And here it finally is!
As blogged about way back in
June, here's the finished music video for a new artist called Angie . . .
This promo was another massive labour of love for me as a director - and as a production designer, it was a purposefully
massive contrast to my art direction overload in Velvet Code's "Get Outta My house"
opus. Whilst that video was a chaotic celebration of all things gruesomely kitsch, this video's vibe was stylised fashion . . . Dreamy but dark.
And in keeping with the message of the song, the video is a stark, minimalist play of darkness and light.
The song is all about ending a destructive relationship, and stepping out into the light. I wanted to visually illustrate this through dance and my three amazing dancers became ciphers - lyrical manifestations of the song. They initially appear as stoic, moving statues, before my two
fabulous lead dancers -
Jade "Flossy" Sullivan and Leah Debrincat - become engaged in a haunting, modern ballet . . .
Their dance is all about the duality of Light and Dark - and it soon becomes a duel to the death . . . The dancers are almost elemental, and whilst each of their dance styles differs, their overarching dance sensibility is expressive, modern, experimental. And they play out a purposefully epic and cinematic struggle - beautifully choreographed by Dare Cullen-Jones.
The location was the basement space of Victoria House in Bloomsbury Square, London. I love how the space looks like a huge, eerie gallery : black floors and white tiles combining in a seemingly endless arena of pillars and walls. I wanted to ramp up those associations, and have fun with their forms. And most importantly, I wanted the white space to be a blank canvas for my dancers.
We shot the promo through revolving, warped perspex and crystals, so all the
rushes have a dreamy, almost underwater edge that I hope gives the video a look all of its own . . .
And I cannot thank my creative team enough for once again pulling out
all the stops for me - from
Charlie Herranz's camerawork to my ever-present glam squad of
Nina Butkovich-Budden and
Issidora.
And an
enormous thank you has to go out to my three incredible dancers - who went along with my vision and in the process, battled against creepy contact lenses, body paint and wind machines - and never complained once! I love ya all!
The finished video is below . . .
And the full credit list lies underneath . . .
Director of Photography
CHARLIE HERRANZ
NINA BUTKOVICH-BUDDEN USING ORIBE
Dancers
LEAH DEBRINCAT JADE "FLOSSY" SULLIVAN
AND NINA DAVIES
SIMON ASTBURY @ UNIT, LONDON
Fashion Credits
JEFFREY MICHAEL YULIA KONDRANINA
VICTORIA HUNT LYUDMILA LANE
and XIANFEN GU
Jewellery Credits
RAJINDER JOHAL IMOGEN BELFIELD
LUISA CLARKE ELMA LI CONVE
JULIETA PIACENZA VANDERHOEVEN LIZZIE MARGERISON
Make-Up Assistants
TORA YOUNG SOPHIE KILLINGBACK
Hair Assistants
ROSIE OSBORNE JAZZ JAKE GALLAGHER
and LAYLA DRURY
Producer
ROSIE WELLS
Post Producer
LISA VAUGHAN @ UNIT, LONDON
With Thanks To
ARRI MEDIA UNIT, LONDON ID ARENA
ALICIA HERRANZ MERINO LUCY BERRY GEMMA DABORN
VICTORIA HOUSE GABRIELLE LALLY and RAMON BUTKOVICH-BUDDEN
