The Artist Explains: Jewelia - 'This Love Song is Better Left Unsung'
London-based artist Jewelia talks us through her creative DIY visuals for emotive art pop single, ‘This Love Song is Better Left Unsung’ which is the first single and title track taken from her new EP.
Where was the video for 'This Love Song is Better Left Unsung' filmed?
The video was filmed in a lovely cottage that we booked on AirBnb. The lady who owned the cottage was kind enough to let us to film in there, even though she was initially reluctant, due to a previous bad experience with a film crew. As we were on a tight budget, we could only afford booking the place for one night, so the whole music video was filmed continuously in about 16 hours, from 3 o’clock in the afternoon, all the way through the night and until morning when we had to check out. We had so many shots to fit in that we couldn’t even stop to have dinner!
How does the video connect with the song?
Everyone must have had, at least once, a crush on someone they were not supposed to crush on. Maybe it was a best friend, a teacher, or just someone else when you’re already married or in a serious, long-term relationship. The song is about this kind of situation.
We tried to convey that in the music video by creating a story of two incompatible characters. The robot has romantic feeling towards his owner, someone whom he gets to see every day, but who does not share his feelings. Impossible, or unrequited love is a serious topic, and I guess we could have come up with a more ‘serious’ script, but I liked the idea of a more light-hearted approach, a cute and quirky love story that is not meant to be.
The robot was actually Andy’s idea (he plays both the robot and the boyfriend in the music video). We both had a lot of fun making the costume and creating the graphics for his eyes. In case you were wondering how we achieved all his expressions, it’s just a tablet playing back short videos that we change from scene to scene.
Do you have any behind the scenes stories you can share with us?
It’s probably worth mentioning that the whole crew for this video consisted of only two people: Andy and I. Since we were directing, filming and also acting in the video, we had a lot of freedom to improvise, but the camerawork was definitely a challenge. Most of the time we filmed each other, however, for the shots that had us both in, we had to use the tripod, find a good angle, then film a test shot, go back and check it, then shoot again. It was very time consuming, but hey, indie musicians are all about DIY!
An example of such improvisation was the ending of the video, which was entirely made up on the spot. We were outside, filming on the shots of the robot running away, when we came across the field with the benches. I thought it would be cute if, after looking for him, the owner found the robot sitting on the bench and hugged him. Just as we were about to film this, the battery of the camera died, so we had to go back to the house and charge it. But this gave us the idea of the robot running out of battery, so when we went back in the house, we went on my laptop and made the graphic of flashing red battery, then went back outside and filmed the ending shot.
Is there a message the video is trying to convey?
The main message is that sometimes things are just not meant to be, and that’s okay. It’s difficult to love someone that you can’t be with, but, just like the song says, some stories are better left untold. I believe that everything happens for a reason, so if it’s not happening, then maybe it’s for the best.
Interview by Karla Harris