After asking Harry some questions about The Car Song, I thought it would be good to follow it up by talking to the director of the video clip, Ben Quinn. Ben was kind enough to agree to an email interview, which I've posted below.
Casey: First, can you tell me a little bit about yourself? A quick Google gets me your website (www.benquinn.com), plus the fact that you've made a couple of film clips for Alex Lloyd. Are video clips your main focus?
Ben: Music Videos are a great love for me and I love to do as many as I can although I am currently on a sabbatical from them as I am directing a big comedy series for the BBC here in the UK.
Casey: You've made the latest Cat Empire film clip, for The Car Song. Did you know the band at all before this?
Ben:All I knew is that my little sister who still lives in Australia LOOOOOOVED them so I took her word for it when they asked me to make a clip for them. I was truly won over when I saw them play in Melbourne early this year.
Casey: What do you think about the song? Once you'd heard it, did you always have a clear idea of how the clip might play out?
Ben: I was asked for ideas for 2 songs. There was an idea that I would make 2 at the same time but I think that my idea for Sly was a little bit weird for them. Personally I thought the Sly Clip would have been the best clip ever and I struggled coming up with an idea for the Car Song. I almost gave up on it but eventually it just plipped into my head...Weird how it turns out huh? Once I have an idea I have incredibly vivid idea of how the clip should be. I have every frame storyboarded and I use different visual tools to articulate casting ideas and locations.
Casey: The clip is a departure from previous TCE fare. Did their previous film clips, or their other music, influence your ideas?
Ben: I try not to let music videos directly influence my music videos but the originality of another directors work can easily inspire me. I love ads too. Here in England the commercial is an art form(in some instances) where many great directors have honed their skills. I am a voracious movie watcher and reader of movie books both historical and technical. Im a nerd basically. So my influences are varied...If i am stuck for an idea I might wander around the Tate Modern Gallery here or any of the other tops galleries, or bookstores
or I might allocate myself a few hours to watch clips, ads or stuff on the interet and hopefully i will be inspired.
Casey: The shoot for the clip was pretty tight, only one day I think. What was your plan? Did you have all the shots planned, or did you take a few cameras and hope for the best?
Ben: I NEVER hope for the best I always have everything planned. There was one camera with my trusted DOP. I had the street team as crowd and about 100 people at first but once they realised how boring filming is they f***ed off after about an hour and a half. So I was left with about 20 people at the end of the day. There are alot of shots of the same people if you look closely. Aaah the magic of television....
Casey:How was it working with the band during the film-making process? Were there any challenges in getting such a big and diverse group on screen?
Ben: They are the nicest bunch of people that I have ever met...My producer said "if you dont like the Cat Empire, you must be a pyschopath". Sums them up pretty much, The diversity in the band suited the clip perfectly. Every character in every story in what ever form should have something unique to contribute. Obviously a team is a good way of presenting a group of people all at once. So no..It was all perfect no challenge. As far as Harry goes, I could not have made that clip with anyone else. His performance was 100% spot on. He deserves an award for that clip.
Casey: Finally, if there was any song, from any artist, that you could make a
film clip for, what would it be?
Ben: Sigur Ros make beautiful music that would be so easy to put images
to and have already made some amazing clips, maybe oneday...I am going to the Ashes at Lords with Bernard from Powderfinger tommorrow and I am going to convince him to make a cricket film clip, not to dissimilar to the Car Song, but with 70's footage and tricky special FX. He is the only person I know that likes cricket more than I do and he just so happens be in a band....
Casey: Thanks a lot for your time, and good luck!
Forum member angebaby has contributed some photos, thanks to her sister! Check out these pictures from the Prince of Wales July 8th gig to see what you missed out on!
If you check the Cat Empire gigography, you'll see reviews for three of the latest gigs at the Prince of Wales in Melbourne. Thanks go to the forum members who took the time to share their comments on the performances, and it sounds like they were excellent shows indeed.
One feature, revealed by Michael in his review of the Sunday night gig, is that Ryan and the Empire Horns have now got a radio-mike setup of some kind, and so have more flexibility on stage. This can only help Ryan's progression through the Rock God ranks, and the Horns might be able to show off a few of their more complicated dance moves!
