a-ha-net Interview from April 25th, 2006 Howard Greenhalgh is a renowned director who was born 1963 in Halifax (West Yorkshire). And even if the name itself doesn’t mean anything to you, you will know his commercials and music videos. He has made roughly 200 videos by now and artists like the Pet Shop Boys, Sting, Elton John, Soundgarden, Melanie C., Sugababes and Keane are among his clients. Companies like Adidas, Nike, BBC, Reebok and Renault also appreciate his skills and have brought him many awards: The Cannas Gold Lion 1993, Mtv Video Award for Soundgarden and “Black Hole Sun”, the international Monitors for Ford – to name just three of the most important ones.
In 1993, Howard Greenhalgh worked together with a-ha for the first time and directed the musicvideo for “Angel”, a melancholic track which was transformed in a great way. Now, only 13 years later a-ha and Howard met each other again and produced the video for “Analogue”, a-ha’s third single. The fans especially like the video very much.

For that reason we are especially pleased that Howard Greenhalgh took the time to answer a few questions for a-ha-net.de about the formation phase and the collaboration with a-ha.

a-ha-net: Howard, you've made/directed a lot of videos. Where do you get all your/those ideas from? Did you listen to the song many times? Or/And have a-ha had their own ideas for the music video?

Howard Greenhalgh: I must have made way over 200 videos now.
The ideas always come from listening to the track many many times. You have to get past just 'listening' and start to experience the whole 'feel' of the track. The title is always important. I always hope that it will set me up.... give me a point of departure. Then of course the lyrics. I try wherever possible to illustrate them. Sometimes in a tangential way, sometimes obvious. Then I look at the band.... who they are, what are they trying to put across. Although I regard music videos as a true art form, they are still commercial products costing serious $$. When all the creative thinking is done, you still have to put your realistic head on!

a-ha-net: What is the most exciting part of a video shoot? The planning, the work with the artists or the post-production?

H.G.: The best part of shooting is.... shooting. The meetings, the writing, the thinking all has it's interesting side but.... When you arrive on set on the day.... and start turning over.... it's a great feeling to think that those words you wrote while sitting in your office are now going to live ....... and then it starts raining!

a-ha-net: You've worked with several artists like Sting, Elton John, Pet Shop Boys etc, and with most of them several times. When looking back which is your favourite video and why?

H.G.: Impossible to answer. My most famous video I suppose would be over 10 years old now. Black Hole Sun by Soundgarden. Since I have worked on many great projects. Placebo are personally my favourite band. They are way up there for sheer energy, and being great guys to work with. The Pet shop Boys allowed me to really experiment with technology, Enigma with texture, religion and sex (in that order!) .... I could go on.

a-ha-net: It also wasn?t the first time that you?ve directed a video for a-ha. You've also filmed the video for the song "Angels". Was there any difference in the work between 13 years ago and today?

H.G.: Yes, I first met the guys ages ago on 'Angels' The video was all about love and car crashes. It was great to see them again. Nothing much had changed, apart from we have all got much better looking, and more modest too. They are 3 very perceptive guys, who I truly believe deliver fabulous song writing. They know who they are, and they know what they want. It's rare.

a-ha-net: What is a successful video shoot for you? A close collaboration with the artist, or a lot of freedom for your own ideas?

H.G.: I like the video we made ... a lot. It was a collaboration in the way that the guys allowed me to write the overall idea, then worked with me to sculpt it. I followed the feel of their press photography for the monochrome look, I followed the lyrics for the 'sun' theme.? I wrote the idea of painting with light, as I thought it gave Morten a specific artistic action to perform instead of just putting the lyrics into the lens.
I thought the song needed an 'up' ending so I wrote in the fireworks. Mags then asked if those could reflect the graphics on the album artwork. That was a good call. I think we kinda' achieved that for him.

a-ha-net: It isn't easy for us to imagine how a video shoot like this one works. What's part of the post-production? Was there a real fireworks explosion or was it computer animated? Many fans worried about the oil/ gas tanks. Can you reassure them that the tanks didn?t actually get blown up?

H.G.: I use SFX a lot. They are expensive, and time always runs out before the $$ but it allows me to create stuff you can't just see out of your kitchen window so to speak. The success of effects always means trying to shoot as much as possible for real, and then 'enhancing them later' SOME.... of the fireworks were real. The birds were CG as were the scroll type pyros.
None of the fireworks were actually shot at the Tanks location, as we shot hem in a car park a mile away.

a-ha-net: The fireworks at the end remind me of the design/artwork of the album "Analogue". Was that your purpose?

H.G.: Indeed it was Mags' idea to try make the pyro reflect the sleeve.

a-ha-net: How long did the video shoot with a-ha take?

Howard Greenhalgh: We shot the Video on a very short winters day. The truth is about 10 hours.... and that is very quick indeed.

a-ha-net: „Analogue“ is a very nice music video and the fans like it! Which ideas are behind the Video? How is it connected to the song? What's your interpretation?

H.G.: (as an addition to 5.) I loved the way the track had a sadness to it. The lonely piano riff, the touching lyrics and the big ballsy ending. If it were a film it would have a pretty good 'flow' and 'climax' etc. I wanted it to feel at first mournful, then grow to be a celebration. The style of the cinematography was purposely 'faulty' Perfection wasn't on the boards, we all liked the mis-framing, and unsteady camera. It made the film feel very real.... like the track.
a-ha-net: The atmosphere at the beginning is very cool and reserved. It seems as if there are three persons who don't notice each other. Do you talk with others about your videos? Are you interested in how they interpret your work?

H.G.: 3 guys in a field looking into a camera trying to look like a band. Ha! We've seen it a million times before. A-ha are a confident well established part of music history. They are allowed to perform in an unconventional way. To them and myself, it was all about framing, reality, and letting the camera come to them instead of any attempt at a 'big' performance.

Thanks, Howard, for this interview and that you took the time to answer the questions so detailed. We wish you all the best!