American Cinematographer - June 2016 - 14

Short Takes

Vintage Cool
By Matt Mulcahey

Based on the markers of post-millennium pop stardom, none
of the individual elements of 1960s-era Frank Sinatra qualify as
contemporarily cool: not the tux nor bowtie; not the corded microphone nor middle age. Yet there's a timeless swagger to Ol' Blue Eyes
as he croons standards with those golden pipes. It's that bravado that
Panic! at the Disco's new video "Death of a Bachelor" emulates, only
with an added touch of what co-director Mel Soria calls "Brendon
Urie flair."
Urie is Panic! at the Disco's frontman, and the Las Vegas-raised
singer spends "Bachelor" belting out the new tune to an elegant yet
empty ballroom captured in gorgeous black-and-white. The challenge
for cinematographer Eric Bader was achieving Sinatra swagger on a
less-than-Rat-Pack-level budget.
Though there are more avenues than ever before for musicians
to share their work, the current economics of the music industry don't
allow for the extravagant production outlays commonplace in the
1990s and 2000s. "I love the format of music videos because you
have so much freedom, but the half-million dollar video is definitely
going the way of the dodo," says Bader. Making music videos these
days means working with limitations - like a single six-hour shooting
day and lo-fi tools such as a DIY speed-rail jib, a doorway dolly and a
$100 plastic camera for inserts.
Bader and company had only three weeks to prep, shoot, edit
and color the video before Panic! at the Disco's record label debuted
"Death of a Bachelor" online on Christmas Eve. Meeting that tight
deadline was made easier by the familiarity of the creative team.
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June 2016

Bader met Soria and colorist Sherwin Lau through mutual friends at
their shared alma mater, Florida State University; Soria and co-director
Brendan Walter are frequent collaborators, having previously joined
forces on the MTV Video Music Award-winning "Uma Thurman" by
Fall Out Boy; and Bader had teamed with both directors on the video
for Panic! at the Disco's "This is Gospel (Piano Version)."
With Bader and the pair of co-directors based on opposite
coasts, much of the prep work occurred via email and conference
calls. That communication included the sharing of YouTube clips of
1960s-era Sinatra performing "Fly Me to the Moon" and "I've Got
You Under My Skin."
"Those clips all kind of live and die in a medium shot, but
they're captivating because Sinatra is such a charismatic performer,"
says Bader. "We'd all worked with Brendon Urie before and we knew
the video could exist as just a showcase for his performance and still
be something that was interesting to watch."
While the black-and-white photography - and Urie's corded
microphone - pay homage to the "Sinatra at the Sands" vibe,
Bader sought more than mimicry. "Those live Sinatra performances
were our jumping-off point," he says. "We wanted to take that old
crooner style and mix it with a more modern style, which is where
the idea of heavy lens flares and dynamic camera moves came
from."
After initially considering shooting the video at a venue that
coincided with one of Panic! at the Disco's tour cities, the team
instead selected the Monte Cristo Banquet Hall in Los Angeles. Typically rented out for weddings and corporate events, the hall already
featured practical RGB LED lighting that could be adjusted via a small
control panel integrated into the space. "The lighting was built more

American Cinematographer

Photos by Dan Zacharias and Zechariah Hall, courtesy of the filmmakers.

Panic! at the
Disco frontman
Brendon Urie
emulates Frank
Sinatra's 1960sera swagger in
the black-andwhite music
video for the
song "Death of
a Bachelor,"
which reunited
cinematographer
Eric Bader with
co-directors Mel
Soria and
Brendan Walter.

American Cinematographer - June 2016

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