SXSW Festival: interview with Will Kindrick, director of videoclip Devotion

In Devotion, what was your personal interpretation of the song and how did you translate that into the direction of the video?

When I first heard the song, my instinct was to explore the theme of devotion though a romantic relationship, but that seemed too obvious. Then I started noticing these crossing guards all over Tokyo waving their batons and directing traffic and with laser like focus. They were so dedicated, robotically waving their batons in the direction of traffic, regardless of whether there were any cars around. They reminded me a little bit of Royal British guards. Then I thought, what if the love story was actually between someone and their job? What if that was the romance? Someone so dedicated that they feel like their mundane day job is their purpose or higher calling in life. The reoccurring hook: “I believe in you, and your devotion”, to me represented the crossing guard fantasizing about the world singing back to him as he carries out his responsibilities with unwavering devotion. Maybe it’s just the workaholic in me speaking. Haha. Ok, this has been therapeutic. Next question!

Why did you choose to set the plot in Tokyo?

I actually lived in Tokyo for a while when I was younger, speak the language, love the culture, etc. I happened to be there directing a bunch of J-pop videos for about six months last year when a mutual friend introduced me to Alexis and Joe from Hot Chip at bar in Shibuya. They happened to be be passing through performing DJ sets throughout Japan. I’ve always loved their music, so it was really the perfect storm. 

What techniques or aesthetic choices did you use to emphasize the main themes of the song?

For me, more so then a specific camera technique it was the choreography of our protagonist constantly marching towards camera like a terminator style machine. I loved the choreography of that march, especially once his friends join in. It’s very DEVO and silly the way they synchronize their head turns to the beat. Once he breaks into dancing, that’s actually supposed to be us entering his fantasy… he’s still marching in real life. It was also super important to me that he didn’t smile until the very end of the video. 

During production, what were the most significant challenges and how did you overcome them while maintaining your artistic vision?

The production schedule was wild, but I feel like they always are, right? I wrapped a J-pop video the night before at midnight and was on the streets of Shibuya shooting this one the next morning at like 6am. The biggest challenge when shooting in public is everyone wanting to be in it or film us on their phones. Not necessarily locals, but definitely tourists! We couldn’t block off streets, so we just had to cut around them in post. Also, our post schedule was crazy. I think we had two weeks to deliver? I also edited and double teamed the vfx with my vfx supervisor. Shout out to Matt Lathrom. 

How did the collaboration with Hot Chip unfold during filming?

The label really wanted to feature the band, so I decided to incorporate them on neon screens and billboards throughout Tokyo. They have such a fun colorful aesthetic, they ended up blending right in.

Getting that footage was a journey though!  I had to fly back to LA for a week to renew my visa between shooting the J-pop videos and this. During my week “home” I ended up flying out to London for a few days to shoot the band at their studio in Shoreditch. Then I was back in Tokyo a few days later in J-pop world. It was a whirlwind couple of weeks and I definitely lost track of what time zone I was in. I was definitely devoted to making art through chaos and wouldn’t have it any other way. Highly recommend.