Playlist: Kaitlyn Battistelli

What’s the best promo you’ve seen recently and why?

Recently I’ve only really been watching the videos I work on and those are all really good, so if I was forced to pick it would definitely have to be Joywave - Obsession by Laura Gorun, Cooper Roussel, and Dimitri Basil. 

The video is a series of homages to classic movie titles and it just has that perfect combo of clever humour and style that a lot of videos try to achieve but just comes naturally to the trio. It was shot entirely on 35mm by the super talented Mars Miller who I just collaborated with again on a new video for The Neighborhood - Pretty Boy which is also a new fav!

What’s the first promo you remember being impressed by?

Billy Idol - White Wedding. Funny colours, wild hair, every editing trick the 80s had to offer and... motorcycles crashing through church windows. Iconic. 

The VH1 Pop-Up Video fact I remember was that when he slid the ring on the actress' finger it actually cut her!

And what’s your all-time favourite music video?

Yikes! I can honestly say I don’t have a number one, my favourites change with my mood!

Anything Jonathan Glazer, Michel Gondry, or CANADA is guaranteed genius but also the video for Rob Zombie - Dragula never fails to impress.

What other directors/artists do you look to for inspiration?

Lala Albert is an amazing illustrator and comic book artist that I find myself constantly coming back to for inspiration.

What are you listening to at the moment?

My friend made a really banging italo disco playlist that I’ve been jamming to in the suite.

What’s your favourite bit of tech, whether for professional or personal use?

A little emulator called the Retroid Pocket 2. It's basically a game boy that can play almost all of the old consoles. I've been working my way back through some N64 classics.

What artist(s) would you most like to work with and why?

Grading a video for Grimes would be a lot of fun. She’s playing the role of a cyborg pop star in the upcoming Cyberpunk 2077 game, so I’m excited to see what kind of promos come out of that world for the songs she’s made for it. Also, I’ve noticed she’s coloured some of her own videos so we’d probably have a lot of fun in the suite grading and talking about William Gibson novels.

How do you feel the promo industry has changed since you started in it?

Seems like budgets and timelines are just continuing to shrink, so people are getting super creative with what they can accomplish with limited resources. I think people are also more aware of how much a grade can improve upon already amazing work.