TBT Issue 02: “Rollin’”
Hello, again!
Look at this, another post, delivered on time! This is real growth for me. Please clap.
The second issue of TBT is all about another Watsky video! He’s going to be a regular topic over here because we’ve worked together for over a decade, and that creates quite the back catalog. “Rollin’” was one of the first singles from Watsky’s last album, Intention, featuring the lovely and talented Camila Recchio of Feed the Biirds. The music video is another collab with the OGs, DP Alan Gwizdowski, Director Jackson Adams, and producer Brad Simpson, the same crew I met on that fateful “Ugly Faces” shoot all those years ago.
On paper, “Rollin’” was a straightforward music video. Single camera on a gimbal. Two shoot days, both on location: one in the desert, because of course, and the other, a split in a warehouse space, because, also, of course. Indie music videos are never a walk in the park, and after almost ten years working together, I knew that any Watsky video would be a slog of some kind. I also knew that it wasn’t a real Watsky video if something didn’t go terribly wrong, and this was a real Watsky video.
Our desert location was out toward Lancaster, which is outside the studio zone, and like an hour to hour and a half drive from Los Angeles. The day started early. We were shooting in late November or early December, so thankfully it wasn’t unbearably hot, and the days were getting shorter, which is a blessing and a curse on a daylight-dependent shoot like this one. A blessing because the days can’t be too long, and a curse because you have less time to get what you need. And like any good music video, we were overscheduled even for a mid-June day.
The location was at the end of some unmarked dirt road, a chunk of private land out in the middle of nowhere, but even then, as we rolled up, we were greeted by the best little pittie. The dog was sweet and hung out with us for the whole day, our own little emotional support pup.
Like I said, it’s not a real Watsky shoot until something goes wrong, and we didn’t have to wait long for that to happen. The picture car rolled onto set not long after we arrived and had built the camera in the back of Gwiz’s pickup truck, and the plan was to shoot with it first. But as we went to move it into position, it would not start. Classic. The men all gathered around and looked under the hood and put their hands on their hips, trying to figure out what was wrong with the car, but the majority were Emerson College grads, and the school is not known for its automotive degrees. The irony is, the music video was about a couple whose car breaks down, ours just broke down a little ahead of schedule. But the show must go on. The crew ended up pushing the car around the desert for the day, chasing the light, and making movie magic.
The most frustrating thing about working in the desert is that it's a nightmare; it’s always hard, regardless of the weather, but the images look so good. It’s really not fair that a place so mean looks so good. I was excited to snap some portraits of Watsky and Camila, which would later be used for promo, thumbnails, and all that good stuff. It’s always a bummer that so few of the photos you take end up out in the world, but lucky for you and me, I can dump my favorites here.
Day Two was not nearly as eventful as Day One. The location was a warehouse space where Watsky was living, possibly not quite legally. It had a strange, haunted bathroom, no set dog, and a dozen semi trucks parked in the lot outside. The car still didn’t work, but that was fine; it didn’t need to. We had one outdoor setup, and it started to rain, because that’s the Watsky luck. Things go wrong, but it all works out. There’s probably a moral in that. If you think of it, drop it in the comments.
If you read this far, thanks! I’m glad you’re here. I’ll be back again next month. Will it be another Watsky music video? Probably. Let me know what you want to know!
xo E
Rollin’
Watsky and Camila Recchio
Director: Jackson Adams
Cinematographer: Alan Gwizdowski
Production Designer: Britt Keller
Producer: Brad Simpson, Sherri Shi
Hair & Makeup: Nadia Reese
1st Camera Assistant: Erin Douglass
2nd Camera Assistant: Chase Azimi
Gaffer: Tom Peña
Key Grip: Leo Ibanez
Art Assistant: Haulie Harwood
Production Assistant: KJ Alfrey
Colorist: RKM Studios
Rollin’ was written and produced by Watsky, Kush Mody, Camila Recchio, Mr. Carmack, and Chukwudi Hodge. Horns by Max Miller-Loran. Additional keys by Julian Le. Mixed by Pat Dicenso. Mastered by Mike Denten.