SOLY
PARTY
LULLABY
RHYTHM [Ben]
CAR SONG
HELLO [Carlo]
SLY
EVERYTHING... FUNKY
PROTONS
CHARIOT
POCKET
DUMB THINGS
HOW TO X? [Ollie]
- - - - -
TWO SHOES
Last night was great. It was a good crowd. The band sounded great and were totally feeding off each others enthusiasm. Thanks to all the people that met up for dinner last night, you really made our night. It's awesome to look around at a gig and be surrounded by a group of people, all dancing, all smiling, enjoying themselves so much.
I don't have much to add. Just two choice quotes:
I enjoyed Harry's introduction of Ollie first solo: "Ollie, Prince of Wales. Prince of Wales, meet Ollie."
Felix during the break in How to Explain?: "We're sick of trying to explain to people what type of music the Cat Empire play, so when someone asks from now on we say The Cat Empire play live Australian music!"
A highlight (that we can talk about now seeing as it can't spoil the surprise for any immediate gig-goers) has been the wireless set-up on all the horns, Harry and Felix's mics and Ryan's electric bass. They've been starting the shows by having the Empire Horns play the intro to Sol y Sombra from behind the stage and then enter the stage to it. That's a great effect, plus the wireless gear allows everyone to move around the stage more naturally. It's nice when the horns are playing solos to be center stage.
Highlights: The battle between Ross Irwin and Harry at the end of the night, which later included Kieran, was just brilliant. Big, loud, trumpet playing like that is just something very very priceless. Ollie was also cutting sick last night, many, many a time, and Ryan's solos were phat (yes, with a ph) and right up there with the word funky. Really think that the whole entire band, plus the special guests, were completely enjoying themselves last night, and as a result, so were the crowd.
sol y sombra (starting off with just the horn riff as the boys marched on)
rhythm
beanni
days
in my pocket (with lion king africa bit)
lullaby
chariot
protons
lost song
hello
car song (with some of the most insane soloing ive ever seen out of ollie)
two shoes (with ross/harry trumpet duel)
encore: sly (with respect intro)
From various forum members:
well. im not a huge fan of underage shows usually, but i have to say it was pretty bloody fantastic. the crowd were alot better behaved than last year, they actually responded really well to solos etc..
wow. the boys never cease to amaze me. a great blend of old and new stuff (just from the albums unfortunately) with some great solos and trumpet duels...
The cat empire seem to get better and better everytime i see them.
Their performance today was by far the best ive ever experienced.
The car song with ollies incredible solo was just amazing but Two shoes was the song that pushed it right over the edge for me, Ross and Harrys "trumpet duel" was astounding. Ive never seen any musician influence a crowd like Harry and Ross did today at the POW u18 gig.
ohh, are these guys hot or what?! i went to the same gig last year and loved it, this year i got right up close n personal in the front row....BLOODY BRILLIANT!!!! i still say TCE are my favourite band, with such energetic live shows, gorgeous personalities off stage (yes i got the awesome opportunity to meet ollie, harry and felix), and fantastic music, what more do u want??i have converted my friends and they're now dedicated members of the empire! if u havent seen TCE live yet, put them on the top of your 'to do' list, u wont regret it. i LOVE them. even named my little kitten 'ollie' after the legend himself. So whatever u do people, get behind the cat empire!!!
Setlist - Sol y Sombra (fantastic way to open the show)
The Rhythm
The Lost Song (yay!)
Lullaby
In My Pocket
The Night That Never End (got nice and fast and crazy at the end...)
Hello
The Car Song
Dumb Things
The Chariot (featuring the singer from Symbiosis... Can anyone help me out with his name?)
Protons
Two Shoes
Encore - Sly
How To Explain
Pretty sure that's all in order... My sis swiped Ollie's setlist, and it's a little bit muddled, but that sounds right.
From angebaby:
Highlights of the night - Ryan's awesome solo in the epic version of Car Song (that went for 25 minutes according to Harry)... Love to see him standing at the front of the stage doing the Rock God thing... Ross and Harry's trumpet-off, Carlo dancing with a bottle of wine in one hand and a beer in the other, Symbiosis - those guys were excellent!! I loved the pirate song... Um, Ollie's maniacal solo in How to Explain was pretty damn impressive too, particularly when you're standing about 1 metre away. And Novak was cool as always - he played in 3 (I think) songs, including Hello and Car Song.
Last night was quite possibly the best Empire gig I've been to. The energy was just incredible, and the band just kind of...clicked. Everyone was on fire.