James Zoppe in all his glory.

It’s been five years since indie rock band Built To Spill came out with a new album and with this latest release, the band decided to do something they rarely do: shoot a music video. For the single “Conventional Wisdom,” the band chose to collaborate with directing team Shafei & Levitz of Revolver Film Co. The directors brought a concept centered around an extraordinary man named James Zoppe, a real-life joust instructor, demonstrator and modern-day knight. To bring the song to life visually, Shafei & Levitz tapped director of photography Jesse Green.

(left to right) Cinematographer Jesse Green, 1st AC Craig Grossmuller and Zoppe

Using the melodies and lyrics of the song as inspiration, the music video opens with Zoppe practicing his swordplay in a warm, sunlit field. Later, the band arrives and their training in medieval sports begins. Green shot on Super 16 with an ARRIFLEX SR3, taking advantage of natural light and the scenic locations of Frazier Park,Calif. The end result is a touching portrait of Zoppe and the inspiration he imparts on Built To Spill. Green spoke to us about the production of “Conventional Wisdom.”

To view the music video, click here:

www.shafeilevitz.com/onlinereel/musicvideos/1_BuiltToSpill

To start off, tell us a little about your background and how you got
to where you are today.

I come from a still photography background, so when I came out to Los Angeles after college it was a very natural transition to go into the camera department.  I started off in the camera department almost 12 years ago as a loader and worked my way up to cameraman during that time. I worked under Salvatore Totino (The Da Vinci Code, Cinderella Man) for nine of those years doing commercials, music videos and features. It was an invaluable experience working with him on those projects [that I] feel very lucky to have had, I learned a lot of the essential tools it takes to be a cameraman.

What kind of discussions did you have with the directors regarding
the style and look of the video?

Action sequences were covered with a mixture of handheld and locked-off camera work.

We always talk about the possibilities according to the treatment that was written for the song.  Images can come from anything; movies, artwork, dreams, magazines and personal experiences. I really enjoy this part of the process, it’s like starting with a clean canvas and then painting your vision. We wanted the look to feel print-like, richer blacks and slightly desaturated colors.

We wanted to give the video a cinematic feel, since it was more story bound.  The film Ladyhawk came up as a reference because of its look and era.

What camera package did you have?

I got the camera package from Clairmont Camera, who are always there for me.  I used an Arri SR-3 in Super 16 with a Canon 11-165 zoom and a Zeiss 8mm.  The filtration used were NDs to knock the stop down towards wide open, because one must be aware when shooting with 16mm and 2/3” HD that there is more depth of field than using 35mm. Also, for the wider scenes when the sky is visible, I would use a Polarizer to make the clouds pop and help with the contrast overall.

Were there considerations to shoot on another format? 
Why did you decide to go with 16mm?

There is something special when shooting 16mm, especially in Super 16. Not only is the 1.66 a likable format, but it does have a certain quality to it. The new film stocks available today are incredible. The sharpness, latitude and resolution that one gets is quite amazing. It’s not the home movie feel that a lot of people associate it with anymore. We had a lot of set-ups and locations for the two days on the shoot and with the SR-3 we were able to keep it as a very small and manageable package.

What film stocks did you shoot on?

I used the Kodak 7201 (50D) for all of the daylight exteriors, which might I say is a beautiful stock that can definitely give 35mm a run for its money.  Kodak 7218 (500T) was used for the nighttime exteriors.

You had no lighting package on this shoot. What motivated this?

Green used no additional lights for this scene other than the illumination from the fire.

I come from a still photography background where we don’t always have all of the tools available to us like in the motion picture world. I really love natural light and what it does. When I look at a scene I see what is happening already and if anything, I will accentuate it with a shiny board or take away with some negative fill. 

Can you describe how you shot the campfire scene? What stop did you shoot at?

The only light source came from the fire itself.  I wanted the light to fall off the further away you were from the fire, I shot the scene at T2.8. The fire itself was reading about 22 reflective. The stock was Kodak 7218, which allows to the highlights to be five stops over without losing too much detail...It’s pretty amazing.

During the competition, the horses run back and forth.
Can you talk about how you covered this action with camera movement?

Before the competition, we blocked out all of the angles that we would be shooting from. We combined two styles of camera work during the competition:  handheld and locked-off. Handheld was used for more of the intimate moments with the main characters. Locked-off was used for the action scenes which some were overcranked at 75 fps. Once we knew that we had gotten the shot, we ran to the next camera position. Having only one camera, it was essential to know where one needed to be ahead of time.

Is there a favorite shot in this video?

Lead singer Doug Martsch talks a walk through a sun-dappled field.

It’s really hard to say, but the slow-mo sequence with Doug, the lead singer, walking through the field with a streak of sunlight going across the foliage, is so dream-like. We were walking through the woods and came across this spot and immediately I knew we needed to shoot there. It was too perfect.

How is it working with two directors at the same time?

The band Built to Spill follows Zoppe down a trail.

It is a little different working with a duo directing team. One big advantage is the coverage -- one can be working with an actor while the other is working a shot with me. This was the 10th project that Shafei and Levitz and I had collaborated on, so we definitely know how each of us works by this point of the game.

How was your crew?

I would like to thank my crew on this video for all of their hard work. We shot this video in two days, staying overnight both days outside of Los Angeles. It was a very physical job with a lot of location moves and logistics. Without my crew behind me, my job becomes harder than it needs to be. Thanks guys...

Any upcoming projects?

I have a commercial for Nike and Footlocker with Pam Thomas from Moxie Pictures and another music video for The Futureheads with AV Club from The Directors Bureau.

An Tran