a place to bury strangers

THE ART OF THE PIVOT: 48 HOURS AT DEATH BY AUDIO

EMERGING FROM THE SILENCE OF THE COVID LOCKDOWN, WE STEPPED INTO THE LEGENDARY DEATH BY AUDIO STUDIO TO DOCUMENT THE RETURN OF A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS. WE ARRIVED WITH A COMPLEX, FULL-SCALE STORYLINE READY TO EXECUTE, ONLY TO REALIZE ON THE MORNING OF DAY ONE THAT THE ORIGINAL VISION WAS IMPOSSIBLE WITHIN OUR WINDOW. WITH THE BAND FLYING OUT FOR A EUROPEAN TOUR THE DAY AFTER THE SHOOT, THERE WAS NO ROOM FOR ERROR | AND NO TIME TO OVERTHINK.

WE PIVOTED.

WE ABANDONED THE SCRIPT AND LEANED INTO THE RAW, ABRASIVE NECESSITY OF THE MOMENT.

FILMED ENTIRELY OFF-THE-CUFF OVER A RELENTLESS TWO-DAY SESSION, THE FILM FOR “LET’S SEE EACH OTHER” BECAME A VISUAL MANIFESTATION OF THAT FRANTIC ENERGY—A HIGH-CONTRAST, STROBE-LIT HOMECOMING TO THE BIRTHPLACE OF THE BAND’S SIGNATURE SOUND.

THIS WORK IS THE LATEST ENTRY IN A LONG-STANDING CREATIVE DIALOGUE. HAVING PREVIOUSLY COLLABORATED ON OFFICIAL REMIXES AND LIVE CONCERT FILMS, THIS PROJECT WAS ABOUT CONDENSING THAT SHARED HISTORY INTO A SINGLE, HIGH-INTENSITY VISUAL ASSET.

BY EMBRACING THE PHYSICAL LIMITATIONS OF THE SPACE AND THE LOOMING DEADLINE OF AN INTERNATIONAL TOUR, WE PRODUCED A DEFINITIVE ARTIFACT.

THIS ISN’T A PROMOTIONAL CLIP; IT IS A RAW, UN-SANITIZED CAPTURE OF THE WORLD’S LOUDEST BAND RECLAIMING THEIR GROUND.