From the POV of a bullethole, to a jealous robot, to it's reanimated remains... the CANADA director explains how he made three distinctly different videos for the Guyanese-American singer's new album Festival Season, that have a common thread. BTS photography by Alexandra Cepeda and Dani Pujalte.

Alex Gargot is a director who has created meticulously-crafted visions in his music videos and beyond. From his breakthrough with the UKMVA-winning video for Cora Novoa's State Of Mind in 2019 and multi-award winning Fuel Fandango's Mi Huella in 2021, there's a command of the medium, from the set-ups to the clever use of visual effects, which suspends reality, creates a sense of wonder, while retaining a dramatic tension.

Signed to CANADA in 2023, the Barcelona-born director's work has been more focussed in making commercials, so his return to music videos towards the end of last year was hugely welcome. It was also a case of Gargot taking on a new challenge: making three videos for the same artist, the prolific and eclectic Guyanese-American singer Carlos St. John Phillips - aka SAINt JHN - for his new album, the just-released Festival Season.

It meant Gargot and his team at CANADA shooting three videos in four days, presenting the director with a huge challenge, but also the opportunity to build a body of work with a single artist over one intense period. What's more each one has its own distinct character.

Circles is vignette-based, it's message conveyed through strong and dark images within the performance music video format; Body In Me, is a sophisticated narrative video, with sci-fi overtones as SAINt JHN plays a robot developing feelings for its owner; and Glitching is the afterstory of the robot, while also returning to a performance video format. 

So we spoke to Alex Gargot to get the whole story on his SAINt JHN music video trilogy.

Above: SAINt JHN and Alex Gargot (right) on the set of the Body In Me video. Photo: Alexandra Cepeda.   

SAINt gave me full creative freedom, which instantly got me excited about the project.

PROMONEWS : How did the SAINt JHN project begin for you?

ALEX GARGOT: It all started with an Instagram DM. SAINt hit me up out of the blue, and three messages later, we were on a video call. Initially, it was just about connecting on a human and creative level, a kind of chemistry check to see if we clicked. He told me about his artistic vision and the upcoming album he was working on, and I could tell right away how open he was to whatever inspired me. He wanted my genuine interpretation of his work. He gave me full creative freedom, which instantly got me excited about the project.

P : Was it always the plan to make three videos? Or did one thing lead to another?

AG: SAINt sent me the whole album, and I listened to it several times, taking notes as I started picturing scenes and concepts for some of the tracks. The range of genres across the album was insane, which was really exciting.

So on our second call, I pitched him about four ideas. I remember how he wanted us to have a fun, free-flowing creative chat first - before 'the adults' got involved. Some concepts came from embryo ideas I keep in my "ideas for a music video" document, while others were born right then, inspired by SAINt’s music.

At some point, he landed on the one track he felt would work best: Body On Me. The contrast between its dark emotional depth and its aggressive, distorted sound really spoke to me. So we locked that in, but then the request grew. It wasn’t just going to be one video - it was going to be three. And the other two were for tracks I hadn’t even thought about yet.

So I had to come up with two ideas fast, and in a way that made sense production-wise. Meaning: finding a way to expand the vision without tripling the budget.

P : Can you talk about the symbolism in the Circles video? That seems to work on several levels - the obvious references to circles in the images, but there's also another level of deciphering what each set-up means?

AG: The idea for Circles revolves around both a formal and a conceptual foundation. Visually, using the circle as a self-imposed framing restriction felt like a natural choice for a track with that title. Conceptually, my interpretation of “running in circles for you” was about the endless pursuit of an unattainable ambition - where “you” represents that ideal goal. We chase after this perfect destination that always seems to stay on the horizon, no matter how far we run. The themes of fame, money, and power felt like an interesting take on the concept.

One of the key images is SAINt pushing a massive stone over a red carpet while being photographed by the press. That stone represents the sacrifices made in the pursuit of recognition - by the audience, the press, but especially by oneself.

Another setup shows him playing Russian roulette with himself, a moment where, no matter where the cylinder stops, he’s forced to pull the trigger. I wanted to explore the idea of being one’s own worst enemy - especially for perfectionists chasing impossible goals.

Above: SAINt JHN, on-set of the Circles shoot. Photo: Dani Pujalte

For Circles, I wanted to explore the idea of being one’s own worst enemy.

P : For instance, the tunnel vision effect. Everybody except SAINt JHN is fearful of it. Then towards the end it becomes organic - rotten and bloody. What does it represent?

AG: SAINt talks about feeling invincible in the track, and I wanted to visualize that by incorporating the circular gun barrel into the narrative. Everyone flees from its POV - except him. He won’t stop, no matter what. Even after being shot, he keeps singing, and we shift from the gun barrel’s POV to the bullet wound’s POV.

Meanwhile, the press is made up of relentless, obsessive photographers who also won’t stop, no matter what. This nightmarish scenario - SAINt walking after being shot in the forehead, still singing, while the press follows him, still snapping pictures - was the climax I wanted to build toward.

P : When and where did you shoot Circles, and what were the biggest challenges?

AG: We shot Circles in a single day - and I had to come up with the concept just as fast. It was the first of four intense shooting days where we filmed all three videos. Definitely a challenging project.

