BadBadNotGood - Making of IV (2016)
Confessions Pt. III (feat. Colin Stetson)
Digital / 2:1 / 8 Minutes / 5.1 Sound
— Doc Short / Music Video —
This project changed my life.
It did not change my life from a career perspective, at all. I can barely look at it aesthetically — there is no colour grade and I shot nearly all of it wide open on photo lenses. Depending on the mood of the moment, there’d often be only a few lamps on — this was before any affordable B7-C’s or LED technology. Due to power and space limitations — they had brought in a Steinway Grand for these sessions — there wasn’t space for an external light, a tripod, a stand of any kind. The only footprint allowed was my feet, which felt like a squeeze as is. Once the tape deck was recording, I couldn’t move positions — I’d be there for whatever the duration of that take was — that’s it.
With all that said, I do love this project from a storytelling perspective, and if I had to comment on it aesthetically, well, it looks exactly how it did in there — and I think that was the point. In a way, I feel it captures the zeitgeist of those sessions and that time in Toronto, which may be just about the only thing this project does well.
This was the my first interaction with Alex, Chester, Leland, and Matt, and I was hired to shoot three days. I ended up coming back for 12-15 days — we’ve had a friendship ever since.
There’s often a shock that’s felt when a band goes their separate ways, though I’m more shocked when a band manages to stay together, honestly. Highly creative people locked in a creative partnership in perpetuity is an arrangement somewhat unique to music, and the odds of it working long-term are never good. That said, we’ve all benefitted from musicians who manage to work it out — even if only for a time — and it’s something to be appreciated for however long it lasts. These four individuals all continue to give the world beautiful music — some together, some apart — and I hope they never stop.
DIRECTOR: James Arthurs
CINEMATOGRAPHER: James Arthurs
FEATURING:
Alex Sowinski — Drums & Percussion
Chester Hansen — Bass, CS60, Piano
Leland Whitty — Saxophone, Flute, Clarinet, Electric Guitar, CS60
Matthew Tavares — Piano, CS60, Engineer
Colin Stetson - Saxophone, Baritone Saxophone
Mick Jenkins — Vox
Adam Feeney
EDITOR: James Arthurs
BAND MANAGEMENT: Matt Langille (Peoples Champ)
PRODUCER: Derek Brenzel & Cary Smith (Red Bull)
CLIENT: Red Bull Records