Making 12 Videos in 6 Days! Is Speed A New Trend? Feat. Danny Drysdale & Echosmith
Is making a music video for each song on the album a new trend? Echosmith surely think so and millions of views on Youtube confirm that it’s not such a bad idea.
I had a pleasure to interview a music video director Danny Drysdale, who had a break-through with directing Human by The Killers and continued his success with other artists for over a decade.
Danny helped Echosmith get their 12 videos done in 6 days. Yes, you heard that right.
You can also listen to this content on all major podcasting platforms Girl with a Camera Podcast.
Me: Let’s make 12 music videos for the whole Lonely Generation album and let’s do it in 6 days! Who’s idea was it??
Danny: I answered an ad on some website in England where directors can go and pitch. There was a thing that was very vague, that was like:
‘Hey, we’re looking for an art director for this next album.’
And I just wrote them and said:
‘Forget art directing like I’m gonna completely author all the videos. I’ll do everything that you need like soup to nuts.’
Very bold and I didn’t hear from them for two months and then I got this random text from Jeffery David, who’s the manager of Echosmith and he’s like: ‘Hey, you still interested?’
I’m like: ‘In what? What did I agree to?’ (laugh)
It went really well because now Jeffery’s my manager by the way.
He’s like: ‘We want to do 12 videos, can you do it?’ And I was like: ‘Oh my gosh, that sounds insane, yes! That’s scary, let’s do this.’
I’ve told them in passing actually more than once that it was a dream situation because there I was in the room with the band with my concepts written out. Two lines per concept, per video, we went back and forth, we went down that list together. We did a couple of meetings, it was amazing. I don’t even know how that happened.
It was shot and scheduled like a film. Nothing was related to the videos as we were doing, it was all out of order like:
‘Oh we need to go over there, like let’s go shoot this thing.’
I mean it was all just this maze of material. I escorted them to Utah because Utah has like every location. I mean the dunes, the cowboy stuff. There’s so much great scenery here and frankly we could do another 12 videos with Echosmith. We didn’t even go to all the cool places in my opinion.
We really had a quite a tight crew and we just were very mobile and I knew in the as we were doing it I’m like:
‘We can’t do all of these, something’s gonna go wrong like we’re gonna miss one.’
I felt emotionally driven to do this I was like:
‘I want to do one video that’s just me, me shooting it, no one in the way’
and that’s the one I’m most proud of actually. It’s called I don’t wanna lose my love.
When you shoot with a crew, there’s everybody around the camera and there’s so much distance from the subject and I’m in the water with her, I’m on the ground with the surfer who’s passed away.
I’m completely involved in it and that’s part of the feeling of the video. I didn’t really know was so powerful until I saw those other videos and then realised what had happened there.
There’s so many shots on that that I’m like:
‘How did we get that?’
Like with the hat floating and there’s all these things that happen. Like shooting and then it just pans over, I’m doing it but I panned over and there’s the hat and that’s me in the water with her.
I’ve lost cameras doing that I just get too into it I guess.
That actually makes me think of a sore subject because Cracked video I hope it comes out. That’s my favorite video and it hasn’t come out yet.
Me: I wanted to ask about this! What’s happening?
Danny: I think it’s one of the best videos I’ve ever made artistically and I can’t believe it’s not out. I really love it and I can’t like just go redo it, it’s like completely relevant. There’s pieces of it in Lonely generation where she’s (Sydney Sierota) sitting and she’s singing through this thing of wood.
That doesn’t sell the video I mean the video is very beautiful the song is amazing I mean there’s so much about it.
Me: How much do you storyboard or how much do you require to know exactly for each video shoot in terms of storyboards?
Danny: I look at things in terms of bare minimums so like I know I need the typical like story intro stuff. I need my own like reaction to the environment and usually after I make a list of probably 10 items, depends on the video. I get those pieces and then I leave a very open space to outdo my idea and out do everything and then hope that the band keys in on that.
The magic of it is really in the moment.
Like the opening shot of Diamonds, we didn’t storyboard the shot of her in the silhouette and my DP and I were arguing. We argued that whole time, I love him, but he and I were arguing, he’s like:
‘I’m going to shoot a wide.’
‘I’m never going to use it, why don’t you take a break and go look at my reel and realise how I don’t ever use those.’
We have this huge fight and then I’m like okay he wants an establishment shot so I went and I looked around and found that one with her with the gun on her hip.
If you can be nimble like that, that’s awesome whether or not your clients are going to trust that is another thing and that’s why I’m saying you may need to define that element to the client.
Me: Are you a fan of visual effects or any kind of post production miracles or do you want to just grab some dynamite like in Stuck video?
Danny: I’m a fan of in-camera but not to the extent that I’m like VFX is stupid. I love that you brought up Stuck. People were doing explosions in Utah and I’m like why am I not doing explosions? I want to do explosions. (laugh)
So we found a guy and that was the top of my list I think that that’s one of the things that made the band want to do a video. I was like: ‘We’re going to do explosions’ (laugh).
It really is a good gimmick because nobody does them for real anymore but there’s a there are a couple locations in Utah where you can still do it and it’s like low-key, you get the fire department out there.
Me: How was the collaboration with Echosmith in terms of changes, editing, notes?
Danny: They cut me a lot of slack artistically because they knew what was going into it and that I was such an author of the look of it and it was also very collaborative Jeffery’s been very clear. He was amazed at how collaborative I was. They would give notes and I would instantly incorporate them on the spot.
It’s also about taking a risk and a lot of people don’t want to take a risk but I’ve taken many risks. It’s like a balance right. I’m not recommending that necessarily I’m just saying you only live once.
There’s a chance there might be something more beautiful out in the world that you just don’t know about until you get there.
Me: Are you gonna continue the collaboration with Echosmith for the next album? Are you going to make 13 videos?
Danny: I’m still working with them. I just hung out I was just in Idaho shooting some videos with Jeffery and Noah’s in the video so we’re still doing things together. Yeah that’s completely open ready to go.
Full interview available to listen under Girl with a camera podcast or watch on my Youtube channel.
