American Cinematographer — September 2013
Short Takes: Exitmusic “White Noise”

Named one of the darkest and most arresting ambient rock albums of 2012 by NPR’s “All Songs Considered,” Exitmusic’s Passages, on the Secretly Canadian label, is from husband and wife team Aleska Palladino and Devon Church. The Brooklyn, NY-based duo came out with a new video in May for standout track “White Noise,” directed by Monica Perez and shot by Cinematographer James Laxton.

For her music video debut, Perez executed the development and production of “White Noise” around her day job as a commercial and creative director at Prologue Films. She envisioned a strong performance-driven piece featuring the arresting Palladino – who also plays Angela Darmody on HBO’s Boardwalk Empire – that explores the song’s themes of inner struggle and self-realization with visual metaphors including mirrored reflections, physical doubles and heavy black-and-white contrasts.

“From the start, I was very interested in creating something that matched their sound,” says Perez, who is also an avid fan of the band. “Their music is very immersive and ethereal, kind of dark, but with an unusual, sophisticated quality as well.”

In the video, meticulously storyboarded by the duo in collaboration with Perez over a period of several months, Palladino battles her inner demons in a moody underwater sequence intercut with highly stylized footage filmed on a black theatrical set. Artfully captured with lens flares, light leaks and other in-camera effects, Palladino struggles with her twinned selves, highlighted by the intentionally stark set. (Read full story…)