In case you’re not hip to The Decemberists, they’re a fantastic indie/folk/rock outfit from Portland, Oregon who took 15 years to become an overnight success. Their influences are diverse, from 1960s British folksters like Shirley Collins and Anne Briggs to 1980s modern rock songwriters like XTC, REM, and Morrissey. In January, the band released its sixth album, an epic alt.country/bluesy work titled The King Is Dead and took to the road. When their wagon train came through Oakland’s Fox Theater in February, Boing Boing pal and hypertalented video director Scott Compton made the scene. BB readers may remember Scott for directing the Swell Season interview/performance film in 2009 that quickly became a Boing Boing Video fave.
The Decemberists’ timing was impeccable as it was Valentine’s Day–and Scott, well, loves The Decemberists. Scott rallied his crack video team: the inimitable Bart Nagel and Chris Valente on Canon 5D cameras and Lauretta Molitor on sound — for 20 minutes with the band and stageside access for a couple tunes. Then he took the footage back to his Remedy Editorial facility where editor Jeffrey Boyette and colorist Ayumi Ashley worked their post-production magic. The video team’s passion and the band’s talent gelled into the lovely piece you see above.
“In person, The Decemberists were humble, smart, and collaborative,” Scott says. “For me, it was really interesting to hear singer/songwriter Colin Meloy talk about how Neil Young’s seminal ‘Comes A Time’ album was a big influence. I discovered that album my freshman year of college, and missed a lot of classes sitting in my dorm listening to it again and again.”
Credits: Scott Compton (director), Chris Valente (producer), Bart Nagel (camera), Scott Compton (camera), Chris Valente (camera), Lauretta Molitor (sound), Camilla Comanich and Stephan Hawk (production assistance), Jeffrey Boyette (editor), Ayumi Ahsley (colorist), Mike Lowe (visual effects), Marc Pittman (sound mix)
For more:
“The Decemberists and Polaroid” (Boing Boing)