So how does one make a music video in the era of a world pandemic? With the help of green screen and some serious artist creativity, anything is possible! (Probably a bit easier said than done!) In the middle of debuting their fourth studio album CALM, Australian band 5 Seconds of Summer, found themselves doing just that. (You can read my full review of their album in my last post) With a little help of some friends, they were able to pull off one of the most colorful, psychedelic and impressive music videos I’ve ever seen–entirely made from home! This article is a small dedication to the creative masterminds behind the video, creative art director, Andy Deluca and photographer Sarah Eiseman.
While COVID-19 has posed some serious challenges in the entertainment front, it has the creative wheels of several artists spinning. Releasing content without radio or even theatrical promo (for movies) has completely changed the game of both music and film distribution before we know it. (I will most likely discuss this in a future article)
With a successful album release, 5 Seconds of Summer were eager to create a music video for one of their newest singles, Wildflower. Originally set to shoot a video before the shelter in place order was in effect, the guys were left to be a little creative. I was incredibly excited to see that they were still pursuing a music video and was interested to see what they could do.
The first sneak peak was given by the guys’ creative art director, Andy Deluca (who also designed their album artwork for CALM) Below is the tweet Andy posted with girlfriend Sarah Eiseman who is practicing drawing various flowers that would eventually be seen in the Wildflower video. Both Deluca and Eiseman created the lyric video for the single as well. Fans were ecstatic to see that on the screen beside her, was lead singer Luke Hemmings and his dog Petunia in front of a green screen. The Wildflower music video was back on the table! Andy has always been good with leaving fun little bread crumbs for fans. Thanks Andy!
A week later the band had finally unveiled Wildflower to the world. I was incredibly excited since they had released a couple video teasers in the days leading up to its release but, nothing beat the feeling of seeing it in its entirety the first time. I was super impressed by the production value of the music video, especially given that it was made so quickly! I can easily say I probably couldn’t have created something that amazing in such a short amount of time. The filmmaker in me was proud and enthusiastic to see such amazing content made during such a complicated time in history.
The music video was a success among fans and even garnered a few reaction videos that were pretty on par with how I felt about it. I was incredibly excited to see Andy and Sarah getting the acclimation that was long overdue. They’re truly a tour de force. Their work also appeared in an article of Rolling Stone magazine discussing the release of Wildflower. (I mean, Rolling Stone!)
The music video was a 90s fantasy with overlapped images, psychedelia and swirls of color decorating the background behind them. Much of the guys’ recent album is heavily influenced by the 90s grunge so it was no surprise to see these influences sprinkled throughout the video. Animated mushrooms and flowers blossomed from heir hands and further gave the video that psychedelic touch. All of the background art and animation was created by Andy and Sarah themselves, playing around with an almost hydro dipping method of pouring various colorful dyes in a pool of water to create the psychedelic color effect.
Each of the guys filmed their part of the video from home, with a large green screen transported from house to house. While Andy helped shoot Michael and Calum’s footage, fellow songwriter Sierra Deaton and photographer Kay Kay Blaisdell helped their significant others (Luke & Ashton) shoot their parts as well. (The video also included a cameo from Luke’s dog Petunia which was a pretty cute touch!) From there of course, Andy and Sarah put their creative spin on the footage and brought it to life. Had I not known this video was entirely shot from home, I would have never guessed it–it’s that good!
When interviewed by Madeline Roth of MTV News, guitarist Michael Clifford describes his experience of shooting the music video in separate places–”It’s just weird. Usually when you film a music video, you have a backdrop, you know what the scene looks like, and you know what the vibe of the shoot is. But when you’re on a green screen, you have no idea what it’s going to be until after it’s been edited together. So you have to trust your other bandmates that they’re going to make a great performance as well.” (Source: MTV News)
The 5 Seconds of Summer guys are one of the first among many to release a made-at-home video along with artists Pheobe Bridgers, Charlie XCX as well as Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber for their newest single, Stuck with U. It’s amazing to see these artists get creative and continue to release content despite what’s happening. It truly shows the artistry and dedication for their craft.
What did you think of the Wildflower music video? I’ll go ahead and link the video below! Give it a watch! Would you have any idea this was shot entirely at home had you not known? Let me know what you think!
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