Interviews with DNA directorLiz Friedlander and Method visual effects artistScott McNeil.
Interview with directorLiz Friedlander
Q: What is your background in photography?
A: I have taken photographs for Dazed & Confused and Paper Magazine.
It's just something I have always dabbled with so there is a natural incorporation.
I am actually surprised it didn't happened sooner.
Q:
Did you take all the pictures that are seen on the wall behind the band in the video?
A: We took a lot of them and certainly the ones that were used to either build the semi- narrative sequences or the performance sequences. The band provided their personal photos that were used in the fast montages of the stills towards the end of the video.
Q: The concept of the band playing in a warehouse with pictures from their past on the wall behind them works great!
A: The song and lyrics are specifically related to an incident about suicide.It's actually to Mark's credit,he wanted to stay away from doing anything literal or linear.In talking with him,I came up with something that I thought was very soulful and nostalgic.The concept was mostly based on memories, yet it was still able to show the intensity of their performance.
Q: Did you work with Mark and the band writing the treatment for the video?
A: We wanted to do something different from their other videos,something other than being funny and hysterical.
This was more of a serious song so I wanted to do something a little more straightforward and emotional.I wrote the treatment and discussed it with Mark.We then decided to make it more general, focusing on nostalgia and the past,rather than on one specific event.Even though the treatment was already in place Mark helped me focus in a certain way.
Q: Since their other videos were so comical,this one grabs your attention because it shows a serious side of the band.
A: They wanted to do something that was emotional without acting.Using the photos and fast images to tell the story of the past enabled them to evoke that emotion without acting.
The photos speak for themselves;they're real,rather than having a band member trying to act out the emotion.
Q: Who was the director of photography for this video?
A:
The director of photography was Welles Hackett.
I have actually worked with him on several other videos, such as R.E.M.,Tracy Bonham,part of the Celine Dion,and others.
Q: Do you talk about the individual scenes collaboratively?
A: It was kind of a unique experience on this video because we (the director of photography, myself and few other key people)went down to San Diego where the band lives,about 4 or 5 days before we shot the performance,to shoot stills.Welles was there throughout that whole process.That was great because we got the chance to talk about what pictures would be going into the windows,even though we didn't ultimately decide where the sequences would go until editing.
Q:In the Blink 182 video versus the other music videos that you've directed,what in your mind stands out the most or differentiates it from other videos that you've shot?
A: I love the Blink 182 video because,it looks and feels really raw in terms of the performance and the emotions. Even the photography was left 'raw'.Out of focus still photos and even dirty film negatives were left alone,and used in the video.The combination of the performance,stills and energy combined to make something great,yet simple.
I like it because of the photos.It humanizes the band, making them seem normal,like one of us that you can relate to.
I like seeing their baby pictures or them hanging out at home.I think that in its'rawness'and simplicity, the great performance by the guys is what makes this a great video.It just strikes an emotional chord in me.
Interview with visual effects artistScott McNeil
Q: How where you able to create the morph effect of the photographs?
A: Green screen squares were placed in some areas to replace pictures on wall built by the art department. In certain areas we placed little green screen squares with tiny tracking marks which we used to take the camera into.
Unfortunately,it was real shaky since the crane did not work as well as anticipated,so we had to do a lot of extra stabilization. We couldn't get all the way into the photographs on the wall because they were regular size pictures. We pushed in as far as we could with the camera and tried to do a little more in telephine and enhanced it more in the inferno.It was a move on top of a move so to speak. We stabilized the move that was shot in the camera and extending it all the way so that the picture would come full frame. We had to blow things up as well.
Trying to stabilize the clip and making the camera move look really smooth was the hardest part.
Composting the image took a lot of work as well as trying to match the motion blur. We use a lot of artificial motion blur and the photographs obviously,zooming into them as we got closer. It was difficult trying to get the move down nice and solid since the camera was really shaky and didn't go all the way in the picture.It took a lot of extra work trying to get the moves correct because we had to make it feel like the camera was going all the way in full frame.
