You only have to look at the haircuts to realise that the visual aspect of their craft is one that most Northern Irish bands tend to leave gathering dust on the mantelpiece.
While the suspicion lingers that this neglect is symptomatic of a wider lack of imagination, it’s also true that prohibitive costs and the lack of appreciative outlets has, up until now, prevented any significant creative relationship developing between our local musicians and visual artists.
If, though, this springtime, you managed to catch an episode of the BBC’s energetic and highly welcome ATL TV, you would have encountered something strange and hitherto unknown – promo videos.
When the show’s producers commissioned a series of shorts, matchmaking the two previously estranged disciplines, the results may well have been mixed. However, the overall effect has been entirely liberating.
Chewie Productions, a new venture set up by art school graduates Richard Davis and Anna Fitzsimons, were one of the beneficiaries of the project. Taking the helm for a live shoot with Fighting With Wire, they turned in an outstandingly visceral and exciting promo that stood shoulder to shoulder with work from more established sources. Since then, they have been busy working with other bands – quietly mining a rich but hitherto neglected creative seam.
“There has always been a really strong film and visual arts community in Belfast but it’s a community that never really had that much exposure,” explains Richard. “The Across The Line commissions were really great that way – they generated a whole lot of opportunities for people. But it’s not the only outlet. There are local television stations starting up now, some of them are prepared to run local music videos too. You want your work to be seen. When we make these videos now, we’re pretty confident that they will be.”
Referencing Michel Gondry and Spike Jonze, the pair claim that budgetary limitations shouldn’t necessarily pose the prohibitive problems they once did for any acts prepared to experiment. According to Anna, a lack of readies won’t necessarily mean a low-grade product.
“There is so much opportunity these days to be creative with video and film,” she says. “I can make this room turn blue and your head disappear. It’s possible to do, within reason, pretty much whatever you want. So, it’s about coming up with the ideas and using your imagination. I’d a friend who was commissioned to make a video showing a cow falling from a second story window. He called me up, how am I going to do this? But he worked it out, brilliantly. That’s what it’s all about. Thinking your way out of a problem. Ideas and the execution of ideas.”
With the number of full-length features shooting throughout the North reaching unprecedented levels over the past year, Anna talks about a “trickle-down effect” enthusing smaller production companies. Add in a greater readiness amongst the relevant protagonists to look beyond the demo/support slot cul-de-sac, and we could be seeing the first flowerings in a fertile field.
“It’s taken a few little pushes for things to move on but it’s started to happen,” she says. “There seems to have been a change recently – not sure what it is, but people seem to be becoming more aware of one another – people in bands, people in creative arts. Like Phil Kieran, the DJ, recently wrote a song and asked Martin Corrigan to provide vocals. I met them in the pub, started talking about videos and a seed was planted. Nothing might come of it, but something could. That’s what it’s all about – taking advantage of situations and having confidence in your work.”