Visions in Motion: The Lo-Fi Cinematics of Dylan Friese-Greene
In a candid reflection on his creative journey, Dylan Friese-Greene delves into how living and working in London has profoundly shaped his artistic voice as a filmmaker. From directing music videos to exploring the boundaries of visual storytelling, Dylan brings an inventive approach, blending raw, lo-fi aesthetics with a sharp editorial eye. Influenced by everything from the city's energy to classic Hollywood techniques, his work is a fusion of spontaneity and intricate craftsmanship. His latest music video for Lucy Rose’s “The Racket” highlights his signature style—embracing a hands-on, resourceful approach to overcoming tight budgets while creating visually memorable content. With his distinct perspective, Dylan Friese-Greene continues to elevate the world of music videos and experimental film, ensuring his place as a director and editor with a truly unique creative vision.
Written by Amy Woodroffe
21.10.2024
Izland Interview: Dylan Friese Greene
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Could you share how you started in film editing and directing? What drew you to this field?
Film and filmmaking have always been the thing for me. I’ve always been drawn to its multi-faceted nature. Film is an incredibly universal format—we’re consuming moving images all the time, more and more every day, so you’ll always have an audience for your work. The enticing challenge is whether you can make something new, interesting, and memorable. That’s what keeps me excited.
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How has living and working in London influenced your creative output?
Massively. Perhaps I’m narrow-minded, but I can’t imagine myself anywhere else. London has always kept the wheels moving for me. Even though so many creatives can (and do) collaborate remotely now, I think it helps to feel geographically closer to the people who interest and inspire you. I love just riding around on trains and buses when I can, just to people-watch and get that mental sensory overload that only a big city can give you.
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Walk us through your process when starting a new project, especially for a music video. How do you go from concept to execution?
For a music video, I always try to listen to the track a few times without reading the brief—eyes closed—just to see what imagery might come out organically. Then I get the rundown and start thinking about an approach. I try to do a bit of research on the artist to get a sense of them and the world they might be trying to build with their music. I’ll do a deep dive into my back-catalogue of ideas—notes on my phone, saves on socials, photography books—madly connecting threads and seeing if any references jump out. I start making a treatment pretty quickly, as they often lend themselves as good visual maps for the project and help me spell out an idea before it’s fully formed in my head. I might start a treatment and, through the process, end up with a totally different idea from what I started with. I try to get into the habit of earmarking who I might want to shoot and design it with at this stage, as that can really inform the visual angle you’re going for. It also strengthens your pitch to show that you’ve thought about those kinds of things. If the artist and commissioner are into the idea, we try to get some chats going to make sure everyone’s on the same page. Once we get the green light, it’s usually all gas, no brakes from there—tests, recces, more reference decks. Depending on the project, I’ll try to put together a rough storyboard if I can. Then we shoot it. If we’ve done our pre-production right, we shoot it well. Up until now, I’ve edited pretty much everything I’ve directed, just because I enjoy having that level of control over the cut. So I’m always directing with an editor’s mindset—"How will this cut together with that?" It’s always been helpful. Collaboration is a huge part of creating compelling narratives and visuals.
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​​​Can you describe how you collaborate with artists like Kojaque and Lucy Rose?
It’s such a buzz when you get to make visuals for tracks that really resonate with you. I’ve been really lucky in the last couple of years to work with artists like Kevin (Kojaque) and Lucy, and they’re interesting case studies because they both operate quite differently. Kevin wanted to be super involved creatively, and he came to the table with a bank of ideas and the visual world he wanted to create for his new album. Lucy was a bit more open to what I might throw at her; she just knew what she did and didn’t want. ​
Are there specific challenges you face in editing and directing that are unique to music videos compared to narrative or commercial pieces? What tools and software do you find indispensable for your work?
Music videos are actually one of the most freeing and playful forms of filmmaking. You’re not bound by the same rules of continuity or rationale that you might be with narrative or commercial work. From a budgetary standpoint, there’s a lot less going into music videos these days, so it’s a constant challenge in resourcefulness and ingenuity. Hundreds of videos are being commissioned every year within the £5-10k mark, and you can’t afford the crazy fire stunt or the fifty choreographed extras you had in mind. So, how do you make your video stand out? That’s the challenge. ​​
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Discuss your installation work with Sian Davey. How does this collaboration differ from your other projects?
Sian was working on a portrait photography series set in her garden, which she had filled with wildflowers. She asked me if I wanted to come and shoot a moving-image component to sit alongside the images in an exhibition context. I was so up for it. I find something about moving portraits really interesting and revealing. Her garden is also in Devon, where I grew up, so there was a sense of home and sentiment that fed me as well. I’d come to hers a few evenings a week, and we’d shoot after the sun had just dipped. I got to shoot a mixture of both Super 8 and standard 16mm film. Dream project, really. I’d love to do more like it. ​
Of all the projects you’ve worked on recently, which one pushed you creatively? Can you share how and why?
Making the video for “The Racket” with Lucy Rose was an interesting one. We wanted to make something quite mad, just running with images we had in our head without overanalysing them. The budget was tight, so I produced and shot it myself as well. I had just bought a 16mm camera and really wanted to give it a spin, plus I imagined this one really vividly on standard 16. I wanted it to feel quite lo-fi, as if we’d just pulled a load of props together in a small studio, which is basically what we did. We recreated a classic Hollywood technique by putting Lucy on a treadmill in front of a projected backdrop to give the impression she was walking down a city street. It looked intentionally makeshift, which is the kind of thing I like. I hadn’t tested how the LED screen might read on film, so I took a massive gamble there. But I’m super happy with how it came out.
What trends in music video production are you excited about or think are important for up-and-coming directors to watch?
With the advent of TikTok and really quick-fire social media content, there’s a big lean towards rapid edits and match cuts, which is something I’ve played around with. But I try to remain skeptical of trends in this line of work because you can easily fall into the trap of making something that’s already been done in ten different ways. A creative friend of mine, whom I admire, said to me recently, “We’ve developed a bad habit of always looking sideways for ideas. Maybe the trick is to look somewhere else entirely.” And I think he’s right.
​ How do you see the role of film editing evolving in the music industry?
The massive leaps in AI are going to rock the boat. I read recently that AI will soon be embedded in all the household editing software, so it’ll be easy to prompt your software to cook up a shot rather than shoot it yourself. I can only see that as a massive shame, and we’ll lose out on all the great, serendipitous things that real-life filmmaking brings. But if it’s going to save the big studios time and money, I’m sure a lot of people will embrace it. I’m quietly hoping that the imminent surge in clean, flawless images generated by computers will lead to some kind of DIY rebellion from filmmakers, and we’ll start seeing lots of things that are raw and rough around the edges. I’ve always had a love for that aesthetic anyway.
What advice would you give to someone looking to enter film editing and direction?
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Shoot and edit your own stuff, even if you have no intention of sharing any of it. Muck around, try things. Not everything you make has to be seen by others.
What’s next for you? Are there any upcoming projects or collaborations you can tell us about?
I directed a live session for someone at Abbey Road Studios last week. I’m sure that’ll be on its way out soon. I’m also editing some videos I shot in Oklahoma earlier this month, which will be released over the coming year.