Director: Vincenzi Vandella
Director: Vincenzi Vandella
Artist: Midnight Juggernauts
Video: Ballad of the War Machine
Vincenzi Vandella (Russia)
Vincenzi was born in 958 and was a Grand Prince of Kiev.
He consolidated the Kievan realm from modern-day Ukraine to the Baltic Sea and solidified the frontiers against incursions of Bulgarian, Baltic, and Eastern nomads.
He's also involved in various experimental film/video/music art projects and sometimes dances around in Midnight Juggernauts.
Some of this bio may be jumbled with that of Vladimir the Great.
www.midnightjuggernauts.com
What
inspired you're idea for the video?
Midnight Juggernauts
had taken time out for a little while, juggling other projects and the like. We
wanted to have a strange return through something absurd, and have fun with it.
We planned to create a secret video anonymously, disguised as an unknown act
from the '70s or '80s. Having an interest in Eastern Bloc and Soviet histories
we thought it could be intriguing to pose as a Soviet Pop band from 30 years
past. It would seem like the discovery of a long lost act, long hidden behind
the Iron Curtain.
The video
would have no association with Midnight Juggernauts, so we wanted to
see how long this Soviet pretence could remain before people realised it was
us. This pretend band was posted widely and it was interesting to watch its
response.
What was the budget?
Around
$4000. Although most of that was used in Russia. We relied on friends doing us
favours. Also the video was only possible as we were offered to play a show in
Moscow, which paid for us to fly to Russia.
We should say thanks to the good
people at Strelka Institute for Media, Architecture and Design in Moscow. We
also had to buy some soldiers uniforms, which we still wear sometimes if the
mood is right. Also money went into using a hell of a lot of props.
Tell us about the production process?
Much of the
Production involved us dancing around the streets of Moscow dressed as
Soldiers. We basically roamed the city for a few days and upon seeing
interesting sites we'd sit the camera on a tripod and dance in front of it.
It
was strange at first but there were quite a few military men on the streets so
perhaps we blended in. Maybe people thought we were some army band.
Afterwards
there was more dancing in front of shipping containers at a theatre company
warehouse.
Rather than paying to hire individual props, we negotiated to pay
for 2 days where we could use every prop available.
What were the limitations you faced with the production?
Lack of
budget was a major limitation but we did what we could. Plus a lot of friends
helped out because they were nice people. In Russia we were able to film scenes
amongst military aircraft after our Russian friend slipped the security guy
some dollars. That day was a lot of fun. Felt like we were kids in a
playground, jumping in and out of Mig Jet fighters and military choppers.
What was the turnaround?
It was
pretty relaxed. We shot the first scenes in Russia then finished it off in
Melbourne. There were around 5 days of shooting and then an assembly edit over
a weekend. Then we finished some other post-production on and off whenever
people were available. Pretty much working on favours.
Then once it
was finished we had a few weeks to circulate different versions of it across
the net. Some Russian friends helped us post them across various Russian
websites, message boards and blogs. Once it gained traction, we then pushed it
further afield where it gained its own life. There’s still multiple versions of
it floating about online which aren't attributed
to Midnight Juggernauts. I love that it continues living this other
secret life across the Internet.
Who were your key collaborators?
Quite a few
friends helped us. Talented champion type people like Alex Cardy, Anita
Spooner, Zephyr Marama, and Leonid Gorenshteyn whom we met in Russia and
followed us with a camera. Plus Marina from Moscow who kept us out of trouble. Plus
we got some advice from a friend, Romain Gavras on shooting in Russia. We
really didn't know what to expect there.
Plus on the tail end in Melbourne
Chris Tomkins worked some Post Production sorcery, such as removing modern
buildings from the background and replacing them with sky! Plus Ellen, Lexi,
Daisy and others I'm sure.
Have you worked with any of them before?
Mostly no,
we were just friends. Most people were involved through favours so I'm likely
to be helping out on their next productions cooking food for their crew. I can
make good egg-nog for wrap parties.
What did you shoot on?
It was all
pretty ghetto. We did a lot on a cheap handycam. Then did more pick-ups on a
5D. I did an assembly edit on Final Cut then Chris played with it in Davinci.
Lastly it was exported out onto a VHS tape deck and then imported back into the
digital realm.
There’s now
also 2 ratio versions of the clip. One is an old-school degraded 4:3 Soviet
broadcast version which begins within a Russian TV program, and the other is a
more broadcast friendly 16:9 version without the intro or VHS
degradation.
If you had a chance to approach it again, what would you do differently?
I probably
wouldn't have posted the video onto those body building forums. Those guys give
really rude criticism. Also I wish we had more time to shoot more scenes in
Moscow. Russia is such an interesting and inspiring place, and we met a lot of
artists there doing great things. We'd love to return and do a normal video
there someday.
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