Author: Marco Sandeman

Categories
Music Videos

Sunny Hardon ‘Oceanheart’

My original idea was quite different.

We filmed a variety of takes of Sunny in different get-ups and the plan was to cut between them. I forget why, but I wanted one take where he had a bald wig. The bald wig turned out to be deeply unsatisfying, so in the final hour of the shoot, Sunny agreed to shave all his hair off (eyebrows too, you’ll notice). There was something so vulnerable about him after he’d been shorn and he then gave this fragile, marvellous performance. So the video had to became a one take.

Role: Director, DoP, Editor, SFX

Categories
Music Videos

Paul McCartney ‘222’

A video I’m particularly proud of. My first of three music videos for the great man.

Role: Director, Editor/SFX

Categories
Documentary

Paul McCartney ‘On the Set of Dance Tonight’

My first job for Paul McCartney. It was an utterly unbelievable experience to be invited to film behind the scenes for Michel Gondry’s video for McCartney. The shoot was more like a star-studded circus than a film set. Filming McCartney and Michel Gondry doing an impromptu jam sent me to second heaven.

Role: Director, DoP, Editor, SFX

Categories
Commercial

Sony Ericsson ‘Beyond Communication’

Role: Director

Categories
Music Videos

Switches ‘Drama Queen’

I’ve alas lost my original copy of this video so here is a version lifted from YouTube.

I love this video – the anarchy, the frenetic energy and the madness of it – but it didn’t play too well with the label. It was released nonetheless.

As a silly aside, I got really sick during the post-production process after rushing through a downpour on the way to a meeting. The bug I succumbed to then did a tour of the post-production team. It’s a testament to the team that the video was still delivered on schedule!

Role: Director, SFX

Categories
Music Videos

Switches ‘Message From Yuz’

My first video for short-lived, but great fun Indie outfit Switches.

Role: Director, Editor, SFX

Categories
Music Videos

The Kooks ‘The Sofa Song’

My second video for the Kooks, made just as they were becoming household names in the UK.

The original idea was to make a video based on David Hockney’s beautiful photo collages. Luke Pritchard, lead singer of the Kooks, was enthusiastic about the concept but, as one might expect, the management/promotional team wanted something less avant garde and more accessible. It was a bit of a tug of war and I think the final result strikes a decent balance between the two poles.

Funnily enough, this was one of actor Ben Barnes first roles, but he ended up being almost entirely cut from the video.

Role: Director, SFX

Categories
Documentary

The Kooks ‘4Play’

A documentary for Channel 4’s ‘4Play’ about the Kooks, just on the cusp of fame. When this was first broadcast late at night in 2005, I was disproportionately proud that the announcer asked the viewer not to adjust their set.

Role: Director, DoP, Editor

Categories
Music Videos

The Kooks ‘Eddie’s Gun’

This was my breakthrough video and I still can’t quite believe the good people at Virgin Records, fronted by commissioning legend Carole Burton-Fairbrother, gave me the job. When it was released, I sat patiently through a whole afternoon of MTV to catch it playing live (it was my first proper video, after all). As word of the Kooks grew, the video became a big success and played everywhere.

Role: Director, SFX