Welcome to first post for the 30th Asian American International Film Festival blog! We here at the ACV office are working hard to put together the best fest we can for you... promise. Stayed tuned to this blog for filmmaker interviews, highlights, and gossip.
Highlighting the AAIFF’s 3rd Music Video Program, I conducted an email interview with returning director Steve Mallorca, who screened “Got Me Like” by P.I.C. last year.
Please introduce yourself: Your name, occupation if not a full-time filmmaker, and where you are based.
Steven E. Mallorca – I’m a New York-based filmmaker and musician. By day, I’m a director and editor at Woo Art International, where I work on everything from commercials, industrials, music videos, and television shows. By night I’m an indie feature filmmaker, a musician, and a record company co-owner.
What is your interest in music videos? How many videos have you made?
My interest in videos stems from me being a musician myself. I really enjoy listening to songs and trying to get into the head of the artist, and understanding how and why they wrote a song. From there, I try to visualize it in a way that best captures the spirit of the musician and the song, while keeping my own perspective in there. My favorite videos are ones that really define the personality of a band or a singer. I originally started out editing music videos with some prominent music video directors, and have learned a ton from those directors and the musicians. Since then, I’ve directed 3 music videos and hope to do more.
Who or what are some of the creative influences that have had the biggest impact on you?
In general, my formative music video influence has to be The Beatles. My dad was a big Beatles fan, and I remember vividly growing up watching the little mini-films that they put together for their songs. Then, when I saw “Hard Day’s Night” for the first time, it made an even bigger impression on me both as a musician and filmmaker. These were films that really did so much in terms of capturing the personality of the band and the individual band members. That said, I’ve got to say that “Purple Rain” is another big influence for me. I’m also a big fan of the past music videos by Charles Stone, Spike Jonze, and Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Ferris because of their ability to really capture a band’s personality and translate it to their vision.
Top 5 music videos of all time...
Too many great videos to name, but these are ones that are very big influences for me:
Hard Day’s Night (the whole film) - The Beatles
Buddy Holly – Weezer
When Doves Cry – Prince
Me, Myself and I – De La Soul
1979 – Smashing Pumpkins
Can you tell us a bit of your concept behind "Mash it Up" by KXL?
Right from the get-go, when I heard the quirky little organ riff opening the song, I kinda wanted the feel of those strange cheesy velvet paintings (like the one of dogs playing poker, or a wolf howling or something). So I wanted to play off of KXL just bobbing to the beat with nothing around him, then adding more and more stuff around him to the point of absurdity. I wanted to play off of this theme of “moving and shaking”, in which movers are the ones who are physically changing the shot and revealing more and more to the viewer. Most of the video would all be from the same angle, and all the changes in the picture would happen because of people or props being moved around in the frame. Also, I wanted to play with the idea of moving, without showing movement. In this case, you would never get the sense that this truck is moving, until the back opens up and reveals that the outside is different.
Be sure to catch "Mash It Up" by KXL playing during the MUSIC VIDEO SHOW on Friday July 27 at 7:00PM at Asia Society!
