Music videos take a lot of planning. Most often there's a limited budget, a quick deadline, yet you want to create something uniquely eye catching and special.
"Honey" was our first single, and I wanted the video to showcase a strong direction for the band without including the band members. I knew that my friend and former creative director Kevin Byrd was inspired by dancing, so we enlisted a spectacular dancer and performance artist named MaryGrace Philips. Along with cinematographer Troy Stains, we all worked closely together to create a unique video.
The video debuted on UK website Gold Flake Paint:
"While the anthemic, widescreen nature of the track calls to mind sweeping sun-filled vistas, Atlanta quartet Sealions have taken a turn in the opposite direction for the accompanying video to their brilliant new single ‘Honey‘. Creating a juxtaposition which instantly grabs, the song is constrained only to one dimly lit warehouse space, the exuberance of the rich melodies shown only through the stylistic performance of the lone dancer who twists, dips and weaves to every radiant hook and every pulse of percussion."
"Setting Suns" our second single which debuted on Creative Loafing. Here's what I told them:
"For me, 'Setting Suns' is the most personal track on my band’s new EP, Number One Lover. The song was written about my one true love, during a time we spent apart. Sometimes, two people meeting can be a little too intense to absorb immediately. There has to be separation for a while. It can happen unpredictably and unexpectedly, but eventually you find your way back. That’s 'Setting Suns.' I approached the video treatment in a lighthearted manner, capturing Sealions in the studio recording the track, and then also as we performed it live. My hope was to show the band in human form, performing a song in two very different environments, having fun along the way."
Honey
Director: Kevin Byrd
Director of Photography: Troy Stains
Producer: Jason Travis
Editor: Troy Stains & Jason Travis
Dancer/Choreographer: MaryGrace Phillips
Dolly Grip: Ricky Aguirre
Hair & Makeup: Zoe Simone Bulboff
Assitants: Joey Patino, Keith Edmiston, Sophia Veitch, Allie Bashuk, Annabelle Byrd
Location Manager: Justin Newton
Shot at The Goat Farm, Atlanta
Setting Suns
Director: Jason Travis
Cameras: Jason Travis, Troy Stains, Wil Hughes, Dan Depew
Editor: Jason Travis
Shot at Maze Studios and The EARL, Atlanta
"Honey" and "Setting Suns" appear on Sealions' EP Number One Lover / Deer Bear Wolf Records
© 2014 SEALIONS
Written by Sealions (Jason Travis & Joey Patino). Performed by Sealions (Jason Travis, Joey Patino, Keith Edmiston, John Craig). Produced, Mixed, and Engineered by Jason Kingsland at Maze Studios. Atlanta, GA. Co-produced by Joey Patino. Mastered by John Golden & April Golden at Golden Mastering. Ventura, CA.