James Vincent McMorrow: Cavalier

During September, Colonel Blimp director Aoife McArdle shot three striking, intertwining music videos for tracks from James Vincent McMorrow’s album Post Tropical. The first, Cavalier, can be seen above.

We caught up with McArdle to find out about the project…

How did this project come about and what were your initial thoughts about the prospect of doing three linked promos?

James Vincent McMorrow wrote to me directly and just said he really liked my work and thought I was the right person to make his videos.  It was pretty unusual but very flattering and gratifying to be given that opportunity and freedom by an artist. When I heard the first track, Cavalier, I was hooked so I decided to go for it. The first story for Cavalier I saw quite quickly upon first listen of the song. Then the second two films are also directly inspired by their respective songs but with a view to all the characters being brought together in the third story.

How closely do the three stories tie together?

The first two stories work as standalone pieces and directly relate to their tracks, then the third film brings the trilogy and all three characters together. My reason for this was that I always write promos very closely and instinctively with the music and I just didn’t want to change that approach. I really like it when you watch a video and the music and images feel symbiotic, plus I’m not sure I’d know how to write a music video any other way.

Does making a series of promos like this open doors to tell more complex stories, or limit you in the sense that they have to be linked together?

Both. I think it’s liberating in the respect that you do have room to create something more complex and potentially meaningful. I don’t think I really let the idea that the stories had to be linked become creatively limiting because I knew I just wanted to focus on one small, isolated town and one family and make something quite intimate and domestic. I also liked the idea of the three characters only featuring together in the last story .The limiting factor was the budget really, which meant that I had to shoot three films in three days. It was a challenge and a little mentally exhausting but I just really wanted to explore characterisation in more depth with these films so I feel really privileged to have had an opportunity to do that. I got to work with actors who were so devoted to their art and truly up for method acting so we really went on an emotional journey together, I guess. James’s music has the right, intimate psychological atmosphere to accommodate that. 

Do you think more artists would benefit from taking this approach to their music videos?

Yes, I do. I’m a real fan of artists with a commitment to visual consistency.  I think it can really help to create a more memorable, creative identity for an audience. But then, I would say that!

Where was the first video shot and how easy was it to cast the lead actor?

All the films were shot around one place in the California desert called Maricopa. An assistant and I trawled the streets of LA at night for at least a week looking for him but then I found him in LA after casting about 70 different guys.  I generally get an instinct when I meet someone who I think can inhabit the qualities of the character I’ve written. He just got the part completely, had grown up in a small town in Texas and was no stranger to heartbreak and the dark side. He was so passionate about the film and committed to the role that he even let me convince him to shave his head.

What else can we expect to see from you in the near future?

I’m pitching on a few interesting projects right now and also working on a feature film, which I’m pretty excited about. I’m really keen to make something on English or Northern Irish soil next. I think I might have exhausted my obsession with Middle America and the US desert… for the time being anyway.

The next film in the series will be released in January 2014. Keep an eye on shots.net to see it.