James Lees first started off in theatre but chose to start making films. His first short film went on to win several awards at the European Film Academy Awards. He has made several short films and made one of the top ten documentaries made for Channel 4. As Well as Short films and documentaries, Lees has directed music videos and tv adverts for Converse and the BBC. In directing music videos, Lees has worked with many different artists, working especially close with British singer/songwriter Passenger.
Music Videos
When We Were Young - Passenger
Lees has directed several videos by Passenger. 'When We Were young' was first released in 2016 and has almost six million views on YouTube. The video has a very simple precise, a group of older people sat in the pub together, talking, looking through photos and watching videos. The video has a very nostalgic feel to it flowing the song's theme of looking back at the past and realising how quick the time goes. The colours of the video are quiet dark as the video seems to use natural lighting through a window in the pub. The lights colours and the dark colours contrast each other well to show the difference between being sad about the past and looking forward to the future.
Scare Away The Dark - Passenger
Another video by Passenger which Lees directed was 'Scare Away The Dark'. The song talks about how we as society have become obsessed with computers, phones social media and technology and have ultimately turned into bitter and judgmental people. The video starts with Passenger being wheeled into a very dull looking office. Lees creates the idea that the people in the office are all bored of their monotonous lives and that they're all stuck. As the video progresses, nature starts to take over the office. Water runs out of a picture of a boat, leaves fall out of a cupboard, vines grow out of the printer and rabbits surround Passenger as he sings. As the people in the office realise what they've been doing wrong, the scene changes to being outdoors. For the exterior, Lees creates a brightly coloured woodland area, a happier looking place to the one the people had previously been in. The bright colours of the outside directly contrast the dull colours of the office. Lees successfully shows the meaning of the song through the video, showing how important it is to walk away from the technology and the media sometimes.
Fight Song - Rachel Platten
Released in 2015, 'Fight Song' shows Platten as she struggles to progress with her music career. The music video shows her struggling to write new music and get people to listen to her. As the video progresses, Lees shows Platten decide to just do things for herself, the video shows her going to the coast, meeting new people and standing around a campfire. Lees creates a warm feel to the music video, using natural lighting, creating a warm glow over the artist and the others in the video.
Counting Stars - One Republic
In 2013, Lees directed the video for One Republic's 'Counting Stars'. The video showed the band performing whilst above them there was some kind of prayer meeting/preecher. the video is full of quick cuts from the group, the preecher and a crocodile that seems to be moving closer. As the song progresses, the beat picks up and it becomes more dramatic. This is shown in the video as the lights with the band seem to flicker more and there are close ups of everyone shouting and singing loudly. Lees brings the video to a close as one man falls through the floor to land before the group, suddenly all the music and the shouting stops.
27 - Passenger
Very different from the other videos Lees has directed for Passenger, 27 is brightly coloured and is filed with tracking shots, following the artist as he's walking along and people keep trying to talk to him. Lees relates the characters in the videos to the song lyrics. When the lyrics say 'a week brushing my teeth and a week getting my hair cut' the video shows a dentist and a hairdresser trying to speak to the artist. Another example is when the strings are played during the bridge the camera pans to show a string quartet playing. This video is very different to the other videos that Lees has directed for Passenger. When We Were Young took a very naturalistic approach whilst Scare Away The Dark didn't use the artist as a focus point, instead having him appear every now and then as the focus was on the workers in the office. The video for 27 focuses on the artist talking about the last twenty seven years of his life, showing him meet the devil, the people who want him to just write songs that will get into the charts, confront all the cigarettes he's smoked
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