Modular People

Shot around Joshua Tree & Death Valley and directed by Partizan's Jared Eberhardt here's a behind the scenes look at the video for Beni's latest single 'Someone Just Like You'. We had a quick chat with director Jared Eberhardt about the inspirations behind the kaleidoscopic vision.

The video features naked girls in merkins dancing around the desert. What inspired the imagery for this clip?

I just finished reading 'Blood Meridian' and there is scene that describes how a marauding Apache army is dressed. It's such a powerful scene, it just leaked into the dancers' costume design, merkins and all.

Here's a part of the passage:

"A legion of horribles, hundreds in number, half naked or clad in costumes attic or biblical or wardrobed out of a fevered dream with the skins of animals and silk finery ... all the horsemen's faces gaudy and grotesque with daubings like a company of mounted clowns, death hilarious, all howling in a barbarous tongue and riding down upon them like a horde from a hell more horrible yet than the brimstone land of Christian reckoning."

Can you run us through where it was filmed?

It was shot over 3 different days, a day in Death Valley, a day in the studio, then a night in Joshua Tree.

I had a tiny crew and we all just jumped into a van and drove out to the desert. Everything I shot on the first day was used to create projections for the second shoot and then that was used for the third shoot. The projections were strictly for aesthetics, was just a nice aesthetic to blend the outdoors with the studio.

Is this clip share a similar style to your other work or did you try something new in this clip?

I usually have a considerable bit of set design, but for this video I didn't want to build anything, I wanted it all to be all about the bodies and the projected abstract shapes and colors.

I let the dancers, choreography and the scenery be the set design. Most of the effects are projections and are in-camera, which I'm familiar with, but the idea of using one day's shoot to influence the next days shoot was really a fun and new way to work. For each shoot I started with a really details plan and by the second shot it all went out the window.

That human skull looks acrobatic. Where did you find such willing participants for the clip?

The skull was actually something I just sprung on the dancers on the day. It's a boost of Philippe Halsman's photo 'the Dali Skull' and I just felt like it was a good iconic way to end by combining all the heavy symbolism of Blood Meridian and the whimsy of all Bob Fosse-esque choreography.

Did you end up finding that "Someone Just Like You"?

Ask me that in a few months. ;)

'House of Beni' is available internationally through iTunes, Mod Shop & JB HiFi.