The Director Explains: Allapartus - 'Avow'
Director Tom Van Scoyoc speaks to us about Post Harcore duo Allapartus’ intimate single and visuals, ‘Avow’, which combines band performance footage, interpretive dance and mirror imagery to movingly explore the themes of self-acceptance and finding peace with our inner struggles.
Where was the video for’ Avow’ filmed?
The entire video takes place in the basement of Adam’s mother’s house. It’s been repurposed about half a dozen times; once a bedroom, a storage room, and back in 2012 - Allapartus’ first practice space as college freshmen. Since the inception of the band, I had always wanted to shoot a music video in that room. The late afternoon light in that part of the Hudson valley is really great in the fall.
How does the video connect with the song?
The creative direction of Allapartus has always been a collaboration between Adam, Kurt, and myself. Originally I played bass with the band back in college before I moved on to filmmaking full time, at that point I started working on the visual aspect of the music exclusively. Adam and I have been roommates for 7 years now so the process between us is sort of autonomous. All of the visual elements in the video come from years of collaboration and developing a shared visual language.
Do you have any behind the scenes stories you can share with us?
I had initially talked with both Matt, our choreographer, about using mirrors in the video. As “looking into oneself” is an element we wanted to work in, it also would give us great blocking and shooting options to work out on the day. Turns out mirrors are expensive, and I wasn’t able to shop as extensively as I had hoped. I borrowed probably half a dozen mirrors and drove them up to the location that morning. The room at the time was being used for storage, and was absolutely packed with furniture. As we cleared everything out, we discovered Adam’s mother had been holding onto an extensive collection of vintage mirrors. Every mirror was either a dumpster or yard sale find, and all better options than the ones I had collected over the past week.
Could you tell us about the ideas/ themes/ imagery used?
’Avow’ is really a song about self-acceptance, and learning to become comfortable with inner struggles. When I first heard the lyrics “I’m in bloom in this room” I immediately knew where we should shoot it, as a single and small location would really help us achieve that level of intimacy. Reflections and refractions are a visual motif throughout the video, and think the prism is a great manifestation of the change in perspective that the song speaks to. Shooting the video on film gave me the opportunity to tell that story with a more organic look and all in-camera effects. Double exposing the film, step-printing, and shaping intentional film burns are all techniques I used to add to this personal and nostalgic feeling the song creates.
Is there a message the video is trying to convey?
When watching the video, a concept that always comes to mind is “How do you treat yourself when no one is looking?” The whole performance of Gavin dancing in the video feels very personal and intimate to me, parts of it are graceful and smooth, other parts are more erratic and forceful. It makes me think of the complicated relationships we have with our inner selves. How do you love yourself? How do you hurt yourself? How do you nurture growth in yourself? The lyrics focus a lot on realising that rejecting yourself is a practice in futility, you can’t erase who you are, but you can guide your internal development to somewhere more fulfilling and sustainable. Matt and Gavin did a beautiful job at using motion to communicate that range of emotion.
Interview by Karla Harris