Steven Spielberg Just Directed The First Music Video Of His Career
More than half a century after the famed director shot his first short film, Steven Spielberg is taking on a new video format for the first time in his career: the filmmaker just shot and released a music video for folk singer Marcus Mumford.
The Mumford & Sons musician shared the news via his official Twitter and Instagram, accompanied by a series of behind-the-scenes photos of the video's set and crew. Mumford tweeted:
On Sunday 3rd July in a high school gym in New York, Steven Spielberg directed his first music video, in one shot, on his phone. Kate Capshaw was the almighty dolly grip. – @marcusmumford
One of the photos shows Spielberg seated in a rolling office chair opposite Mumford, holding a phone as his wife, painter and actress Capshaw, holds onto the chair from behind. The entire shoot has a bit of a spontaneous feel to it, as the entire credited crew consists of Spielberg, Capshaw, Mumford, his wife, actress Carey Mulligan, and longtime Spielberg film producer Kristie Macosko Krieger.
The filmmaker directed Marcus Mumford's 'Cannibal'
Mumford shared the credits on social media as well, calling Capshaw the Producer, Art Director, and Dolly Grip (the dolly in question, hilariously, seems to be Spielberg's chair) while Krieger produced and handled behind-the-scenes videography, and Mulligan did sound and costumes.
The song itself is called "Cannibal," and both it and the resulting one-shot video are quite excellent. The lyrics of the song seem to describe a person breaking the silence about a painful childhood trauma. The black-and-white footage begins with an impressionistic, slightly drifting close-up of Mumford before backing outward to reveal that he's performing on an empty stage. Spielberg manages to make a single take include several subtle surprises, as when the camera dollies out to reveal the room beyond the edges of the stage, when a reflection in the lens creates a slightly surreal effect, and when the whole thing climaxes with a quick dolly back in to close up.
While it's not clear exactly how this wonderfully low-key collaboration came to be, Mumford shared gratitude for everyone who's helped him create his current musical project, the upcoming album "(self-titled)," which is due out September 16, 2022, via Island Records. On Twitter, the musician wrote, "When people get it, it blows my mind. Kate and Steven just got it, and I cannot thank them enough."
Meanwhile, Spielberg found the time for the one-off project between several major works of his own. The "West Side Story" filmmaker is set to release his reportedly semi-autobiographical film "The Fabelmans," starring Michelle Williams, Paul Dano, Seth Rogen, and Gabriel LaBelle, on November 23, 2022.