“Every Night My Teeth Fall Out,” in “The Antlers” News Video, Compliments of The Wilderness
“Every Night My Teeth Fall Out,” in “The Antlers” News Video, Compliments of The Wilderness
Movie and hi-res stills here: http://www.vimeo.com/24733118
The Wilderness has produced several music videos for French Kiss Records, which grants them a great deal of creative freedom to express theirs artistic vision. This was again the case in the music video for The Antlers’ “Every Night My Teeth Falling Out,” from their second album “Burst Apart,” which is receiving acclaim.
Listen and Learn, the First Step
Juliet Rios and Gabe Imlay, co-directors and owners at The Wilderness, listened to the song for a week or so, their usual process, then wrote a treatment outlining their proposed approach, which included the three members of the band. “Because the song evokes sincerity, we were happy they wanted to be in the video because there are times where the band does not want to appear,” says Juliet Rios.
For the overall look of the video, “We decided to photograph and re-photograph the footage multiple times to create interlaced, degenerative, and at times, broken imagery,” said Imlay. Propping was the key component to convey the essence of Peter Silberman’s voice and sound.
Interlaced lines (created by re-photographing the images) provided the “process” for the video concept; This was achieved by shooting footage of the band members standing on patches of sod set on a rotating platform, along with ephemera – glass of milk, black and red inks, fake teeth, twine, dominos – under soft, eerie overhead lighting against black which imparts a dreamy, almost surreal, effect.
For Ms. Rios, the song evoked images of barns, grass, and the rural life. “I liked the idea of the band seeming to be blacksmiths, or farmers, perhaps from West Virginia. So we collected a bunch of industrial objects –a hammer, a galvanized bucket, rope, the band standing on sod– to create an earthy, naturalistic aesthetic, which came from my initial interpretation of the song.”
Enhancing the Visual Tension
To enhance a visual tension between the song’s personal feeling and its mechanical tones Imlay and Rios placed the three singers, individually on an industrial turntable. The constant rotation provided the foundation for the post-production treatment in which the co-directors filmed and re-filmed their performances up to 20 times off a TV screen.
Working within a limited budget, Imlay and Rios were determined to push the uneasy qualities of their scenarios. “From hardware store parts we built a light rig that produced this eerie flickering light,” said Imlay. “It was just two fluorescents on a dimmer, combined with a couple other lights that our amazing gaffer Michael Yetter put together. When we researched lighting set-ups, we came across a Yoko Ono video from the 60s that had this quality.”
"The creative team at The Wilderness is a joy to work with. They go above and beyond for all of our projects. We look forward to working with them again soon," said Syd Butler, owner, French Kiss Records.
Overall, this Antlers’ video provided The Wilderness with another opportunity to exercise their aesthetic with the incorporation of design and how to utilize new and different processes. Starting with a vision and embracing the evolutions that take place along way are akin to fine art or experimental artwork. It is something that takes time, endurance and passion.
CREDITS
Every Night My Teeth Fall Out
band: THE ANTLERS
record label: FRENCH KISS
production company: THE WILDERNESS
co-director: JULIET RIOS
co-director: GABE IMLAY
producer: FELIX CABRERA
lighting designer: MICHAEL YETTER
camera operator: NATHAN SPENGLER
prop designer: BLAKE PATRICK
editor: GABE IMLAY
post production: DAVID ROWLEY
in camera visual effects: WILLIAM RUSSELL and ALDO GONZALEZ
June 21, 2011