Right on the heels of their SXSW Music Videos Jury Award, Wondros celebrates Director Ellis Bahl’s selection at the prestigious Berlin Music Video Festival for Bobi Andonov’s “Apartment” for “Best Concept,” along with the release of brand new music videos for Bobi Andonov’s “Faithful” and Jim James’ “Just A Fool.”
To view “Apartment”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpyohRt1meM
To view “Faithful”: https://app.frame.io/r/192650ca-9474-46a1-9580-04e15768eaac
To view “Just A Fool”: https://vimeo.com/263675097
Known equally for darker narratives with intriguing plot twists like the UKMVA winning Alt-J “Breezeblocks” and charming dance pieces like VH1’s Gold Clio winning “Dating Naked Presents: Dancing Naked Stunt”, Bahl set out to try something entirely different for “Faithful” and “Just A Fool.” With the goal of tackling a photographic studio performance while steering clear of traditional performer/cutaway editing structures, Bahl wanted the performer to represent both the subject as well as the conceptual through line that gives the video added rhythm.
Andonov’s “Faithful” marks the third collaboration with Bahl, with the preceding two videos designed as black and white, narrative/performance hybrids loosely set in the same world, the first being “Apartment” with the Berlin Music Video Festival nod. In “Faithful”, Bahl explored the notions of small moments changing the continuum of one’s life forever, along with the multiple sides that define each human being, employing an infinity mirror set up and colored lights that fade and morph in reflection of the spectrum of human emotion.
“Bobi is an incredible performer that exudes sex and passion,” shares Bahl. “I knew I needed to shoot a full-body performance video in color this time, but the challenge was keeping within the Bobi brand in maintaining mystery, darkness and sex-appeal. A challenge I gladly accepted!”
With James’ “Just A Fool,” Bahl was met with another challenge. “Jim’s video commissioner wanted a video with a strong performance, but Jim didn’t necessarily want to be the sole focus. My solution was to shoot Jim with a variety of photographic techniques that obscured, blocked, blurred, shadowed, smoked, or otherwise obfuscated him.” The collaboration resulted in a beautifully fuzzy, surreal, black-and-white experience featuring James isolated in a wonderful 4:3 frame, “just a fool rocking out”.
Credits:
Client: Bobi Andonov
Music Video Title: “Faithful”
Label: Hollywood Records
VIDEO COMMISSIONERS Craig Cox & Chris Varonos
Director: Ellis Bahl
DP: Lowell Meyer
Producer: Ava Yazdani
Editor: Ellis Bahl
Client: Jim James
Music Video Title: “Just A Fool”
Label: ATO
MANAGER Sharon Lord, VIDEO COMMISSIONER Dilly Gent
Director: Ellis Bahl
DP: Logan Triplett
Producer: Ava Yazdani
Editor: Ellis Bahl