It’s not often that a song gets a new breath of life after two years. Then again, it’s not often that an Oscar winning cinematographer is the one that brings up the idea because he’s got a hankering to do a video for it.
Videos by American Songwriter
Wally Pfister, whose brilliance as a cinematographer includes movies like Inception (for which he won an Academy Award) and both The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises, brought the idea to Tom Freund for the song “Freezer Burn” when they met. At that time Pfister was directing the TV show Flaked, starring Will Arnet, and Freund was writing some music for the project. As often happens when talents of that level intersect; conversations abound, friendships are fashioned, and creative bridges are formed.
“We hit it off and he said he would like to do a video for his fave song on the album,” explains Freund about the new video that American Songwriter is proud to premiere. “It just so happened that he was shooting a big Walmart commercial that was trying to recreate his Dark Knight Batman sets. He called me saying this set is perfect. So, the next day, following the commercial, we zoomed in with a small trusty crew of Wally’s and made the video happen!”
Lit by daylight albeit under the cover of a dreary gray sky, Freund is not alone in the video. Joined by French American actress Loan Chabanol, the two make their ways through the rubble and detritus filled streets in this dulled color video translation. Even though the set was built for something different entirely, it’s almost scary how perfectly everything fit together.
“Loan was perfect for the role of the muse/hot-and-cold character of the song and the backdrop of burned streets in New York with turned-over buses and subway entrances and post-apocalyptic destruction, seemed to fit perfectly with the story of the tune. Then me with my jean shirt and my mandolin, playing and singing through the wreckage, with a look of what the hell happened! We later shot one drone shot up in the hills of Malibu to add to the video tale.”
