When Aussie editor Alexander Roberts packed his belongings in a red spotty handkerchief and set off to see the world, he decided to make a little no-budget music video in each country. After all that – and a mind-expanding trip through the Mexican desert – Roberts is back home and is getting behind the camera to create some awesome promos. We’re digging his collaborations with Art Vs. Science!
I think my music videos are strongly influenced by my editing experience. I like to visualise the clip fully edited and timed with the song before we shoot. For me It’s important that the mood and timing of the song is reflected by what you see.
Do you prefer to edit your own films?
Definitely. I find editing therapeutic and I’m useless at gardening.
When did you first pick up a camera?
When I was 7 years old I used my parents analog handy cam to shoot “The Robbo Show”. At the time I thought it was because I wanted to be an actor. But as time went on I found myself talking more about film ideas and less about
dieting techniques.
How would you characterise your work?
Christopher Walken narrating Green Eggs and Ham.
As I understand it, you’ve been travelling all over the world and made lots of little short films documenting your experiences. Where did you go? What did you learn and how do you think this experience has influenced your own work?
I spent a year traveling from From Argentina to Mexico with a camera and a laptop. I made a little music video in each country to share with my friends and family back home. I learned It’s possible to make an entertaining clip for 10 bucks as long as you have a unique idea, a good song and a couple of golf buggies.
After walking through the Mexican desert for 2 days on Peyote I decided it was time to say goodbye to my spirit animal, go home and take this music video thing seriously.
Love your videos for Art vs Science- what was the inspiration for your Magic Fountain promo?
Peyote.. No, I’m pretty sure anyone who hears the song thinks of an old man who uses the water from a magic fountain stored in a fridge in his garage to power a boom jacket built from speaker parts that sends out a sonic sound wave causing all people who hear it to dance uncontrollably from all corners of the city towards him so that he may steal their youth and become young again.
My favourite thing about that video is definitely the costume design for the hi-fi suit of armour! What influenced the look of that? Where did you get it made?
We wanted it to look epic and home made. Halo Armour meets Martha Stewart. So we commissioned prop design genius Melissa Fallshaw to do her thing, and she nailed it. On our first meeting she already had design drawings that Tony Stark would have been proud of.
Love the choreography too – how much rehearsal etc and preparation did that take? where did you recruit all the dancers from?
We found all of our dancers by putting a casting call on the internet and actually had no rehearsal or preparation aside from the castings. I knew what I wanted certain characters to do, such as the corporate moonwalker and the little 9 year old crumper. We were just so lucky to have found such an incredible and enthusiastic bunch. They all loved the band and the idea so it wasn’t hard to get them into it.
I would have to say the other Art Vs Science Clip, Parlez vous Francais. When I saw them playing at Splendour in the Grass last year there were at least 6 people in the crowd dressed as mimes. Mission accomplished.
