Marlon Roudette 'When The Beat Drops Out' by Alexander Brown
Cat Velez - 11th Mar 2015
Alexander Brown delivered this tasteful, bittersweet video for the Marlon Roudette track When The Beat Drops Out last year to a German audience. Employing some elegant cinematography by Tim Sidell, the piece starts out soothing and uplifting, with breathtaking view from Marlon Roudette's modern upscale house.
It's a story on a timeless theme, of fame and wealth being no guarantee of happiness. The couple is striken with ennui, isolated and distanced from each other - literally - on separate sides of their beautiful yet unfinished home. Looking back on the exciting, happy times that kept them together, Roudette wonders if love can last.
While developing the idea with Marlon, he mentioned that while writing the song, it originally featured the lyrics ‘when the fame has gone’ this to me, was a great jumping off point for an idea.
I wanted to make a video loosely about what happens when the zest goes out of a relationship – when the beat drops out, the song is asking the question : will you stick with it through thick and thin, when things aren’t so good? Through the video we see a relationship stretched thin – feelings of emptiness.
I liked the idea of using the house as a metaphor for their relationship, it’s psycho-architecture – outwardly opulent, built when times were good, but unfinished – in a state of decay, the lower levels of the house are unfinished – like the relationship itself, with foundations undeveloped and raw. We see Marlon withdraw into this world – to the dark centre of the relationship. Like any basement or attic, it’s private and personal.
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Cat Velez - 11th Mar 2015
Credits
Featured here in the credits?
Production/Creative
- Director
- Alexander Brown
- Producer
- Gail Mosley
- Production Company
- S
- Executive Producer
- Spencer Dodd
Camera
- Director of Photography
- Tim Sidell
Editorial
- Editor
- Gwen Norcliff
Grading
- Colourist
- Lewis Crossfield
VFX
- Post production company
- EC
Cat Velez - 11th Mar 2015