Bath Spa duo film Turin Brakes music video
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Bath Spa duo join forces to film fiery music video for Brit band Turin Brakes
Thursday, 12 April, 2018Rob Brown, Senior Lecturer in Film and Creative Production at Bath Spa University and BA Creative Media graduate Jamie Harding have collaborated to create an explosive music video for Mercury Prize-nominated Turin Brakes.
The four-piece folk rock band, who have sold over 1 million records to date, commissioned director Rob and cinematographer Jamie to produce the music video for their track ‘The Quiet Ones’, taken from their latest album Invisible Storm.
In the video which is filmed in Ottery St Mary in Devon, the pair capture the town’s famous annual fiery tar barrel festival which sees locals fearlessly carrying the flaming objects through the streets - a tradition that dates back to the 17th century and is thought to have started as a way of warding off evil spirits.
Slow motion filming brings the evening event to life for those watching it unfold on screen as they are taken on a journey into the heart of the Ottery St Mary community.
Telling us more about the project, Rob said: “I’ve been a fan of Turin Brakes since The Optimist album and it’s been a long held ambition of mine to make a video for them. I’ve previously attended the tar barrel event too and depicting the ritual has been something I’ve wanted to do for years, so to have combined the two is perfect.
“It’s incredible to think that locals have been burning barrels at the festival for so many centuries - admittedly it was a very daring event but also very cinematic. We fell in love with The Quiet Ones while editing and feel that the song fits our video’s concept and mood perfectly. The feedback has been great and I'm really pleased the atmosphere has come across as intended. Jamie did an amazing job with exposure to really capture the fire and did an all-round top job, he deserves all the credit.”
Jamie, who graduated from Bath Spa in 2013, added: “I grew up in Devon so the event wasn’t something out of the ordinary for me. We shot on an Arri Alexa and I treated the shots like I would when I take street photography. I love capturing fire because it’s so beautiful and at the same time can be a technical challenge to capture due to its intensity. Rob had an overall direction and image he wanted to create and he trusted and allowed me to make that happen. This was a great video to work on and I really enjoyed teaming up with him.”
Since graduating from Bath Spa, Jamie has filmed multiple music videos and has shot projects for Channel 4’s short film strand Random Acts. He is currently shooting his first feature length production and works at Artsworks Media, a professional production company and digital agency which is run by final year Bath Spa University students and media professionals.
Jamie added: “My Artswork Media experience was essential in getting me to where I am today. It gave me the opportunity to develop my style and my look as a director of photography. Mentoring from seasoned industry professionals has also given me the confidence to push both visual and creative boundaries and it’s a pleasure to be able to continue to work alongside alumni from the course.”
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Robert Brown