ARTICLES

So December 2nd is a special day because *drumroll not unlike the intro to Cherub Rock* today the music video for GLOW premieres on MySpace! To celebrate the premiere we at SP.com thought up some questions for a few of those involved with the video, and we have the interview for you below.

The cast of characters for our interview includes Justin Coloma (JC), the director of the video for GLOW as well as the Superchrist video, Kateri Forbes (KF), the artist behind the GLOW/Superchrist art, and Kristin Burns (KB), a photographer who you'll recognize as one of the nurses from the Superchrist video.

As always (because I love you!) I've begged and pleaded and we're going to try to do some followup Q&A, so think up your Best Ever Questions! and send them to me. I'll do my best to get you some answers.

-hack

SmashingPumpkins.com: It seems that in recent videos for the band, the same cast seems to be appearing time and again. This also goes with involvement in If All Goes Wrong. This would include Kristin, Audrey, Linda, and Justin Coloma. Why is this? Are you guys all just such great friends or what?

Justin Coloma: Well, what can I say, we are awesome! Seriously, though, I think it shows that Billy is an artist who cares about developing relationships with his collaborators and is interested in seeing those relationships evolve and grow. Like-minded artists tend to be drawn to each other and I think this is a good example. As it pertains to the casts of Superchrist and GLOW, the overlap is somewhat deliberate and it creates a natural continuity between the videos. Like many of my cinema heroes (Fellini, Burton), I really like the idea of re-using my favorite talent because I already know their strengths and can have fun re-interpreting their personas.

Kristin Burns: Billy is very comfortable working with people that he knows and trusts. It's almost like he has his own repertory company and we're the resident cast. We have a shorthand. We already know each other and there's a level of trust creatively. We are all linked to Strawberry. I've been friends with her for years and Justin is engaged to her. Audrey and Strawberry and Justin were roommates at one point.
I usually double as the set photographer and a character or 2 in the video. I was one of the nurses in Super Christ. In Glow Day 1, I was a bunny and on Day 2, I was myself jumping around with the camera during the party scene. We are in the process of making a Glow behind the scenes photo book!

SP.com: What is actually going on in this video, or what was supposed to be going on?

JC: Hot neo-psychedelic debauchery!

Kateri Forbes: I would describe the party scene as a masquerade fantasy party in candy land. The room was painted with black trees and illuminated with a black light. A woman was body painted and seemed to be a creature of the forest. There were was a clown, tons of glitter and even a giant marshmallow man. It actually became a party. We were dancing and everyone ate cupcakes at the end. Different scenes were set up. In my scene the violinist shoots sparks as he plays and I'm being covered and shocked with the energy.

SP.com: Where was the video shot? How long was the session or were there more than one?

JC: In the Forest of Eternal Twighlight.

SP.com: Any idea what Billy's vision was with this?

JC: Nope, do you? Can you tell me please?? Kidding! It's my job to understand his vision and interpret it, but rather than me explain it, I think it's best for the audience to interpret the images for themselves.

KF: Well I know that GLOW is written about sex for enjoyment. It's not about connecting with someone. It's about a lustful act. The party is an abstract interpretation of this idea. The party is very decadent and erotic. People are dancing, touching, eating and having fun.

SP.com: I have described this video as the "Zero" video meets the Myspace Generation. Any thoughts?

JC: My thoughts are that you are quite clever, sir! There was no deliberate reference to Zero, but I get what you're saying. Myspace Generation? I don't like thinking of ourselves as pawns in the corporate clutches of the Rupert Murdoch machinery. Not that we don't love the Myspace, we do Mr. Murdoch! But I think there is more to us than that. We definitely are a new generation, but there has to be a better term for it.

SP.com: Can you talk about the process behind shooting the video?

JC: I could, to great lengths, but I don't really want to bore everyone to tears.

SP.com: The video has a style comparable to that of the Superchrist video. Was this a conscious decision?

JC: There are style elements that carried over. The use of Super-8 film, which almost nobody uses anymore, is a good example. Again, we wanted to create a natural continuity between the videos while moving forward into new visions.

SP.com: How long was the session, and was there more than one?

KB: The GLOW video was shot in 2 days. The first day was super slick, had high end production, and a lot of structure. The 2nd day had more of a workshop/ experimental production feel. Billy and Justin had their basic ideas but there were a lot of experimental last minute scenarios thrown around.

SP.com: What do you think about debuting videos online, rather than on MTV or something similar?

JC: As someone who grew up in the nineties, watching those wonderful alternative videos debuting on MTV, I miss the energy and excitement of a TV premiere. But from a practical standpoint, a Myspace premiere is probably going to reach a much bigger audience and have a bigger impact. MTV barely plays videos anymore and the stations that do probably don't get the ratings and attention they once did.

I used to be frustrated with putting my work on sites like YouTube and Myspace because of the abysmal quality of the video compression, but I will admit that it has improved considerably and I'm confident that it won't be long before high definition, high quality streaming video will be the internet standard. The separation will "tv" and "computer" will soon cease to exist.

KF: It used to be where you could watch a channel like MTV and you could see a music video, but now you will usually find a reality show or some other type of program. This is the case with most of the music related channels. I think it is great that you can go online and see a new video at your convenience. I'm so glad that the Smashing Pumpkins have gone grassroots and are not making overly produced polished videos like the trend has been. It's like a piece of fine art where you can see the artists' hands in it.

SP.com: As SP is operating without a label now, how does this affect the video process (if at all)? More freedom? Tighter budgets?

JC: I've only worked with Billy and SP in a non-label, independent capacity, so it's hard for me to say- I have no real frame of reference of how it used to be. I remember watching the SP Greatest Hits Video Collection when it came out on DVD and listening to the audio commentary on every video. I would marvel at the achievements of Dayton/Faris, Sam Bayer, Dom and Nic, etc, and would wonder what the experience was like for them, but I really have no idea. I know the budgets are a small fraction of what they once were (which is true of music videos in general) but that is of little concern to me. My job is to do the best I can with what I have.

SP.com: How is the concept for a video like this developed? How much is planned vs. improvised? Were there other video concepts that were considered and rejected for the song?

JC: It is critical to lock down the conceptual work on a video before anything else is in place, so Billy and I will work on that for as long as we need to. I had been thinking of ideas for the video ever since Billy first played me the song on acoustic guitar shortly after writing it- I knew right away it was going to be a great track. With my vague memories of the words and melodies I wrote out this crazy surreal futuristic treatment that Billy deemed too weird and expensive. I thought it was pretty awesome that Billy found my treatment too weird... haha. Fortunately, however, he did want to work with me on the video, so we met up and had numerous conversations and developed several ideas before going forward with the one we did.

I like to leave room for improvisation, and the unexpected shenanigans that can transpire when you put a group of people together, and we certainly left plenty of room for that in GLOW. I was very controlling about the look and feel of the setting, but I wanted my cast to feel comfortable being themselves and bringing their unique talents to the shoot. They were all there for a reason and I trusted their instincts as performers. Billy and I would set up scenarios for them to play out and then just let them do their thing!

KF: There was definitely a vision going into the second shooting, but it was really the improvisation that Billy and Justin used that impressed me. Billy and Justin did a great job of coming up with different scenarios for people to act out in the party scenes. One example is when the girl gets dragged by her hair. Billy knew of this trick from his knowledge of womens' wrestling. It's an old trick where the person being dragged grabs onto the perpetrator's wrist to give the effect of being pulled by the hair. Justin did a great job of making this scene come to life.