FILMMAKING IN THE TIME OF COVID

With HAIL TAXI for METZ, I wanted to tell a simple story that captures the song’s overarching theme. The idea of longing for the past creates many visual motifs that I’ve wanted to explore for some time, even more so now in the current climate. For many of us, the hardest thing to do is to move forward because the future is uncertain and living in the present has its challenges.

We live in a dystopian reality; politics, the virus, and social unrest are part of our existence. I purposefully avoided literal connections to the current state of the world. I wanted to create a piece that feels timeless, the sense of isolation palpable within the subtext of the story. We can hide our feelings, but we can’t run from them.

I wrote the treatment during the height of the lockdown in New York City, a time of uncertainty for all of us. As the city started to open, we set to shoot the piece on the rooftop of my apartment, with simple equipment (no drones, cranes or large crew). We used home-made lights, an inflatable pool, a small aquarium as a miniature set with small replicas of the boat, the mask and other items; and many old-school filmmaking techniques to create the effect of water and a woman stranded in the middle of the ocean.

Our crew was barebones. Given social distancing rules, we all had to wear multiple hats, like having our actress do her own makeup. All stores were closed, so we maneuvered to find props and wardrobe. Most importantly, we placed an old rowboat that we got for 50 dollars on the rooftop of a typical NYC building –a five-floor walk-up with narrow corridors. A quixotic task, yet a process that freed us of many preconceptions of the film shoots from the past.

This video was created with many limitations in a moment of personal change. It was a pure process, where the journey was as critical as the goal. Life is uncertain for all of us in the music and filmmaking industries, yet we need to embrace change and stop longing for the past. For just a few days, a small group of creatives decided to follow a crazy idea, live the present, and embrace the uncertain future; to me, that is a beautiful thing.

NYC summer 2020.

Credits:

CAST:

MICHELLE BOBE: The woman

PORDUCTION:

A.F. CORTES: Director + Producer

DIEGO CORDERO: Director of Photography

CASSANDRA HOLDEN: Production Designer

SONIA FOLTARZ: Art Direction, Wardrobe, Double

NICOLAS LOPEZ: Gaffer

POST PRODUCTION: TRAFFIC STUDIO

JAVIER RODRIGUEZ: FX supervisor, compositing, animation

DANIEL PEÑARANDA: Post-Producer

SPECIAL THANKS:

Nicole Caro, Camden Elizabeth

Jamie and Simon at Oblique Artist Management

Alissa Atkins at Sub-Pop

SUB-POP RECORDS 2020

A NEUPLOT PRODUCTION