After playing in Le Bain's skyline the night of the Blood Moon Eclipse, French sensation Superpoze gives us an exclusive look at his new video "Opening". We sat down with the Parisian director Julian Starke to get the backstory.
LE BAIN: From this beautiful abstract electronic track to the dream-y video, what was the connection?
JULIAN STARKE: When I first heard "Opening" it immediately reminded me of the feeling I had when I discovered Le Claire de Lune by Debussy. A fantastic aquatic landscape appeared. Then, while talking with Superpoze about his music, I decided that I wanted to create a metaphor of artists who live for their art and self.
Any specific challenges while shooting it?
Any specific challenges while shooting it?
(Laughs) Yes! William, the actor is really young, 15 years old, and he liked to have fun all the time. At the end of a shooting day, he broke a rowing boat in two pieces while playing with it. We still had the drone shots to do. That's why when you look closely sometimes his boat is yellow and sometimes it is white.
15-year-old athlete William holding his row boat while the drone flies overhead.
What about this pink color all over the video?
At first I had the idea of a rowing athlete living on his own in the mountains, but I felt something was missing. Superpoze showed me the work of Richard Mosse, a photographer and cinematographer. I immediately felt that we should get inspiration from his work. He uses a technique that was common during the war in Congo with infra red film cameras that helped the army to find enemies hidden in the mountains.
Is there a special meaning to it?
For us it's more of an esthetic meaning. This color gave the unearthly touch I wanted for the video. As we shot with a numeric camera, I had to find another technique. It was really challenging to find the way to have an organic red/pink color. It's rare to have an inspiration that precise for a project, but here it was just perfect.
At first I had the idea of a rowing athlete living on his own in the mountains, but I felt something was missing. Superpoze showed me the work of Richard Mosse, a photographer and cinematographer. I immediately felt that we should get inspiration from his work. He uses a technique that was common during the war in Congo with infra red film cameras that helped the army to find enemies hidden in the mountains.
Is there a special meaning to it?
For us it's more of an esthetic meaning. This color gave the unearthly touch I wanted for the video. As we shot with a numeric camera, I had to find another technique. It was really challenging to find the way to have an organic red/pink color. It's rare to have an inspiration that precise for a project, but here it was just perfect.
Why did you choose a real athlete as your main character?
The athlete is practicing to be the best. He is secluded, lonely, like an ascetic, and
lives to fulfill his mission. He challenges himself, and surpasses himself physically and mentally. Nobody is there to guide him and he goes to the bottom of his
act, risking getting lost...It is the metaphor that we wanted to create: the fate of artists who live for their art.
Julian Starke on set.
