Chicago’s Dehd (www.dehd.horse) partnered once again with director Glamhag (www.glamhag.com) to create the music video for the band’s “Dog Days” track. The video has no edits, and was shot in just a single take within Bernice’s Tavern in Chicago, where a colorful ensemble of characters enjoy a night of partying.
“Dog Days” is off Dehd’s new album “Poetry,” and according to frontman Jason Balla, is “a celebration for the messiness of life and the search for companionship.”
The video shows Balla performing in one area of the bar, as chaos breaks out around him. The cast of blue-collar characters, made up of friends, waitresses, bartenders and a teacher, get swept up into a brawl that ultimately becomes one big dance party.
According to Glamhag (@glamhag), the shoot took approximately seven takes in order to best figure out the choreography and camera position. Kevin Veselka (@kevinveselka) served as cinematographer, moving through the narrow space and quickly panning to capture the different performances. The cast members were all instructed to stay in-character for the duration of the shoot, helping to make sure the single take had no lulls in performance.
Imagery was captured in 4K, and Glamhag sat on the ultimate take for a few days before moving on with the color grade, which was performed by Veselka using DaVinci Resolve.
In retrospect, Glamhag likens the experience to that of live theater, more than a music video.
“Because it’s one take, it’s a little different than shooting takes where it’s not all usable, and then cut together,” notes the director.
And because the performers were always in character, it was important to get the single take in a limited number of tries or risk exhausting the talent.