The Artist Explains: Marlo Owczarzak- 'Open Road'
Marlo Owczarzak speaks to us about her nostalgic single and music video for ‘Open Road’ which draws on footage taken from a two week family road trip and explores the themes of letting go, and making memories.
Where was the video for 'Open Road' filmed?
Every clip from the ‘Open Road’ music video was filmed during a two-week family road trip in 2017. Our family had a loose plan to discover the Western United States, stopping at National Parks along the way. In some spots the video shows all 5 of us packed into our RV, and in others we’re exploring the wide open Badlands and Grand Canyon. All of the footage was taken on our phones and one camera. The aerial shots were taken on my brother’s drone.
How does the video connect with the song?
The song was written in that exact motorhome, on a different family trip, in the dark. However, from the beginning I was focused on the imagery of our biggest trip out west. The video shows the nostalgia that’s baked into the song, and I believe that people can connect with the song on a more literal level while watching. As you watch, you can physically see the green-and-gold sky mentioned in the lyrics, my family waving out the windows, and of course, the long and winding open roads.
Do you have any behind the scenes stories you could share with us?
The lyrics “the sky, the sky, the sky was green and gold” references a flash storm that appeared as we drove through the middle-of-nowhere Wyoming. We heard a warning come over the radio, saw the sky turn green in front of our eyes, and the rain started to pour down. Once the radar loaded, we saw one chance to escape the storm and took it. We drove as fast as we could to shoot the gap between two brewing storms on our path. For a few seconds towards the end of the music video, you can see my brother holding his phone (I was filming him as he was filming), cheering as we made it past the storm.
Can you tell us about the ideas/ themes/ imagery used?
Most of my work is written with a heavy nostalgia, and I wanted the visual aspect of the song to reflect that. To create the music video, I had to comb through hundreds of video clips taken two years prior. This inherently put me in a reflective mindset as I pieced together the narrative of this story. My goal was to accurately reflect my memory of the trip, as well as capture the visuals to produce the most meaning behind the song.
Another way to illustrate this further was through the use of a Super 8 framing and film grain in post-production, to visually connect with a vaguely vintage feel.
Lyrically, there is a mindset shift from the first pre-chorus to the second — the idea of “just let me go” to “don’t let me go.” I kept this in mind while planning clips to sequence with the song, consciously choosing moments that felt compelling to each of those mindsets.
Another small detail that I love — the progression of the United States sticker map. I have an entire folder dedicated to videos of the family marking each state along our route, but could only fit in a few moments to move along the story!
What do you hope people take away from watching the video?
’Open Road’ was written in the dark in an RV, and is an ode to driving far and letting go. It’s about the desire to run away, and the nostalgia of making memories. I hope people can feel the love radiating from our family memories, and reflect on their own. I also hope people are inspired to take a trip on the open road themselves!