DEBUT VIDEO - VELVET CODE - "GET OUTTA MY HOUSE" . . .

Et voila!

At long, long, LONG last is my personal ode to 1960s fashion dolls . . . and 1960s creature feature B-Movies!

As previously blogged about, this is the debut video for electro act Velvet Code. My concept was to go for the camp, twisted jugular - and create a video that’ll get people talking. Joyous, ridiculous, manic. The narrative unfolds with a warped version of an early 60s fashion doll in an abandoned ‘Dream Home’. My central idea was Miss Havisham meets Vintage Barbie - with a good dollop of Baby Jane stirred into the psycho mix . . . And hell hath no FURY like a doll scorned!

The visuals were a huge labour of love for me - and couldn't have been possible without my friends 'n' AMAZING creative dream team of Charlie Herranz, Nina Butkovich-Budden, Issidora and Rachel Pearce . . . And also a call to arms for my ol' Dad Tom Lally in production design.

Myself and Tom collaborated on the look and concept art for The Toy Bride's abode - a surreal Beetlejuice-meets-David Lynch dream house. This is a world of stridently minimalist - but KAPOW - art direction, head-trip styling, and scorching colour. And everything was made in paper or plastic . . . Keeping that early 60s, hand-crafted, kitsch vibe running through and through!

Enjoy!



And below are the credits listing my fantastic team - and rendered in the video in a suitably grunged up, retro style!

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PUPPY POWER . . .

I couldn't resist - as immortalised in my Vitabiotics idents - here are my two dogs Jake and Hugo.

Yes. My portfolio blog has now resorted to pictures of adorable dogs . . . It was only a matter o' time, folks . . !

To reign in the cuteness, here's some purposefully enigmatic images of me that we also took for that same Vitabiotics stills shoot that created all the imagery for the Wellman and Wellwoman idents . . .

Alas, although it looks like it, I am sadly not traipsing through NYC with a Frappucino.  The budget wouldn't stretch that far.

More's the pity!

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VITABIOTICS . . .

Slinky Towers! You were quite the mountain to conquer - but I'm glad I did!

As a commercial interlude from my chaotic music video work, I recently devised and directed a portfolio of idents with the creative agency The Outfit for Vitabiotics. The idents will air over the course of a year on Channel 4 during Countdown . . .

Overall with these idents, the idea was to construct fast-paced visual puzzles that are resolved in the end by a wide 'reveal' shot of each of the brand names - which are interpreted through art direction in each ident . . . It was important that each ident had a hand-crafted, charming feel in keeping with the family focus of the mainline Vitabiotics brand . . .

The companion idents for Wellman and Wellwoman called for all-encompassing photoshoots in which the contents' of myself and my producer Dawn's apartments were forever immortalised on giant stylised "Polaroid" noticeboards . . . Along with enigmatic cameos from both of us too as the golden couple! Meatier roles were given to my two dogs  - Jake and Hugo - in both photo and quirky animated form! Gotta love the pooches . . .

Below are a selection of them - the complete portfolio is visible on my Vimeo page . . .  



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STANDBY FOR ACTION . . .

I'm currently locked in the edit suite with three projects back to back - but one of them has been a very long while in the making . . .

Often you have crazy ideas that you need to keep on the back burner in the hope that one day they'd reach the light of the day . . . Knowing full well that they won't. Well, a few months ago I won the brief from a fabulous new electro artist . . . Pretty fearless himself, he gave me free reign to go wild with a concept.

And so I did.

The video is a massive labour of love - interweaving elements from all my bizarre reference points and creative heroes - and I needed to call in every favour I could muster, and rally all my dream team around. Even my dad  - Tom Lally - who's an art director and graphic designer in his own right was shipped into London to swell the ranks and get the video off the ground! In another life he would easily have given Derek Meddings a run for his money on the Thunderbirds set, so I was so happy Papa Lally got the chance to unleash all his creativity in the video's intensive production design and model-making. Father and son on a film set . . . Hmm. Could've been a recipe for disaster - but it was humbling, and incredible.

It was great to work with family on this - and also the friends in my team who are pretty much family to me over here . . !

I can't give too much away now, but watch this space. And prepare your eyes for a retina-blindin' scorcher . . .

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ON THE RUN . . .

. . . And scarpering behind camera onset of my latest music video. Chiffon adjusted, power pose established, wind machines on full blast - run, Lally, run!

Another new female artist, another irresistible opportunity to go a little crazy with the fabulousness . . . All strictly under wraps for now, but I can't wait to unleash this one.

 
So, this month I'll be pretty much locked inside an editing suite in Soho workin' back to back on two music videos and an installation art piece. Well, it's one way to avoid London's schizophrenic weather . . !

