Today’s words of wisdom come from Andy Morahan, the director award-winning music videos and commercials, like budget-busting 90s classic November Rain, for Guns N’ Roses, and sultry Juliette Lewis Guess Jeans ad Cheat. More recently he’s shot promos for everyone from Sugababes to Fun Lovin’ Criminals, and ads for the likes of Lynx, VW and ghd. Legend thy name is Andy.
Who wants to be in a band when you can have more fun filming?
So what do you wish you’d known when you were 18?
That technology was going to move so rapidly and turn our business up side down. When I started running in the 80s, if you wanted a dissolve for an edit, you had to send it out to film post-houses and wait overnight until it came back. Nowadays you can make Star Wars on your laptop!
What has been the most valuable lesson you’ve learnt during your directing career?
That there are some things you can never control like the weather. Also the importance of being thorough in preparation and following jobs through until the end. It’s your baby so deliver it…
When did you first pick up a camera and what was the first thing you ever directed?
Well I was a bit of a late starter. I went to St Martins Art College to be a graphic designer, and when we had to do a TV project, they only wanted us to draw storyboards. A couple of the other students, like Sophie Muller, and I said ‘sod that, let’s actually make it with some real cameras in the film department’ and I never stopped. My first professional directing job was a music video for a band called King, Love and Pride, and it was a hit!
Was your directing career something that developed quite organically or did you have a plan? How did you get to where you are today?
Well I played in a band at college called Havana Let’s Go and we got signed to Polydor. I started making our videos and when the band split up, ‘cos we were terrible, I already had a small showreel and some record company contacts. Realising that I liked filmmaking better than music I decided to pursue that; MTV Europe had just opened up and every record company and band suddenly wanted to make videos; so no there was no great master plan, it was more organic.
You’ve shot some epic promos for some legendary bands over the years – which have been your most memorable shoots?
Father Figure for George Michael. It was my first big shoot in LA, there was no performance and just narrative; I felt like a big shot Hollywood director…ha, ha! November Rain – Guns ‘n Roses… for all the Spinal Tap excess and indulgence of the project. Both became iconic videos for me.
I’m interested to find out about your methodology – how do you prepare for shoots? Are you quite meticulous or spontaneous? Are there any habits or rituals you’ve picked up?
I’m a bit of both. I like to be prepared but I’m all for spontaneity when it’s right; sometimes your best ideas on paper just don’t work, so you have to think on your feet and figure it out. I love that. No habits or rituals other than learning over the years that a great mood and vibe on a shoot always leads to your best work, so get over being a prima donna, grumpy, screaming director…I’ve tried it and it doesn’t work.
Do you think it’s easier or more difficult for new directors trying to get themselves established in the industry now? Why?
It’s really difficult…there’s a lot more directors chasing a smaller amount of work and the budgets are getting tighter and tighter whether it’s commercials or music videos. When I started it was very different and we had time to learn our craft in MV’s before we ever got near an ad. Nowadays if you come out of college with anything less than a reel that shows you’re a genius, you are going to find it very, very hard.
What advice would you give to a young director hoping to break into commercials or music video?
Don’t give up your day job! No seriously if you’re passionate about it go the extra mile and keep at it, banging on doors, making a nuisance of yourself until you make it…of course a trust fund does help.
For more info about Andy go to Believe UK.
