Synopsis
Blondie perform "Picture This" in a stylized studio setting, with Debbie Harry commanding the frame in a vivid yellow dress and holding a silver microphone. The opening section uses split-screen imagery to show three versions of Harry singing at once, while strong backlighting makes her blonde hair glow. The video later expands to include the full band during the instrumental passage, retaining the direct, performance-based approach typical of late-1970s promotional clips.
Factoids & Trivia
- The video was filmed at Isleworth Film Studios in London on August 21, 1978, using crew and facilities supplied by Trilion.
- The split-screen opening presents three simultaneous images of Debbie Harry before the camera widens to show the rest of Blondie.
- Harry's custom yellow dress was created by her friend Stephen Sprouse, the New York artist and designer who played an important role in shaping her distinctive late-1970s image.
- The lighting gives Harry's hair an unusually strong halo effect. Cinematographer John Henshall later recalled using an exceptionally large backlight to emphasize it.
- "Picture This" was released in 1978 as part of the Parallel Lines era and became a UK Top 20 hit, reaching No. 12.
- The clip belongs to the early promotional-video period, before MTV launched in 1981. Like many videos of the time, it was primarily designed as a filmed performance for television rather than as a narrative production.
- The song was not released as a single in the United States, despite becoming one of Blondie's best-known early tracks.