>> BORIS + UNIFORM: NOT SURPRISED
A few notes on the BORIS + UNIFORM music video (and album cover):
I wanted (and had to) approach this piece from a visceral and experimental perspective. After listening to the song, I created a dark and surreal film reflecting the track's themes and mood, leaving my comfort zone and turning some of my processes upside down – literally.
The overarching theme of the piece is a cycle of violence; this is my interpretation of the music, not necessarily the authors'. We live in a never-ending cycle of violence; humans are as good at creating as destroying. In the video, the hunted becomes the hunter and then is hunted again. But who wins?
The backstory: When I was first approached about this video, I was on the road producing another project. Our main challenge: Boris would be playing in NY in two weeks, and that was the only time I had to shoot anything with the band. Also, the record was unfinished… not ideal, but when two of your favorite bands approach you to direct a video on their secret collaboration you make it happen.
After receiving an early version of the song, I listened many times in my limited free time and decided to take a different approach: instead of planning every shot (as I usually do on music videos), I created a scene and decided to write the script after the shoot. The visual universe was clear to me, but I needed more time for the story. I was glad and terrified that both bands decided to go for the ride and trusted me with this project under very unusual circumstances.
The image of Berdan on a birdcage while Atsuo was on the table enjoying fake food was the perfect analogy to build a story; it was the situation I needed to get in and out of, so this was how the story was born. Once we shot the scene and some other random stuff at my studio, I photographed my surroundings: buildings, trees, birds, dirt, textures, and leaves—all part of the visual database that fed the story. I partnered with my friends at Traffic Studios, a team of animators and illustrators, to help me bring a dark and surreal piece to life.
Our process was at the intersection of handmade analog animation and digital techniques. It was a lengthy production (for a music video); from production to final piece, it took 6 months.
Thank you, BORIS and UNIFORM, for trusting the process, embracing chaos, and believing we would ultimately deliver a visual companion piece to this massive piece of music.
PRODUCTION CREDITS:
CREDITS:
Director + Producer: A.F. Cortés
Director of photography: Adam Weinberg
Production designer: Ilan Weinstein
Producer: Helio Bodini
Assistant Camera: Spike Walker
Gaffer: Griffin Bowie
Grip: Max Frega
POST PROPDUCTION:
Post production: Traffic Studio
Post production Director: Javier Rodríguez
Post production executive producer: Daniel Peñaranda
Editor + Photography: A.F. Cortes
Assistant editor: Juan Sandoval
Illustration: Cristian Ríos
3D: Mauricio Lopez, Javier Rodriguez
Programming: Kike Pulido, Sebastian Gonzalez, Sergio Mantilla
ALBUM COVER
