Bring Me The Horizon ‘Alligator Blood’ by Stuart Birchall
Monday, 31. October 2011 - 5:40 pm
The Stuart Birchall-directed video for Bring Me The Horizon’s Alligator Blood is a Lynch-inspired nightmare involving sexy vampires, a ten-foot alligator, and a tarantula – and is a special Halloween’s Night release…
It’s what Stuart calls “a collective nightmare projected inside the mind of lead singer Oli, demonstrating themes of the pursuit of excess and vice and the reality that we all face our fears eventually…”
Bring Me The Horizon
Alligator Blood
Director: Stuart Birchall
Producer: Alex Dunn
Production Manager: Leila Mousavi
Production Company: You Know
DP: Rob Wilton
Editor / Effects: Alex Dunn
Camera Op: Maeve O’Connell
Production Designer: Rosheen McNamee
Make Up: Jane Stiefel
Stylist: Kylie Griffiths
1st AC: James Leckey / Julian Sharma
2nd AC: Jay Oxley / Sophie Black
Gaffer: Darren Koh
Spark: Tom Campbell
Behind the Scenes: Stefan Klenke
Animals: Jim Clubb @ Amazing Animals
Special thanks to Filmscape Media
Stuart Birchall on making the video for Bring Me The Horizon’s Alligator Blood
“The initial ideas were more extreme and I had to reign back the concept for a TV audience. I wanted to play with symbolism and ritual. Avoiding the obvious ‘Russian Roulette’ themes from the lyrics, I looked to create an original take on the ‘dance with the devil’ themes and the idea of fate and consequence, the splitting of the psyche and facing fear.
“Working with DP Rob Wilton and production designer Rosheen McNamee we were able to create a very striking style within each environment in the video, all having their own subtle themes. The lighting style is crucial in getting atmosphere right on a project like this and despite our customary long shoots and production hurdles once again Rob demonstrated why he is first in line for all my productions.
“Shooting with ‘Baby’ the 10 foot alligator was amazing – a very impressive animal. Working with a Tarantula I was less fond of! Guitarist Jona on the other hand loved it and was happy to have her crawling all over him to get the shots! Oli was very relaxed and comfortable with the acting elements in the video as were all the band members, but the real energy came through in the performance, with each member giving a huge solo performance.
“Alex Dunn edited the piece with precision, delivering a visceral cut that really brings the visuals to life. We worked together on the grade, meticulously working through each shot until we felt we had something that was distinctive. Once again the attention to the little details that may seem inconsequential are what distinguishes Alex work as an editor.”
31. October 2011 - 8:35 pm
for such a big write up I was hoping for a lot more. elementary and not in the least bit spooky.a good effort but lacking polish of experience,camera angles and focal lengths for performance are seriously wrong.but a lot of work clearly.well done
1. November 2011 - 10:33 am
@Revelations I’m not quite sure what you mean. How can the camera angles be “seriously wrong”? By that line of critique then anything that didn’t adhere to a set of rules for music video performance shots would be wrong and the only way to get it right would be to produce a bunch of identikit music promos. Could stifle creativity in the genre a bit I’d have thought?
1. November 2011 - 10:58 am
I see where revelations is coming from, don’t know if its the edit or the camera framing but it doesn’t quite sit right when I watch it. Kind of like alot of shots thrown together – for example, you had an Alligator FFS!! Put that in the video more. The narrative jumps around alot rather than progressing in a clear linear fashion. Yeah, nothing to tie it all together. However, not to be completely negative – the alligator is fantastic! I suspect a Directors cut would be interesting to watch seeing as he mentioned he had to reign in his ideas somewhat.
1. November 2011 - 11:07 am
Baby the alligator is cool, definitely would have like to have seen more of him. Is he available for birthday parties?
1. November 2011 - 11:12 am
Am i crazy or are you guys forgetting the beauty of our industry? Variety of methods. The director obviously went for proximity and grunge rather than another conventional coverage. like it or not the consistency in the treatment is pretty cool. awesome details and cutaways. knowing the music industry is hardly generous in budgets i say this is very cool. Well done!
@Revelations: can i see some of your work to compare?
@Well known: same
1. November 2011 - 11:36 am
@Kalimbah, exactly what I was wondering. Making something that steps away from convention is to be applauded, regardless of whether it is universally acclaimed.
@Well Known, narrative wise I’m guessing you’re pretty uncomfortable with a lot of creative film work that’s out there at the moment. Clear linear progression in narrative? Seems a rather ordinary approach. But each to their own I suppose
1. November 2011 - 12:35 pm
Just saying, jump around narratively if it serves a purpose. If it was supposed to be a montage of randomly placed shots then I’ll keep quiet.
1. November 2011 - 3:02 pm
@Well Known: Seriously the plot eludes you? each band member is getting a test as per the wheel at the entrance and it turns out it was all in the head of the lead singer as the mastermind. I don’t feel it is that random. The intensity of the edit goes with the track and intensity of the trip… Slow cuts would not really work here.
1. November 2011 - 4:19 pm
That did elude me, yes.
Still, the Alligator IS awesome!
2. November 2011 - 12:59 am
Wow. Awful music.
2. November 2011 - 9:20 am
if you turn the music off and watch the video its great…Jim Clubb is a wizard, love him.
4. November 2011 - 4:24 pm
Love the video, great nightmarish visuals. Not too sure about the music though!