Of the three, Circles was the simplest. I’m used to shooting more narrative-driven films, but this time, each setup was like interchangeable puzzle pieces. The biggest challenge was time. Getting an entire music video done in a day felt nearly impossible. Midway through, I realized we had to prioritize shots. We had to cut about a third of what we had planned just to stay on track for the next day’s Glitching shoot.

P : Where did the idea of SAINt JHN as a robot for the Body In Me video come from?

AG: Body On Me had a gloomy emotional depth, yet its sound was aggressive, distorted, and electronic. I was inspired by this contrast of fragility and strength and started envisioning a sad, lonely android whose intentions to connect were unclear. I decided it was essential to make these opposing forces central to the story, balancing the android’s true feelings with the seemingly cruel actions he appears to take.

P : The scenario is very composed and even quite understated, with the focus on SAINt JHN’s robot character and his/its struggles with humanity. What led you to that approach?

AG: I wanted to approach this sci-fi story in the most realistic and down-to-earth way possible. The packaging, the instruction manual, the battery... everything had to feel simple, sober, and plausible. We wanted a house that didn’t feel like a sci-fi movie, but more like an indie drama with thriller vibes.

Above: SAINt JHN and Gargot, on the set of the Body In Me video 

It had to feel like the story of a sophisticated home appliance that begins experiencing emotions and questions its identity as something separate from its owner. From production design to VFX, we followed this direction meticulously to create a music video that felt like a short film.

We wanted to put both the android’s and the owner’s emotions at the centre.

P : Did you draw on cinematic references for the style of your storytelling?

AG: When I first started talking with Dani Borbujo (the cinematographer) and Alexandra Jordana (the production designer), A Ghost Story kept coming up as a reference. We wanted to keep the sci-fi element on a second layer, using sober camera language and stable compositions and letting the characters lead the story. We wanted to put both the android’s and the owner’s emotions at the centre. On one side, there’s the android’s growing curiosity and jealousy; on the other, the owner’s increasing fear and suspicion. It had to feel like a fragment of a larger thriller.

P : Where did you shoot the video and what were the biggest challenges?

AG: We shot in a large empty house somewhere in Catalunya. I was surprised when we found it - it felt like it could easily be an American home. The challenge was making it feel lived-in while staying within budget, so we kept the story contained to just a few rooms. We also let the location shape the storyboard I had drawn up before knowing where we’d shoot. I wanted to take advantage of the house’s most unique spaces - like that small, sloped-ceiling red room I became obsessed with.

P : Did you know when you made the video that there would be a Part 2?

AG: When I first came up with the idea and played it out in my head, I had no clue there would be a sequel. To me, the image of the android standing in the ditch under the highway, followed by the close-up of his battery - his heart -hanging from the car’s rearview mirror, felt like the perfect ending to this tragic story. But then Glitching happened.

The Glitching video has a different energy. Why did you take this approach?

AG: The track itself has a different energy - it’s rhythmic, danceable, and needed a more dynamic visual approach. Faster cuts, a more rhythmic edit, fluid camera movements, and, of course, some actual glitching.

P : Was it always the plan to give the robot a second chance, or is this more of a post-script than a sequel?

AG: Part of the idea came from noticing that the snare in the track sounds like the typing of keys on a computer keyboard. I pulled from this detail and started building from there. What if someone is typing on programming software that can hack into the android’s OS even if it’s damaged and lost its battery? That would allow us to see into its “soul” and have an actual performance video seamlessly integrated into the narrative.

Let’s not forget this one had to be shot in one day too. This solution checked multiple boxes: it takes place in the same Body On Me universe; we just needed one more location, and it has a perfect excuse for a performance set -the virtual space where his digital avatar is intact.

Glitching has different energy and needed a more dynamic visual approach.

P : Impressive use of VFX has been a notable part of your work (Fuel Fandango’s Mi Huella, etc). Is this the SAINt JHN video that’s most dependent on VFX?

AG: Yes, it definitely was. On one hand, we had the android’s broken body, with some moving camera shots that made the VFX work even trickier for the team at Melt. Then there were all the screens - design, animation, and integration. None of them actually worked on set, which meant a massive amount of work to bring them to life in post.

Álvaro Posadas and Marta Ferrero (from the CANADA post team), and I started exchanging references, drawing inspiration from old technologies like the CMD interface for command prompts in early Windows, the first Game Boys, MRIs, and ASCII art. From there, we refined the aesthetic that would run through the screens and even the title credits. We also used AI to give the glitchy performance bits of SAINt JHN a distinct particle diffusion look.

P : The 3 videos are all different in style - even though Body On Me and Glitching are narratively connected. But is there an overall message or theme? What do they collectively say about SAINt JHN?

AG: I’d like to say that an overall message was intended from the beginning, but if there is such a thing, it’s by chance. Looking back, I see a common thread: solitude and the pursuit of connection. But perhaps all stories, in some way, touch on this theme.

In Circles, it’s about a connection rooted in admiration - the validation an icon seeks from the masses and from themselves. In Body On Me and Glitching, it’s more about the boundaries between beings, the gap that separates one consciousness from another, whether artificial or organic - and the possibility of love between an AI and a human.

• Alex Gargot is based at CANADA in the UK, the US and Spain.