SHIBUYA

AUGUST 2012

GRAYSON GILMOUR | 来日ソロライブ [FLYING NUN RECORDS]

Oh Snap! To coincide with Grayson Gilmour's recent tour of Japan an excerpt from my music video Loose Change was recovered, revived, resized and recut for a monstrous screen at the Shibya scramble crossing in Tokyo. I am yet to find a trustworthy figure of how many human beings use the crossing a day, but estimations vary between half a million and 2.5 million people. So, lets just say ... 'heaps and heaps'. The clip played for 10 days over July. Totally bananas huh?! 

You can watch the full original clip HERE to jog your memory machine. 

Thank you Brigid Connor and Yuya at Profound TV for helping turn the little clip into a humongous clip.

In related news, I have a new music video for Grayson Gilmour in production at the moment. Bigger and brighter. More news on this to come.

URBANTRAMPER | KATE BUSH SAVED MY LIFE 2

APRIL 2012

URBANTRAMPER | KATE BUSH SAVED MY LIFE [HOME ALOME MUSIC]

Lets begin 2012 (in Australia) with a video inspired by 1927 (in Germany). I was contacted by Wellington future folk band Urbantramper about making a them a music video late last year. I had moved from Wellington to Melbourne about six months earlier .. After a few long emails and a bit of faith from the band it was decided the production could go ahead with me directing the video in Australia. I drafted an idea that would pay homage to one of my favorite movies ever! The German expressionist film 'Metropolis'.

Budgets were secured, flights were booked and sets were built. This was a true Trans-Tasman affair. Filming took place over four summer days in the hellishly hot Melbourne suburbs. The first three days were spent sacrificing obscene amounts of hairspray and double sided tape. Designer Shayli Harrison and Art Director

Jenna Eriksen did an incredible job fleshing out the videos style. They are both inspiring talents!


The fourh and final production day was spent creating the purple sky that blankets the futuristic city. After many failed attempts we found the perfect potion of milk, house paint and food colouring. A little swirling and a touch of colour grading later ... Ta-da! I was really happy with the integration of ol' fashion camera trickery and digital effects. It was a difficult task, capturing some of that magic that Metropolis possesses using modern HD cameras. I think this clip is a good example of where I am with digital. Although I suspect a return to the warmth of 16mm is on the horizon. Oh, nostalgia!

The clip for 'Kate Bush Saved My Life' is now playing on New Zealand and Australian networks.
Just in time for Urbantramper's Australasian tour. If you are in the southern hemisphere keep your eyes peeled. More work to come!

URBANTRAMPER | KATE BUSH SAVED MY LIFE

URBANTRAMPER | KATE BUSH SAVED MY LIFE [HOME ALONE MUSIC]

"Wellington Future Folk band Urbantramper have just released the first video from their upcoming album 'Internet Freedom is Love'. The video for the song 'Kate Bush Saved My Life' was made by Jesse Taylor Smith who has made other brilliant videos for Dear Time's Waste and Junica." THESONGCOLLECTIVE.ORG

Art Director | Jenna Eriksen

Thanks | Shayli Harrison

Thanks | Sam Mapplebeck

Copyright © 2011 Jesse Taylor Smith

JUNICA | LIVING IN MY HOUSE

July 2011

JUNICA | LIVING IN MY HOUSE [EMI PUBLISHING]

Beyond the glow of my monitor I had a view of the whole city. It was late February in Wellington and I was finishing the final-assembly on the Alice clip (view it below). I was feeling particularly despondent that afternoon when the slightest tremor rattled my desk. The hum of the city had not been disturbed by the tremor, they are fairly common in Wellington. That afternoon I watched every helicopter leave and fly in the same direction. In Christchurch someone had been editing the new video for Junica (featuring LadyHawke). What was a jitter to me - was a jolt to them. Almost 200 people died in an earthquake that afternoon. When the cordons were finally raised it became clear that the Junica footage had been destroyed. Film data is no match for collapsed concrete buildings.

NZonAir promptly replaced the funding for the clip and I was commissioned to re-direct the project. The release schedule was already in place. I was given 2 weeks to make the most important video of my career so far. I compiled a draft of Nik Brinkmans themes and visual ideas, (Nik is the mind & music behind Junica) and within a couple of days we stitched together a workable concept.

[on the left] I stand in a reptilian pose while Nik squats in a field. Glamour.

I remember being on location and feeling both decorative and deranged.The production of this video was a creative spin - a swirl of glitter, exhaustion and some remarkable luck. This kind of rapid fire decision making is not how I work comfortably. No sleep. What we achieved in 2 weeks on a microscopic budget is nothing short of miraculous. The single has since reached a number 1 spot in New Zealand and has gone to most Australian networks. ALSO! In related news some over zealous dick on the corner expressed his dislike for the video calling it 'self concisely arty' and accusing me of being 'some shitty hot shot film school grad'. What a review! I've since relocated to Melbourne. Unrelated events... I think?

You can watch Junica | Living in My House (Featuring Pip Brown) HERE

Yours sincerely some shitty hot shot film school grad

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