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EMILIA MITIKU - "LOST INSIDE" . . .

And another debut for me - and it couldn't be further from the dark dementia of "a quiet rage" if it tried . . !

Last month I flew to Spain to shoot the music video for Warner Bros' latest signing - the stunning Swedish star Emilia Mitiku.

 

 
Eagle-eyed readers may recognise the name; Emilia had a huge global hit when she was 18 with the insanely catchy "Big Big World" . . . Which was one of the big ol' songs of my youth! And now she's back in all her pop enchantress glory - with a new album that's a slinky segue into the rich, jazz sounds she grew up on. A sultry, soulful star - and an absolute dream to direct.

The promo marked my first video for my new music video home Red Lion - and an irresistible opportunity to mount a location-based video in foreign climes! My aim for the promo was to helm an intimate introduction to Emilia and her sound - we're lost in her dreamy song. We see Emilia retreat from the dying embers of a party in a grand villa to a shimmering, Balearic sunrise . . . And we never take our eyes off her for a second. It's Emilia's space, her vibe, her video.

The video was also a fabulous chance to work for the first time with the insanely talented hair and make-up artist Jane Bradley and the phenomenal beauty journalist and stylist Susanna Cohen. The look? Effortless natural beauty with a tribal chic / Grecian goddess edge . . . And the divine Ms Mitiku was certainly all of that.

Together with my regular DoP Charlie Herranz, the whole experience an absolute, sun-drenched joy - even for a deathly pale Irish boy like myself! And it was lovely to see my sketches  - like the one below - come alive. As you can see from the behind the scenes pictures, my video called for quite a few locations.

And quite a frequently stressed out director . . !

Yep. A huge, decadent Spanish museum, a sandstone cave hidden on a cliff face and filled with glitterballs, and a little private beach . . . All in a day's work. And only the best for my beloved Ms Mitiku . . !



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"A QUIET RAGE" - FASHION FILM - UNVEILED

Brace yourselves. Here it is . . .

After making its editorial, print and online debut with Fault Magazine, I'm thrilled to post up my latest fashion film, "a quiet rage" . . .

 

"a quiet rage" is a brooding, Expressionist fashion film that visualises a suppressed rage that envelopes a raven-haired beauty. Her styling is a Neo-Geisha twist on minimalist tailoring - crisp and fetishistic in its simplicity - as she braves a relentless, surrealist onslaught on her - and our - senses. 

Directed by Stephen Lally, and styled by Helen McGuckin.

Marking my second fashion film with my super stylist Helen McGuckin, it was also amazing to work once again with the rest of my creative dream team - hair genius Nina Butkovich-Budden, make-up mistress Issidora and my wonderful DoP Charlie Herranz . . .

 
Dark, demented and trip into a girl's demonic destiny, I hope you enjoy watching it as much as I did making it.

 Melodramatic horror. I can never get enough. Bring on the next one . . !



The full credit list lies below.

"a quiet rage"   ~   credits 

director   ~   Stephen Lally

stylist   ~   Helen McGuckin

director of photography   ~   Charlie Herranz

hair stylist   ~   Nina Butkovich-Budden using Oribe

make-up artist   ~   Issidora  using Max Factor

editor   ~   Peter O’Donovan @ Final Cut, London

model   ~   Holly Foxton @ FM Agency

art director   ~   Stephen Lally

stylist assistant   ~   Roe Na

sound designer  ~  T. Terressa Tate @ Final Cut, New York

grade  ~  Dan Gill @ The Farm

conceived by  ~  Stephen Lally, Helen McGuckin & Patrick Schuttler

special thanks to  ~  Ana Ribera, Gabrielle Lally & Ramon Butkovich-Budden

~  look 1  ~

leather blouse ~ Claudia Ligari

flat ledge skirt ~ Claudia Ligari

studded shoes ~ Charkviani

neck collar ~ stylist’s own

~  look 2  ~

leather ribcage top ~ Claudia Ligari

perspex cuffs ~ Maria Piana

asymmetric trousers ~ The Only Son

shoes ~ Charkviani

~  look 3  ~

perspex boned dress ~ Everos Aether

studded shoes ~ Charkviani

~  look 4  ~

perspex panneled body suit ~ Everos Aether

studded shoes ~ Charkviani

~  look 5  ~

white blouse with black panelled sleeves ~ Beyond Retro

cutaway pencil skirt ~ Claudia Ligari

wooden block shoes ~ James Hock

leather body harness ~ Asos

latex tape ~ Expectations

“a quiet rage” (C) 2012

all rights reserved ~ stephen lally ~ 2012

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