Video Chats: June Zandona on 'Running Up That Hill' by Cameras

Recording a good cover of a song from the 80's or early 90's is almost a sure-fire win for a band. They get to introduce themselves to a wider audience, as well as to pay homage to an old school jam. If the artist is Marilyn Manson, the song might change significantly. But, for the most part, bands will put their own spin on a song, but still maintain the spirit of the original. In her music video for “Running Up That Hill,” by the Austrailian band Cameras (originally by Kate Bush), director June Zandona proves that drawing motivation from the original can also be done effectively in music videos. We talked to June about the concept of the video, on screen chemistry, and how she was able to use the original video for inspiration. 

Doug: I noticed that Cameras used a still from this video as the single cover on iTunes. Did your involvement in the project go beyond directing the video?

June: Not initially. I shot the video quite some time ago, and it just took some time for finish it up. When I finally sent them the first cut, they really liked that image. They thought it was really indicative of the cover that they did. They asked me if they could us it and I told them “of course.” I was really excited for them to use it. It was a cool, total package feeling.  

Doug: Cameras is an Australian band, was it difficult to work with a band in a different country?

June: No, not really. I had actually met them when they were playing in LA. They blew me away live, so I approached them about doing a video. We just kept in touch, and they’re really great people. When they approached me about doing this video, they basically gave me carte blanche once they approved the idea. If it had been about arranging schedules to try to get them in the video, it may have been a little more logistically difficult. But, I’d say they’re basically the easiest band to work with, they’re really great.

Doug: So you just spoke to them, gave them the idea, and the next time you talked was when you sent them the cut?

June: Yeah. They sent me the song, I wrote a couple short treatments, and there was one they were really excited about. Then I sent them some pictures of some friends of mine that I cast in the roles, and then sent them the cut. They were pretty excited the whole way through. 

A page from June's treatment.

Doug: You mention the actors, who are incredibly convincing in the video. Is there something you’re doing as a director to get those emotions out of them, or does that more come from making the right casting decision? 

June: It’s interesting. Thomas Galasso is a friend of mine and I kind of had him in mind from the beginning. We wanted to work on a project together and hadn’t found the right one. He’s a big music fan, so he’s always down to work on musical projects. I just felt he could pull it off, and we already had a preexisting rapport. Eryn I met through a friend, and she was a really lovely person. But, they had never met before that day. It was a little challenging initially to break the ice. But, they’re both artists so it was pretty easy. I was a little nervous about the chemistry working out because that’s the whole video. But, they were really stellar to work with. 

Doug: Is there something you can do as the director to help break that ice?

June: I just sat down with them before we started shooting and talked with them. I explained to them the feeling that I was going for. I think everyone has been in a relationship, even with a friend, where your pride gets in the way, and you have so much to say to this person, but the one thing you need to say to them, you can’t. That’s the whole push and pull of the video. It’s pretty universal, so I just asked them to think back to a relationship, prior or past, where there was that moment where all you want to do is embrace this person, but you just keep fighting anyway because there is that block. That pride, that fear, and just putting it in those terms. I think relating it some something in their life worked out really well. They also got a chance to hang out while we were setting up, and being to artsy people in LA they were able to get along. 

Doug: You talk about the actors relating to the roles with personal experiences, was that more of what you were trying to get for the viewer as well? Or, do you have a more specific backstory about these two characters that you have in your head? 

June: I think it was more universal. I got the idea from watching the original Kate Bush video, which features this interpretive dance between her and this male character; I interpreted them to be lovers. And without getting too derivative, I wanted to pay homage to that feeling of the song and the original video. So, I conceived this couple having this argument and this romantic standoff. But, there wasn’t really a specific narrative for the characters.

Michael Hervieu and Kate Bush in the original video.

Doug: You talk about that 1985 Kate Bush music video, and you can defiantly see the influence. Kate Bush and the actor in her video do this bow and arrow pantomime throughout, which is reflected in your piece. 

June: It was tricky for me. In the same was the Cameras are in awe of Kate Bush because she’s an amazing artist, to me, that’s also a great video. I had to figure out how to rework it because I knew it would draw comparisons to this awesome piece. So, I wanted to go in a different direction visually, but I picked that specific arrow movement because it was so interesting to me. I like the idea that it called back to the original. That’s where the idea of firing at your lover comes from, and the explosion that happens at the end of the video as a kind of catharsis. So, I took that one physical act and kind of built that story around that. I didn’t want to go in a totally different direction, I like that it calls back to the original video. It’s an homage to a really cool video.  

Doug: Did the band also have that reference point, were they aware of the original video? 

June: They’ve definitely seen the video, and there was some talk about whether to incorporate ideas from it. I decided to keep it really subtle. I referenced it in the treatment, especially where she pulls the invisible arrow back, that specific dance move. They like the way that worked into the video. It didn’t feel like too much, we didn’t want to remake the wheel, but we didn’t want to pretend that wasn’t another video out there. We wanted to give a nod in its direction as being the forbearer.