The last time we talked to director Michael Lawrence, it was about his series of surreal and artistic videos for Emil & Friends, which were shot in Indonesia and are at times very autobiographical. Michaels latest video, "I Turn On" by Slam Donahue, which features adults aggressively playing basketball with children, and later partying with their moms in a hot tub, is cut from a considerably different cloth than much of his previous work. We talked to Michael about making a tonally different video than hes used to, and about directing his parents friends to make out with the band.
Doug: You directed this video with Alex Amoling, how did that come about?
Michael: Alex had been working as my editor for quite some time, and we've grown to become close friends. He sees the good and the bad of everything I shoot. When production started to ramp up and I realized that we had an entire room of children to give direction to, I brought Alex on to help with background direction and to bring another set of eyes to the production.
Doug: How did you guys split the responsibilities?
Michael: I developed the concept with Will Griggs (who runs Cantora) and the band. On set, Alex focused on the background direction of the children/basketball players; I was operating on camera so having him there to help was absolutely integral. It's gotten to the point that we can read each other's minds. We have worked together on the post side of pretty much every project I've done over the past year. It generally breaks down that Alex does the cut, I do another pass on it; he does the VFX, and I will do the color correction, Film FX and titles/graphics.
Doug: This video has a bit of a different tone than a lot of what youve worked on before. Was it something you wanted to explore, or was it something the band asked for?
Michael: Most of the projects I have worked on seem to have a trippy, other-worldly visuals and a pretty heavy, serious underlying narrative to them. This clip was the first time in a while that we really just set out to make something fun and, dare I say, nostalgic. I think the common bond was that the band and I both secretly wanted to be high-school sport stars, but didn't ever get the shot. Beneath it all, it's a bit of an underdog story that we got to live out.
Doug: Was there something you found particularly challenging about this style of video, or was a fun video like this actually less stressful than some of your previous work?
Michael: Directing a room full of 13-16 year olds with only two hours to shoot was one of the most challenging production scenarios I've ever been in. It's surprisingly difficult to keep their attention, especially on a Saturday afternoon! Most of the "mothers" in the video were actually family friends. I've known them since I was a wee little kid. Directing them to make out with my 20-something year old friends was a bit awkward. We decided to throw a party with lots of booze and by the 11th hour everyone had loosened up a bit. Also, random fact: My father plays the referee.
Doug: Other than the tone, were there any other major difference between this video and your previous work? Was this the largest cast youve worked with on a music video?
Michael: The spirit of the video is definitely much different than a lot of the other work I've done. The production style was also a bit more scripted. With only a few scenes to tell the story, we had to craft more of a narrative to show this little world in under three minutes. On top of that, it was the largest cast I've ever had to work with for a single scene. "Crystal Ball," for example, had more locations, more characters - but was spread out over multiple production days. In this case, we had under 24 hours to shoot the entire clip. Most of my previous efforts have ran longer in runtime and are much more focused on vignettes or single characters functioning in a world.
Doug: How much of the video was preplanned, was there a full script or storyboard? Or are there still some organic elements in there?
Michael: We developed a loose script/beat outline before the shoot. There was a TON of pre-production on this one - creating uniforms, casting the children, using the school gym a lot of logistics, and we had to get all of it approved. Once on set, we focused on creating this world, and letting the narrative develop within it. With the camera in your hands, you can react and pick up little moments, documenting this alternative universe. That is my absolute favorite way to work - it allows for all of those beautiful little mistakes that ultimately are the highlights in a film.
