The debut music video for an up and coming artist is one of the first opportunities they have to really establish an image for themselves. In "Fall Over," the first music video for BANKS, the way director Dylan Knight approached the piece was to create the ideal environments for BANKS to do her thing. It clearly worked, because the result is a dark, emotional, and sexy video which is exactly what BANKS was looking for. We talked to Dylan about directing an artists debut video, the videos projection effects, repurposing his old work.
Doug: How did you get involved with the project?
Dylan: Banks manager, hes an awesome guy. His name is Trevor Skeet. He reached out and told me they were looking to shoot a video in the next couple of weeks. He asked if I was down to pitch an idea. I had just moved out to Los Angeles when he hit me up, so I was down for anything. We met over coffee and we all vibed together, Banks, Trevor, and I. We just made it happen.
Doug: Banks is just now starting to get herself out there, was there a brief that talked about trying to establish an image for her?
Dylan: Yea, its her first official video. There was definitely an image. She really wanted it to be kind of perfect, how anybody would. She said three words. It was dark, sexy, and emotional. That was pretty much the brief.
Doug: Is there, as a director, any additional pressure that you have to take on knowing that youre establishing somebodys image with their music video?
Dylan: Theres always that pressure. You try to keep it in the back of your head, but I try to just think of it as any other video. We hit it off really well. We were really familiar with each other right off the bat. I just try to put all pressures behind me and make something that is fun and exciting for all of us.
Doug: Funny that you mention the words emotional, dark, and sexy" - I actually have those words written down here in my notes. For the video, how much of that is what you put in there, and how much of that just comes along with working with Banks - especially some of that sexiness thats in her performance?
Dylan: I created these environments for her to be in, and she brought the sexy. That was a lot of her because its just the way she is. You listen to her music and her voice, its just so powerful. Yea, she brought the sexy for sure. I just helped create the environment that she could be in.
Doug: Getting into the technical side of the video, you guys use some projection and stuff there, what was behind that technique?
Dylan: The projection footage was kind of a last minute addition, actually. Her manager hit me up and said that he'd like to see some projection footage on the wall. I put together some stuff. Its actually some old archival atomic bomb footage that was re-released in HD. Its actually composited with some of my previous work. I just snuck it in there and created this weird back drop for her.
Doug: What was behind the elements that you chose like those mushroom clouds and the explosions?
Dylan: The original treatment for the video actually incorporated this male figure. Hes supposed to be an ominous, never-revealed type guy, because we wanted this dark male presence in the video when we first started talking about it. We ended up replacing that male figure with projection footage. Within the explosions, theres actually a hooded guy in the projection footage if you look hard enough.
Doug: I think I noticed that figure, so that was actually part of the footage that you guys were projecting? You didnt have somebody standing there blocking the light?
Dylan: Right, that was part of the footage.
Doug: You also mentioned that you put some of your own work in there, what work did you use?
Dylan: Its actually from a music video of mine called Crimson. It was some footage of my friends from a video I did in college. He was standing on top of a parking garage and I made him put on a hood. We just messed around and got some shots.
Doug: Where was it you guys were shooting?
Dylan: We shot this in Los Angeles. It was a really cool house. It was a friend of theirs actually. It was like a cabin kind of house, not something you expect to see in Los Angeles. It was up in the country a bit.
Doug: Was there anything specific in the treatment that you were looking for in this location?
Dylan: Yeah, we wanted to bring a desolate home into it, like a deteriorating home almost. When we found this spot, it was perfect because you would hardly be able to tell that electricity ran into the house. The whole thing is wooden. It was the perfect place for the type of vibe we were going for.
