MUISC VIDEO AWARDS
MUISC VIDEO AWARDS
Poem
Diego Ante
Roberto Meza
When and where was the music video shooted?
It was shot in Bogotá, Colombia. On October of 2021.
For who is this music video?
It is for an amazing Latin American duo called Las Villa. They have such an interesting and versatile style, that working with them has been a real pleasure.
How do you work with famous singers?
It has been an amazing experience as I come from the Advertising world, so I was already used to working with celebrities, but working with singers is great because you have a very collaborative process, knowing that you're working for their music and helping them to have a bigger and stronger impact is always a pleasure. What I try to do is to listen to the song, write down the lyrics, start seeing in my head images of what I think the story could look like, and then begin the collaboration, where I talk to the artists, understand the meaning for them of the song, what they like, what they were thinking when they wrote the song, and begin to bring their ideas and my ideas into a good mixture to exemplify the emotion they are trying to convey with their music.
How many people worked on the production of the video clip?
I don't have the exact number, but they weren't as many as I'm used to. Because we were in the middle of the pandemic so we couldn't have the normal team that we would work with, yet still this was great because it forced us to look at those limitations as opportunities to think in more efficent ways of shooting. And I think watching the results, it was really worth it.
What interesting thing happened to you during the filming?
Well we had a scene that was in a exterior, and that was how it was planned. But it started to rain heavily and it was impossible to shoot, so we had to think very fast to have a new idea, this was for the beginning of the music video, and that was how we came with the idea of having both Laura and Lucía in a kind of eerie and oniric place, which is where they get to see the two men that are lost in the woods. So as I said before, all this limitations for me, are actually like big bonuses, because they demand you to think different.
What are your plans for the future, as a director and also as a composer.
As a director, I expect to keep shooting both commercials and music videos, every time with crazier ideas, which allows me to work close to Mr. Wolf Studio, which is my postproduction company. Having this ability to see the final product before actually shooting it has allowed me to think of new ideas and ways to solve problems. So any project, brand, or artist that is willing to take risks are the ones I like the most, so I'll keep looking for them.
As a director, I expect to keep shooting both commercials and music videos, every time with crazier ideas, which allows me to work close to Mr. Wolf Studio, which is my postproduction company. Having this ability to see the final product before actually shooting it has allowed me to think of new ideas and ways to solve problems. So any project, brand, or artist that is willing to take risks are the ones I like the most, so I'll keep looking for them.
What is your all-time favorite film, music video and why?
My all-time favorite film is hard to pick, but I can pick one and talk about a director which I admire. So my pick would be for "About Time", which funny enough is a romantic comedy, but I love how they've developed the characters, and even though it is set up in a world where men from the main family can travel in time, so it has a fantastic feel to it, all of the characters are very true to their emotions, and they feel so real and relatable that I really love how the story develops, and how you see them grow throughout the movie.
My favorite director would be Cristopher Nolan, and I think it is for something similar. Even though the worlds he creates are based on sci-fi or in some fantasy world, he is able to create very relatable characters. It doesn't matter if they are out in space, or if they're batman or the joker, or if the main character is suffering from very severe amnesia, or if you have bending cities all around and deep-diving in your own dreams. You can always feel that you can relate to their emotions, and that's very important to me.
And for my favorite music video, it could probably be Gosh of Jaime XX. Just the scenery, the camera movements, the choreography, the architecture, all of the visual aesthetics are amazing. I remember being blown away when I saw it for the first time.
What were some of the highlights of your career so far?
I've been able to work with amazing brands, which are very big globally, so that's been an awesome opportunity because it has made much better my work and the way I develop and communicate ideas.
Also, "Poem" recently won Best Music Video and Best South American Music video in the Euro Music Video Song Awards. It was also selected as a silver screening in the Berlin Music Video Awards and as an Honourable Mention for Best Latin America Music Video in the International Music Video Awards.
Another of my music videos "Love & Salt", won Best Director Music Video and Best Male Director Music Video in the Euro Music Video Song Awards and won the Honorable Mention for Best Male Director Music Video in the International Music Video Awards.
If you could work with anyone in the world, who would that person be?
I'd love to work with Coldplay or Justin Timberlake as artists. I think both of them have such creative development that I'd love co-creating with them.
As a director, I'd love to work with Cristopher Nolan. As I stated before, looking at how he develops his universes and then deploys his characters without losing their emotional part would be an amazing opportunity to learn from.
Do you have any advice for up-and-coming filmmakers?
This might seem like the advice that everyone gives, but it is so true! Please, keep dreaming... Because I think those dreams are what really forms you and your own taste and style. Learn as much as you can so that you have more tools whenever you're proposing an idea. Learn how to create things by yourself, even if you can then ask someone which is much better to do the final product, but having the understanding of how things work, will allow you to collaborate and create even cooler things.
What was the most important lesson you had to learn as director?
Probably how to communicate with the team and develop ways to show them what you have in your head. Because sometimes you assume that everyone understands the same things, but it is not until you can be completely clear that you allow the rest of the team to build on top of your idea. So having that communication is key in every process.
What are you currently working on?
I'm working on some new music videos, as some advertising work. So I think we'll have new projects to share with you and the world very soon. So stay tuned! Because we have some very creative ideas coming up.
Where can our readers follow your work?
You can find all of my work on my website: https://diegoante.com/
You can view my whole portfolio at: https://vimeo.com/diegoante/
And you can contact me either through my website or say hi in my Instagram! https://www.instagram.com/diegoantev/
Is there anything you'd like to add, or someone you wish to thank?
Thank you for this opportunity, and to all the different people I had the opportunity to work with, you've really shaped my style and taught me so much that I couldn't be grateful enough. I hope you all keep looking at what we're creating and if you want any ideas you want to develop, just contact me! I'll be more than happy to help.
