Journal Entry 004: Violet Skies

February 1st, 2022

6:30 AM

Los Angeles, CA

Collaboration and community are some of the biggest things I’ve come to embrace and cherish in life these past few months. There’s something special about recognizing and connecting with the value that surrounds you; and fostering that value has proven to be the most fulfilling process - both personally and professionally. It’s something I can hardly live without now that I’ve found it.

Caro, JT, and Chancee locking in lighting and framing

A few months back, I got a call from John Lindahl. He’d recently written a song with Colette Lush, and they wanted me to help bring it to life visually if I connected with it.

Colette’s manager sent me a short blurb about the track and its context. It was no more than a few sentences long, but the brief description alone made me emotional enough to hop onboard before even hearing the song. Instant connection.

After a few introductory calls to establish the vision of the project, I knew immediately that this was something I needed to collaborate on with one of my favorite directors in the game.

Caro Knapp and JT Clemente - Director dream team. (I’m Convinced that this picture will go down in the history books for both of our careers)

Now, I tend to be very precious with most parts of my creative process; especially with low/no-budget videos like this one.

Writing, Shooting, Editing, Everything. Do it yourself ‘cause you do it well… That is until you have other immensely talented people on your side.

Caro Knapp is the only director I know that connects with music on a level as profoundly, if not more, than myself. Outside of being one of my closest friends and favorite people, she’s got an absolutely unique and unwavering vision that translates into every aspect of her craft. Taking into consideration the direction Colette wanted for the video, Caro’s aesthetics and taste blended with my own seemed like the perfect combo to finally take on our first project together. She graciously agreed to hop onboard to co-direct and produce the video alongside me for the love.

(We, along with most of our small crew, contributed to this production with no pay in the interest of allocating the tight budget to gear, materials, and location. I’m typically always of the principle that all efforts on my productions should be compensated for; but in full transparency, as it was, Caro and I went out of our own pockets beyond the artist’s budget to help bring this project to life.)

Violet Skies, to me, is the space between reminiscing on what once was and longing for what could’ve been. A melancholic, yet vaguely hopeful, perspective of the present.

Colette had the foundational ideas of a cardboard city, harnessing the imagery of Breakfast at Tiffany’s, along with the general mood and art direction - but gave us free rein to take the narrative and production as we saw fit. Caro and I both made separate beat-sheets and mood boards for our initial impressions of the track and how we wanted the narrative to unfold. Upon comparing the two - they were scarily similar. I knew it was gonna be great from there… Time to hit the ground running.

Caro took on a huge bulk of the production design and pre-production logistics - without which this shoot would’ve been an absolute shitshow. That’s not to mention the late nights and hours we spent in her living room constructing an entire cardboard city (Which, in my humble opinion, turned out INCREDIBLE). The design of this set would’ve been a shell of what it turned out to be if it weren’t for Caro’s resourceful yet boundless knack for just making great things.

In fact, to describe all of the hard work that our entire team put in to make this video would render this Journal Entry too long to consume. Huge shoutout to the Green Team.

JT Clemente - Co-Director, Producer, Director of Photography, Editor

Caro Knapp - Co-Director, Producer, Production Design, Colorist

Chancee Phensuk - Gaffer

Taytum Blake - Production Assistant

Hana Adams - Production Assistant, Behind-the-Scenes Photography

Everyone (The Green Team) - Cardboard Building Construction, Window Pane Designers, and Carriers of all gear/props up to our second-story set. (I’m so damn appreciative of you all and hope to have the privilege of working alongside each-other again.)

(Also shoutout to my friend Tyler Burgeson for supplying us with a LOAD of cardboard boxes on a moment’s notice.)

Production went as smoothly as it possibly could’ve thanks to solid planning and an amazing squad. We’d mapped out every beat of the video so well beforehand that it all just fell into place when it was time to edit. All hands on deck, great energy, hard work. Working with such a talented and optimistic team reminded me why I do this - collaborating with amazing people who share the goal of making meaningful art.

Living in the quiet spaces of this song was a much-needed change of pace. I’ve grown to resent recent trends that reward egregious amounts of speed and noise, and Colette’s approach to the sonics of Violet Skies invited a retreat into the quiet spaces that are ever-absent in the battlegrounds of art and media nowadays. This all felt much more intentional and driven. A step back that provokes reflection and connection. I hope it gives you that same experience.

You’ve read this far… consider giving the video a watch HERE.

Okay damn, you didn’t click the first link or the big button… Here’s a huge direct window to watch the video right here.

As I finish typing this up, boarding starts on my flight from LAX to somewhere on the East Coast… More on that very soon. All I can say is I’m feeling the most excited and accepted I ever have as an artist and as person.

Community. Connection. Feeling. Untethered expression.

I’m so grateful for the reception of these entries over the past year. It’s also so exciting that many of you have enjoyed the accompanying playlists as well! Here’s the newest one: some sounds that tell the story of what manifesting my goals has felt like.

(ALSO - did you see the signup at the top of this page? You can add your email and I’ll hit you with a special note whenever I drop a new piece. No spam, I promise. Thanks for rocking with me.)