On Friday evening, thirty people gathered at Ming Lounge in Oldtown Portland to kick off the music video production for semi-local artist Draye Wilson and his latest release “Midnight Oil”. The Catlin Gabel graduate, now working in film archival in New York, New York, sees this video as the first promotional step to launching his new music album later this year —which will be released under the moniker “mankind”.
The video production efforts combine four local forces: producer August Oaks, production designer Kailah Armand, director Julien Garnier and director of photography Kevin Michaluk. Whilst Oaks produces joins this creative force for the first time, Garnier, Armand and Michaluk previously collaborated on a local project for musician Madisenxoxo. The “Midnight Oil” music video production, however, is quadruple in size.
Garnier attributes the video’s aesthetic to 90s gritty crime dramas and classic film noir ––as a means to highlight Draye as a captivating anchor in the seemingly rambunctious, grimy underbelly of the city.
Alongside the Republic Café and Ming Lounge, filming locations have included a seedy motel on McLoughlin Boulevard, Sauvie Island backroads, and a few secret locations in NE Portland.
And while the ultra-low budget of the production constrained costs, over 20 background actors and friends joined the production for free in support of the project, demonstrating the collaborative community backing this team of producers.
Garnier hopes to keep up the momentum with a vibrant summer of collaboration after heading into the post-production stage of this first music video.
