Face to Face with… AG Rojas

When Jack White received a batch of treatments for his recent music video, Sixteen Saltines, none of the directors quite fit the bill… until he saw Hey Jane, AG Rojas’ music video for Spiritualized. Following the screening, it was only a matter of time before Rojas had Jack White tied up in the backseat of a gasoline-soaked Sedan much to our viewing pleasure. Having posted the resulting video a few weeks ago, we knew we had to find out more from Caviar's director about the wonderfully odd project.

Where did the idea for the video come from?

The idea came from my morally corrupt brain meat. It was completely inspired by Jack's track. Not necessarily from the lyrics, but mostly from the paranoia and unchained nature of the music. It feels like it's about to fall apart at any moment, and that's what I wanted to portray in the video.

What exactly is happening in the video and what effect were you trying to cause by making it so distorted?

We shot and edited in a way that people could have some sort of basic understanding of what they were seeing, but once it clicked in their heads, we're onto the next scene. So, each vignette makes sense on its own (i.e. Catholic schoolgirls playing a demented form of hopscotch with a severed thumb, three punks trying to get buzzed inhaling bourbon from an espresso steam wand, etc.), but altogether it's simply a barrage of wild moments involving youth.

How was it pitching the idea to White?

Jack was incredibly receptive to my concept. He had some notes on the treatment, and we collaborated on specific details regarding art direction and the edit. Once he was on set, it was obvious he was completely committed to the vision, and made it very easy on all of us.

What was it like working with the children you cast off the street?

It's always a risk because you never know exactly what you're going to get with street casting, especially kids. But it's a risk I’ve taken before and never regretted. It's all about being open to changes once you're on set and embracing the spontaneity that comes with non-actors.

How did you find a location conducive for so much mayhem?

We got lucky with a really great location scout in Nashville. We had a meeting and it was immediately clear to him what it was we were looking for - locations that didn't feel necessarily post-apocalyptic, but had some strange stale air of abandonment. We also had a great team of production designers who really added details and character to each space.

How did the short timeframe factor into your shoot?

It wasn't too out of the ordinary. I don't usually have more than a week or two to prep music videos, so everyone is on the same page. Everyone on the crew had done a lot of videos before and they understand it's all about clear communication to save time, which means a lot of mood boards from me.

What reactions have you seen in response to the video?

It's been pretty mixed, though mostly positive. It's different than what people would expect from a rock video in the sense that there's no performance and the images are somewhat provocative and involve precarious moments with supposedly innocent figures. But that just goes to prove that Jack likes taking risks other artists wouldn't. 

What sort of mayhem would you cause if you were a kid again, left to your own devices?

If there weren't any adults left, I would just go to big fancy houses and walk around peoples' hardwood floors with muddy boots.