George Ezra 'Green Green Grass' by Isaac Ravishankara
David Knight - 5th May 2022
Isaac Ravishankara finds a highly original way to combine a storyline with music performance - inventively merging the two parts together in every shot - in his lovely video for George Ezra's Green Green Grass.
Ravinshankara nods to a few screen classics and gives it a nice modern twist, with a diner-robbing loved-up couple also being females of a certain age. Meanwhile, George smoothly observes everything, telling the story of the 'young lovers' with his trusty guitar, all the way from the diner to getaway vehicle to the field where the pair bury their ill-gotten loot.
The device of an on-screen musical narrator device is not remotely new, but Ravishankara takes it too a new level here, with a sense of fun that is entirely suitable to the George Ezra persona and musical oeuvre.
Theoretically there is competition in every shot between the narrative and the performance. In fact, they work seamlessly together, due to the clever construction of the shots and also some terrific performances - from Amy Stoch and Michele Matheson as the happy criminals, and Ezra too.
And it looks absolutely marvellous. DoP Logan Triplett filmed this on 2-perf 35 mm 200T 5213 film stock, so it always will.
To pull this off turned out to be much harder than we thought.
"The concept that came to mind when I first heard Green Green Grass was a simple narrative - two not-so-young lovers rob a diner, joyride out of town, and bury the money with the rest of their retirement fund out in the middle of nowhere then dance with joy. Pulp Fiction meets Thelma and Louise meets Harold and Maude," says Isaac Ravishankara.
"However, we really wanted to anchor the video on a unique and dynamic performance from George. I really loathe simply intercutting a performance with a narrative. So we proposed an experiment - what if George is performing WITHIN every shot of the narrative? What would that feel like?
"To pull this off turned out to be much harder than we thought. Working with the wonderful DoP Logan Triplett, and our brilliant choreographers Jillian Meyers and Dana Wilson, we had to pre-visualize the video in advance to determine which shots in the narrative would correspond to which lines of performance. Then on the day, the concept was really brought to life by our two 'young lovers' - Amy Stoch and Michele Matheson - and obviously George Ezra as well!
"In the end, I think it's really fun to be able to watch the video with a different focus each time, and I'm really excited by how the whole "experiment" turned out."
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David Knight - 5th May 2022
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Credits
Production/Creative
- Director
- Isaac Ravishankara
- Producer
- Manny Caston
- Production Company
- S
- Executive Producer
- Elizabeth Doonan
- Production Supervisors
- Gianfranco Svagelj, Chazne Huckabee
- Location Manager
- John Dilbeck
- Location Scout
- Drew Duhig
- Covid Compliance Manager
- Rick Solano
- Medic
- Mack Mager
- PAs
- Lalo Gastelum, Phil Bowen, John White, Crystal Franco, Sophie McEwen, Kalik Perry, Adam Ramirez, Jeff Chavez
Camera
- Director of Photography
- Logan Triplett
Lighting/Grip
- BBE
- Kevin Miller
- Electric/Driver
- Justin Roxbrough
- BBG
- Ivan Garcia
- Grips Dan Shaffer, Yobani Matute, Bill Boehme
Art
- Decorator
- Emma Marie Jenkins
- Prop Master
- Jason Miller
Wardrobe
- Stylist Assistant
- Kendall Spina
Choreography
- Choreographer
- Jillian Meyers
- Choreographer
- Dana Wilson
Editorial
- Editor
- Ellie Johnson
- Editing company
- Cartel Editorial
Grading
- Colourist
- Dante Pasquinelli
- Colour grade company
- ES
Agent
- Director's Rep (UK)
- OB Management
Commission
- Commissioner
- Michael Lewin
Other credits
Executive Producer
Lauren Bleiweiss / @lbleiweiss
Senior Producer
Sarah Schachte / @sarahcschachte
Colour Grade Company
Ethos Studio / @ethos_studio
Producer
Sam Cesan / @smcesan
Head of Production
Natasha Sattler / @natsattravels
Special Thanks
2020 Camera, Crimson Lighting LLC, JL Fisher, Eagle Klaw, Rogue Catering
Wheelshouse LA, Sirreel, Pursuit
David Knight - 5th May 2022