The Director Explains: The Spiritual Leaders - 'Picture on the Wall'
Director Aodha Molloy speaks to us about hitting the streets of Dublin with The Spiritual Leaders to film their music video for upbeat, indie rock groove, ‘Picture On The Wall’.
Where was the video for ‘Picture on the Wall’ filmed?
The video was shot on the streets of Dublin. Certain specific locations were chosen for their recognisable Dublin landmarks. The statue of Phil Lynott and Rory Gallagher’s Guitar were added in for homage to popular Irish music.
How does the video connect with the song?
My Initial idea for the music video was inspired from the lyrics “Just Like a picture on the wall, nobody seems to look at all”. To me this symbolises the peoples disregard for the world around them. By using the golden picture frame I wanted to highlight the average person and the sites around them that may be taken for granted.
Do you have any behind the scenes stories you can share with us?
Our approach was to stop anyone and everyone to get in front of the camera. This had some straight faced reactions of a “leave me alone”. The Temple Bar area of the city was a good spot to get people involved, especially tourists who were enjoying the pubs. We were also told by a couple of people you can’t film here so we said 'ok,fine, and just moved on to another location a little further into the park or street or wherever. It was all a bit of a caper!'
Can you tell about the idea/themes/ ideas used?
I love the idea of having the people in the video as natural as possible. The shots of crowds walking while some would wave or joke in front of the camera gave the video a natural spontaneity. Having the people mime the lyrics without hearing the song also added a natural charm that each individual possesses. Some people who we had just met got totally into the performance, such as an artist called Liam who started clicking his fingers along with our singer Dave miming to the chorus.
The use of overlaying shots in the edit transcended the psychedelic tones of the instrumental sections.
Is there a message that the video is trying to convey?
Were all trying to find your way and place in the world - and the big city like Dublin is a place many people go to as a way of doing that, and we wanted to capture that feeling.
What do you hope people take away from watching the video?
Embrace at the world around you and enjoy what it has to give.
Interview by Karla Harris
‘Picture on the Wall’ is taken from The Spiritual Leaders new six-track EP, ‘Albania Away’ which you can stream below.