Houses: Reds

This promo for atmospheric track Reds from new Chicago twosome Houses might only be Lamar+Nik’s first directorial collaboration, but if the skill and craft behind the video are any marker of future potential, the pair are set for success.

Both currently studying film and video production at college in Oklahoma City, Lamar High hails from Dallas, while Nik Harper grew up in between Seattle and Oklahoma, and the pair first bonded over skateboarding. “We were both making separate little skate montages of our friends,” recalls Harper. “Each of these had a concept attached, which was the real reason for making them. I saw then that we both wanted to be in control of the creative thought behind everything. We were always trying new ways to make skateboarding interesting with those videos.”

The project for Houses came about in the school holidays when Lamar+Nik decided they wanted to make a music video together. But with the school studios closed and a budget of just $200 saved up between them, the challenge was on. “We chose one of our concepts that we had been contemplating for a while, which was an ice city,” says High. “We knew we could make the video very cheaply. We also knew that the video would be hard to complete, as it’s hard for ice to keep its shape and maintain the detail when you’re handling it.”

After fleshing out the concept, which revolves around a beautifully lit city sculpted out of ice, the duo approached Houses frontman Dexter Tortoriello. He loved the idea, and they set about building their icescape in High’s mum’s garage. Lit almost solely by the featured televisions and fairy lights, throwing melting ice into the mix could have ended in a health and safety disaster, but fortunately the directors avoided electrocution and instead created an impressive debut.

“The video was made completely by hand.” explain the pair. “Although we could have used computer-generated imagery, we chose not to. The actual process was laborious. We had to set up the entire city for each shot and then immediately rush it to the freezer. In our haste, sometimes pieces would break and we’d have to wait about eight hours for a new replacement.”

A true labour of love, the film is a visual treat as well as a feat of ingenuity. Still finishing up their studies, Lamar+Nik are, as yet, unsigned, but planning on moving to one of the major film hubs in the United States – NYC or LA – soon. And, as well as already working on another promo project, the pair are hoping for more music video jobs and possibly commercials, too.

“We never really considered ourselves directors until about a year ago, although we had already been directing,” concludes High. “We just like to see a project from start to finish. Thinking of an idea and then figuring out all the meticulous details to make it work is what we find exhilarating.”