I had shot a couple of music videos previously but had been on the lookout for something new and exciting to shoot, and that’s when I heard Kill Krinkle Club‘s debut album ‘Abandon‘. I instantly thought… this could be interesting. So I got in touch with the band and this promo video for their excellent track, ‘Handwritten Novel’ is the outcome.
Thus far my career has taken two distinct yet separate paths. One as a Producer / Director of film, mainly short dramas (Dead Load, Finscéal Pháidí etc). The other as a lighting and visuals guy for bands on television (U2, Elbow, The National, Snow Patrol etc). This video for ‘Handwritten Novel’ gave me the opportunity to combine both strands, and all in under four minutes.
Soon after hearing the track I put together a treatment for the video, and then met with Justin and Elina from Kill Krinkle Club to discuss my ideas. We all wanted to do something unusual, something different, something cinematic. Then Venice was mentioned and we all started to imagine the possibilities. So we set about making it happen and flights were booked. Resources were tight but we were high on imagination and enthusiasm.
The track itself, ‘Handwritten Novel’, is quite cinematic in its own right. It has a real mysterious feel to it, some lovely musicianship and is beautifully produced. It lends itself brilliantly to a flowing, mysterious and cinematic video. So that’s what we set out to achieve. A video that hopefully people will provoke thought and one that people will want to watch again having just seen it. Hopefully it’s intriguing and challenging.
The video was shot over 3 days and nights in a very cold Venice at the turn of the year. Venice provided the most beautiful backdrop imaginable. We wanted it to look stark and practically deserted and hopefully we achieved that. It was a real joy to shoot there, a mad adventure from start to finish.
There was a crew of two, myself Greg Corcoran as Producer/Director (and also camera assistant / B camera op) and Kieran O’Connell as the DoP. We shot on a Canon 5d (with a Canon 550d as B cam). The editor was John Paul Shortt who cut on Final Cut Pro. Grade was done by myself in Final Cut Pro also.
Anyway that’s how the video for ‘Handwritten Novel’ came to be. I hope you enjoy it. And moreso I hope it helps bring to life a fine, subtley flowing, electro track from a great band.
