Bitter lemons never looked so sweet as they do in "Fresh Made Lemonade" by Barnaby. Popping images surround a subdued shadow of grey as Barnaby. does his best to stay moody amid a wash of colour. GreenDore Films, made up of childhood friends and directors Tom Green and Justin Theodore, have been bubbling below the radar with solid promos for a couple of years now, and are used to working on a budget as this improvised one-day shoot shows. We got the chance to have a chat with GreenDore Films about the video, convincing the cast to eat lemons, and using Facebook as a tool for the video.
Luke: A first video for an artist is an important task, how did the opportunity come about?
GreenDore Films: We'd worked with Barnaby's manager Mark Pattison before. He sent the track over to us and we thought we could do something a little different with it - something that screamed summer but with a bit of a weird twist.
Luke: The set itself is as powerful as it is important, how were you able to find the location and create the vibe?
GreenDore Films: Facebook remains to be a priceless resource for these last minute jobs. Usually someone out of all those people you haven't seen in five years comes up with the goods. Once we'd secured a pool the rest we sourced from the local dump and Homebase. We'd never built a set before so thought it would be a cool thing to try out. It's meant to look like a giant bath tub...
Luke: Your underwater shots bind the video together in both setting and storyline, were they a struggle to shoot?
GreenDore Films: Our good friend is a diving instructor and was supposed to come down with all the necessary kit to breathe underwater. However she went AWOL on the day of the shoot, so we had to tag-team with a pair of child size goggles until we were happy we'd got what we needed. It was a struggle, but we'd love to do it again with the right gear and a bit more time!
Luke: Styling helps set the summery tone whilst Barnaby. contradicts throughout, how important is styling to you?
GreenDore Films: It's really important, and is something we genuinely enjoy getting involved in. It can really dictate a mood, and can make what is essentially a pretty simple concept visually engaging throughout. Oliver Vaughn did an incredible job on this one, especially given the time constraints. We look forward to working with him again.
Luke: Eating a lemon can't be easy, how'd you get the band to do that?
GreenDore Films: We starved the cast all day and spent the entire catering budget on lemons. They didn't have a choice.
If you liked what you read, head over to Luke's blog, Word Is Cheap, or his Twitter @wordischeap, for more thoughts on his favourite music videos.
