Rodion & Mammarella – Inner Outer: Video Premiere

The video for Inner Outer, taken from Rodion & Mammarella's new EP Monte Verita, was shot in the Utah desert by filmmakers Alice Masters & Pete Collard; they talk us through the process behind the video, their inspirations, and the trials of filming in a desert location, in this Q&A.

The Skinny: Can you introduce yourselves and tell us a bit about your work?
Masters & Collard: We often work together on film projects, sometimes travelling to unusual or remote landscapes and communities. This was actually the first time we'd worked on a music video.

How did the project with Ivan Smagghe and Les Disque De La Mort come to happen?
We were introduced to Ivan via a friend, we were looking for a record label to work with and Les Disque De La Mort was a perfect match. When we heard Inner Outer it felt right for what we had in mind.

What was the brief for the project?
There was no official brief for the project. We were heading to the desert in Utah for two months and thought the location could work really well as a setting for a music video.

Did the music come first, or was there already a visual treatment in mind?
The music came first, we then created a scenario for the film that was in part based on our own experiences of being in Utah. We were living in a very remote desert town called Green River.

What is Utah like as a shooting location?
Utah is incredible, the landscape makes filming really easy. Green River is a small community but very friendly, people were more than happy to help out and be involved. Our main character was someone working in the town on a Youth Development Programme. She looked perfect for the role and luckily for us agreed straight away when we asked her to be in the video.

Was there anything unexpected that happened during the project?
We spent a few days working on the storyboard and location scouting before scheduling three days for filming with Hope, our 'actress'. But when that time came the temperature was up to 107 degrees which made filming in the daytime impossible, it was dangerous to be out in the desert in that heat. So everything had to be shot after 6pm when it was 'only' 90 degrees! Improvisation is key in those situations.

What's next? Are there plans to work with Les Disque De La Mort again in the future?
We'd love to work with Les Disque De La Mort again. We're currently editing a documentary we filmed on board a Maersk container ship in the China Seas and we're hoping that they might be able to work with us to provide the soundtrack. But we'd also love to work on another release in the future.

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Monte Verita EP by Rodion & Mammarella is out now on digital download via Les Disques de La Mort.