4K, music videoChris MorganDecember 17, 2019

PETE MULLER - BACK TO NOTHING

4K, music videoChris MorganDecember 17, 2019

the third of four music videos for Pete Muller’s DISSOLVE LP, ‘back to nothing’ is a markedly different experience to the prior two videos, which were a little more on the somber side.

i had initially pitched and prepped an entirely different concept for this video, which would have seen the band playing on the back of a vintage moving truck, winding through the mountains of colorado ‘beverly hillbillies’-style. unfortunately, the logistics and budget to execute that vision, coupled with weather delays in the denver area, resulted in the idea being shelved.

while on location with the band in colorado to cover some live performances during the same span of time, pete asked if i could come up with a new concept and shoot a video in the couple of days we had in colorado.

so i pitched this concept. pete decides to hunt and recruit a band of wild animals from the colorado mountains to be in his band. but, of course, wild animals being wild animals, they eat him at the end.

pete muller chases his tambourine player. photo by art heffron.

the whole idea was infused with complete absurdity from the get go. we had to source costumes in less than 24 hours, and our jack-of-all-trades AC-PA-set-photographer Art Heffron was able to secure everything we needed. getting geographically-appropriate animals proved difficult, so we just ran with the genetic anomaly vibe, and embraced the giraffemonkeys, wolfbears, goatzebras, or whatever else these animals might have been.

each beast has its own environment, its own story. the rabbit is timid and quick, but pete proves quicker. the fox is wily and tries to juke and outmaneuver pete, but alas, in vain. the goatzebra takes a more agressive approach, but is foiled by pete’s on-his-feet thinking.

skip ward (bass) and missy soltero (vocals) assist director chris morgan - truly a team effort! - photo by art heffron

the shoot took place over three days. day one was focused on capturing the animals in their habitats, getting the “b-roll” shots of them without pete. day two and three were focused more on getting pete’s performance elements, shots of interactions with the animals, and finally the band’s full performance on a grassy knoll. luckily weather and cloud cover stayed relatively consistent, and the lighting conditions in the semi-shaded woods allowed for relatively good quality footage despite the very run-and-gun, stripped-down nature of the shoot.

the band was as much crew as they were talent. vocalist and percussionist missy soltero proved an indispensable 1st AD on the shoot, helping coordinate costumes, schedule, and making sure we stayed on track to get the rather ambitious shot list done. every single band member put in extra effort and made sure things went smoothly, and the amount of fun we had on set is evident in the final product. ideas were flowing, and everyone was excited to be involved. an ideal shoot, really!

missy soltero and martha mcdonnell taking a breather on the “back to nothing” set - photo by art heffron

the entire video was shot on the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K, and entirely using the Zhiyun Crane 3 LAB as stabilisation. Rokinon DS lenses provided sharp, consistent images across various focal lengths, and the piece was edited and finished in Resolve.

the dynamic range of the camera really shines in this video, with uneven lighting being the order of the day. pulling the shadows up and recovering highlights in DaVinci made the video pop considerably and have a more filmic vibe.

the memories of shooting ‘back to nothing’ are nothing but fond. it’s rare to have THAT much fun on set, and it comes through in the video, which is fantastic.

i included the roald dahl quote at the end of the video, as it seemed quite appropriate, and pete agreed. arguably not an original sentiment on dahl’s part, but fitting nonetheless: