Muller: We used a Super 8 camera in an underwater housing. The main problem was focus, but as you can see we used that to our advantage — it gave us an extra dreamy feel!
So far, Gent has shared videos she worked on for the band the Dead Weather and for Al Gore’s Live Earth Organization. Her third installment, “St. Mary’s,” is a video directed by Sophie Muller for Mark Linkous and his band Sparklehorse.
To see the work of more artists like Gent go to mybestfred.com.
A.Gent: Mark was such an extraordinary talent and had such a gentle soul, but he had to battle so hard against the darkness for so long. I feel privileged to have known him.
Gent: The original plan was to make a video for the single Sick Of Goodbyes. I headed off to Mark’s ranch in Virginia with Sophie [Muller], the DP and the assistant — the total crew for this project. I think I was catering, art department, driver and general PA — and commissioner when I was had a free minute. We ended up making five videos Coach Handbags, for “Pig,” “Box of Stars,” “Sick of Goodbyes,” “Sunshine” and “St. Mary’s.”
Q.The creative director Dilly Gent has worked with artists like Duran Duran, Morrissey, Tina Turner, Blur, Peter Gabriel and Dead Weather. In particular, she has had a long standing relationship with Radiohead, commissioning the band’s music videos, photography, live shows, special products, documentaries and films including the Grammy nominated “Meeting People is Easy.” She is also the founder, with the music producer Nigel Godrich, of the web music channel fromthebasement.tv.
St. Mary’s was the last video we made. Mark had an accident in a hotel room in London. He ended up at St Mary’s hospital for a long time and wrote a song about it — such a beautiful song, too. We shot the video for it at night Coach Handbags, and Mark literally jumped in the water and sank like a stone with his big boots. The whole thing was based on a dream he had had where his teeth were falling out. If you look really closely you can see teeth floating in the water. Sophie had them made of of clay. I remember them being huge.
You mentioned that Linkous wrote this song about an accident in 1996 when he suffered a drug overdose and his heart stopped for several minutes. There were also complications with his legs and circulation which caused him to be wheelchair-bound for some time. This past March, Linkous committed suicide. It’s always very difficult to say goodbye to such a talented artist and friend and it does give this video and many others a rather weighty significance. Are you able to share some of your thoughts about this?
Mark Linkous has an almost cult-like following among the musical elite. He collaborated with very well-known musicians like Iggy Pop, Vic Chestnut, the Flaming Lips and Julian Casablancas to name a few, but never really broke through to the main stream alternative music scene.
Muller: When you photograph people, you are conscious of the fact you are creating a moment of these peoples’ lives Coach Handbags, recording it forever. As a result you are contributing to their legacy. I felt very honored to work with Mark when he was alive and now he is dead I feel even more so. I found him otherworldly to some extent and now the images take on an even more poignant and ghost-like resonance.
Videophiles features a series of clips curated for The Moment by cutting-edge directors, artists and other creative types.
This video for Sparklehorse has an almost surreal fog-like thickness to it. Can you tell me about the making of it?
John Spinks Dilly Gent
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