Carol von Rautenkranz – head of Lado – displaying all the self-confidence you would expect from someone who once turned their back on an apprenticeship with a bank in Pinneberg. And, as it turned out, Lado was indeed a hard act to precede.

It’s not easy to define exactly what makes a ‘good video’. However, what is clear is that it has become something of a rarity on music television – for reasons which we no longer need to go into here. The principle followed today at Lado is: whenever it is possible to make a »good video« (according to criterions laid down by the band, and the director and the record company) which stays within the financial bounds of a medium-sized campaign and can be shown on particular music programmes, then it should be made. The fact that, due to the diminutive nature of the budgets at our disposal, this process almost always results in advantage being taken of the good nature and resources of those personally involved in the project is – unfortunately – unavoidable at present.

Now, let us dip into the Lado treasure trove of video anecdotes and see if we can’t pull out a plum.
Filming in Los Angeles with Andreas Dorau for the song, »So ist das nun Mal«: We booked the cheapest flights, the cheapest motel and went without food. Of course, this still left us without enough money, so I got roped in as an extra – playing the driver of a tiny sports car. The idea was that, in the video, it should look as if I very nearly drive Andreas down. It should also be pointed out that the role required me to wear a bear costume – complete with an enormous head which only just passed through the car door but fitted so tightly over my head that there was no room left for my glasses. Therefore, I had almost no idea where I was driving – to say nothing of being able to work out just where I should come to a halt in order not to run Andreas down.

I have seldom been screamed at in quite such a fashion. I do remember one comment the director made about my performance: »Just goes to show, once again, that women can’t drive!« Neither can dogs. O.K.

Charlotte Goltermann

L’AGE D’OR LADOMAT