Speedy Ortiz ‘Villain’ Premieres on Billboard
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In Online Premiere, Press, Video Posted April 23, 2018
The 3rd video for Speedy Ortiz’s Twerp Verse album, Villain, directed and shot by Elle Schneider, was released on April 11th via Billboard.
I don’t usually get personal on these kind of updates, but I want to digress to let folks know that I’m very appreciative of the overwhelmingly positive feedback we’ve gotten on this video both by individuals and in the press. The video was labeled “stunning” by Mystic Sons and The Line of Best Fit, “superbly” dealing with the song’s themes by Killing Moon, “powerful” by NPR, “pretty brilliant” by DIY, and a “miraculous trick” by Billboard.
Getting the tone of the visuals to jive with the serious and timely message of Villain, while still remaining dynamically visual enough to draw viewers into engaging with the song and that message, was a delicate balancing act. Speedy Ortiz and I had numerous discussions before we shot about how far to go with certain scenarios that we had decided on, and what style each of those scenarios would take on, and they put a lot of trust in me in post to make sure nothing came off as slapstick or insensitive. When I turned in the cut to the band and had no notes back, I was floored, and it was a very emotional moment.
I couldn’t have made this project a success without the help of my team and those who loaned us gear or helped out with studio space. We shot 95% of this video in one day, and their professionalism and indie spirit allowed us to have a wonderful day on set and capture everything we needed without a hitch.
You may notice that certain key roles are omitted from the official credits of the video, and that’s for a reason. It’s always a little frowned upon to be a multi-hyphenate on professional projects, so I didn’t want to draw too much attention to the fact that aside from directing and shooting, I was also the producer, editor, VFX, colorist, costume designer, prop master, and art director for this video, which also made the support of viewers so much more meaningful. With not a lot of time to pull a rather complex video together, it was easier and faster for me to wear a bunch of hats than to bring on additional crew and keep them up to speed, which is my preference. But for my last two projects I’ve been drawing a lot of inspiration and confidence from Anna Biller, who has often taken charge of the visual elements of her films in order to get them just right, because when you’re short resources like time or money and you know exactly what you want, sometimes the best (and cheapest) person you can hire for your budget is—you.
Cast: River Johnson as The Fishhead
Director/Cinematographer: Elle Schneider
Gaffer: David Morrison
Movi Pro Operator: David C Weldon Jr
1st AC: Shawn Sanders
Key Grip: Lawrence Le
Hair & Makeup: Kimberly Distel
Art Department: Tomm Jacobsen
2nd Unit Cinematographer: Lucie McCormick
Producers: Attention Soldier Productions, We Make Movies
Shot on the Panasonic EVA1 with Zeiss Milvus lenses
Special Thanks: Pete Pappavaselio, Whit Spurgeon, Rodney Ascher, Besty Gain, Kristin DiLiello, Omega Broadcast & Cinema, Evidence Film Studios, Mark Lecky, Joel Deutsch, Snehal Patel, Steve Cooperman, Carl Hicks, Juan Alderete, and Nick Reinhart