Electronic pop artist Alice Glass recently released a music video for her single Love Is Violence off her debut studio album “Prey//IV.” The Eating Glass Records artist says listeners can relate to the ups and downs that occur in relationships, and how those who have dealt with manipulative or toxic partners experience a “whole other layer of pain.”
Bryan M. Ferguson directed the video, which takes on the plot of a romantic thriller in which a young couple - entranced by Alice's performance on a retro TV - literally rip each other’s hearts (and other organs) out.
According to Ferguson (pictured), the video of Alice, which appears on the TV, was shot by Kristen Jan Wong using a Sony A7iii camera.
“It needed to be shot in prep for the actual video shoot, where her footage would cut to play on the TV as a music video within a music video,” he explains of the LA shoot, which took place over the course of a single day.
The main portion of the video was shot in Glasgow, Scotland, where Ferguson is based, and spanned two days. A small crew consisted of the director, his wife/production design assistant Vari Ferguson, DP George Harwood and SFX artist Johann Domingo. That portion of the video was shot using a Blackmagic Design Ursa Mini Pro G2.
“My wife and I pulled together materials to build a bedroom set that would look as though it were a lived in teenage girl’s room from the early 2000s,” he recalls. “And we rigged an Aputure LS C300D mk II light outside the window to remotely control lightning strikes throughout.”
Ferguson edited the project himself, as is the norm for the work he directs.
“It’s my favorite part of the process and often feels like the most creative part sometimes because you can really sculpt the footage into anything you want. I don’t use anything fancy. I used to cut everything I did on Final Cut Pro 7, but I’ve finally made the leap to Final Cut Pro X, which is a lot handier and less prehistoric without being too technical.
Ferguson cut the performance footage of Alice’s a week prior to the main video shoot.
“It was interesting because I was cutting together footage that was shot remotely, without a shot list, and trying to make it appear as though it were a music video from the early 2000s. I really got a kick out of throwing cheesy transitions and effects on there. I even made up a false music channel intro, but I had to cut it for time.”
The video incorporates almost no digital effects, with everything done in-camera.
“I’m not particularly keen or comfortable using some, if any, digital VFX,” says Ferguson. “I’m not opposed to them, I just find there’s something more exciting about seeing things happen on-set. It really brings the crew together and excites everyone.”
Special effects artist Johann Domingo made silicon chest plates, which were rigged to a stand and dressed in the actor’s wardrobe to achieve the gory effect of organs being pulled through skin.