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Hope Tala ft. Aminé 'Cherries' by Anna Fearon

Rob Ulitski - 26th Nov 2020

Anna Fearon captures Hope Tala and friends in scenes inspired by Renaissance art in the video for Cherries.

Fearon brings a new perspective, and a modern twist, to this take on classical portraiture. Modern props appear - and featured artist Aminé shows up on a phone that Hope Tala drops into a fish tank.

"[Anna] had this idea of having a Renaissance theme but flipping the gender and typical race of the people in the video," Tala told Refinery29. "I just love all things Renaissance and using historical, nostalgic imagery. I'm really into the 90s, but I'm also really obsessed with Shakespeare, so going back to that time period for the theme was really cool. And flipping the script to play with the idea of who the muse and who the artist is was so interesting."

Anna Fearon also used an all-female shooting crew to realise her vision. An exuberant colour palette and picture-perfect art direction by Phoebe Anne Harris provide the perfect environment for the concept, framing an understated yet engaging performance from Tala.

ANNA FEARON ON MAKING THE HOPE TALA 'CHERRIES' VIDEO

What was your main inspiration in response to this brief?
Classical renaissance imagery was influential in the visual direction of the film. I've always been inspired by classic paintings, but re-contextualising and reimagining with the typical race and gender interchanged. I am always researching classic paintings of Black subjects, and when they are present there are always on the periphery, so it's powerful to reclaim those images.  

There’s also a nod to the fish tank scene in Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet, with Hope looking through the fish tank but with a slight play on this as a fun way of incorporating Amine's performance with the phone being dropped into the fish tank.  
   
What did you draw from any conversations with the artist that changed the treatment or video?
The video stayed pretty similar to my initial treatment. We did actually film and outdoor choreographed scene with dancers and swords in the gardens of the house, but that didn't make it to the final cut. The location was always going to be key and we found this great house in South West London that had everything and more.

Who where your main collaborators (e.g. not all but if you want to mention Art, DP, Edit, Prod), and what did they bring to the table? 
Phoebe Anne Harris (production designer) did a great job of bringing my vision to life through set design and props. I wanted the film to feel rich and detailed - especially the dining room scene - and Phoebe created a beautiful spread. I worked closely with all aspects of the creative team, as for the visual I was creating it was important that all elements felt cohesive, for me styling and hair were just as important to creating this video.

The video is framed so nicely - do you think your background in photography speaks to this and is that a style you wish to continue?
Yes I guess I often think of moving images as being a sequence of still images. I wanted the video to feel like a moving painting, playing with the subtlety of choreographed movement. Composition and symmetry was important to me and through production design and framing we were able to incorporate it into the visual language.    

What had you learnt about this process and working with Hope?
It was a great experience working with Hope. She trusted my creative vision for her video, and I loved the track as soon as I heard it so it was fun to bring it to life visually.

How was it working with Amine?
As Amine was based in LA, he self-shot his verse. The concept was that he was FaceTiming Hope, so it was fitting that it was self-filmed on a phone.

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Rob Ulitski - 26th Nov 2020

Tags

  • Director's notes
  • New Director
  • Performance
  • R&B
  • Hip Hop
  • Historical
  • Classical

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Credits

Production/Creative

Director
Anna Fearon
Producer
Poppy Ashton
Production Company
Executive Producer
Kareem Adeshina
Production Manager
Oliver Falcon
1st AD
Rosie Owen

Camera

Director of Photography
Kia Fern Little

Lighting/Grip

Gaffer
Simona Pranulyté

Art

Art Director
Phoebe Anne Harris

Wardrobe

Stylist (Artist)
Oliver Vaughan
Hair
Lauraine Bailey
Make-up (Artist)
Mary Jane Goldidoc

Choreography

Choreographer
Olivia Lockwood

Editorial

Editor
Amber Saunders
Editing company

Grading

Colourist
Jessica Vile

Agent

Director's Representation

Commission

Commissioner
James Hackett

Rob Ulitski - 26th Nov 2020

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