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Download “The Comeback” video clip. Files: Mov (quicktime) or Divx (Windows Media)

By Federico “Kiko” Meler, Director

It all began as these things actually happen. I had just handed in the second Gauntlet’s videoclip “Here Comes The Thunder”, when they tell me about recording an EP within the next months. Therefore, considering the pleasant taste in the mouth that remained the videoclip recorded at Ritmo y Compás venue, I decided to suggest the introduction of a new one for the new EP “The Comeback”, with a more careful planning. This seemed like a good idea to everyone in “the G”.

The band got down to work at “New Life” studios in Madrid, so I had to wait until they decided which song was going to be chosen, and what is more important, the estimate I was going to count on.

Once the recording was finished, they gave me the master and after some meetings, being at the studio, and in conversations with each one of the guys in the band to steeping myself with the essence of the songs, I began to work in an estimation and the outlines of the videoclip of “The Comeback”, that had been chosen for everybody, as well as the engineers and producers of “New Life”, José Garrido and Daniel Melián.

The first estimation that I brought up didn’t like the band. The recording had taken so long and they had no much money to spend, so the project ground to a halt for two weeks. For everyone’s worry, the videoclip fell apart and the new stuff was bounded to be released without any audiovisual support, a fact that was disappointing, specially for me because this was my first chance of making a videoclip with some estimation and planning.

When everything seemed to be give up for lost, Miguel phoned me one day (good grief!!!) telling me that the estimation could be cut a little bit; nobody wanted to give it up and, no matter how many difficulties we had, we were gonna make it CAME HELL OR HIGH WATER!!!

I made a new estimation, though I didn’t like it a bit. The costs had gone lower, but that was going to affect the image quality, the only thing I really cared. The only camera we could afford was an old one, not even useful to make porno...well, at least things were rolling, but with that fuckin’ camera that made me sick!!! There was no turning back at that point, I have to keep on planning the whole thing.

Another problem we had to deal with was the places we were going to film in. We tried to simplify to the maximum, so we finally choose three locations: an interior (a stage or a rehearsal studio), an exterior (to be agreed) and a bar (the Ambigú 33, in Majadahonda). There was no problem with recording inside the bar, because I´m friends with the owner and the manager, but the interior was the most complicated thing...at last, Ando´s family lend us their garage to build the stage. Once again, thanks a lot to the Martinez family for their patience and...the barbecue!!! The exterior was the same bunker we used to the photo shootlng sessions of “Path Of Nails”, and also it was next to the other locations, so we could film faster because we had only two days to have the videoclip done.

As the location problem had been solved, the hardest work was the planning of shots and situations. In a word, the STORYBOARD.

I stayed at home listening to the track about 250 or 300 times until I could make the planes for each part of the song; try to capture that characteristic rage of each one of the members and bring out their artistic skills. It wasn’t a hard job to reflect their expressions on paper, actually. I’ve been with them for four years and I made the former videoclip, a pair of photo sessions and I’ve attended many of their gigs...I think I know them quite well. Once the storyboard was done, the band added some ideas that put the finishing touch. We just got the idea on paper!!!

Click on each page to enlarge.

At the same time I kept on solving some things, like the renting of the equipment, the attrezzo, and teaming up the technical staff. The first thing I did was looking for somebody who could help me with the garage’s attrezzo...we had to turn it into a kind of stage, so I phoned a friend of mine who had been working in performance and all that stuff, Andrés Arjona. He came to Ando’s house, took a look to the garage and told us that he could ask for some black clothes to literally cover the whole place.

One of these days, I bumped into a friend of mine in a night of boozing, Fernando Matey (TV cameraman) who I told about the deal I was into and my displeasure with the camera we were using. He told me not to worry because he could lend us his BETACAM SP...for the non-experts, it’s like talking about a Mercedes, I mean, the image quality wouldn’t be nothing but awesome. Thanks Fernando Matey y Fernando Mate!!! (aka “los Dos Fernandos”).

Everything was almost ready, but we still had to get the lighting and someone to help me in the filming, as well as sorting out the situation among all the leather, hair and studs. I needed someone handling all the planning, taking times and being there for anything. Her name was Laura Pons, director’s assistant of the videoclip. Thanks Laura for dedicate us all the time you had and all that you didn’t have!!!

The lighting was a problem rounding my head. The spotlight renting was expensive, and we were running out of money, but with the help of Jacobo Anastasi, former high school mate, we got his smoke machine, four spotlights and countless meters of cable to plug it all for a very low price. Thanks Jacobo, without you we would have been in the dark and smokeless!!!

There were only two last details left: the strobo light for the sequence baptized for me as “Panterical Sequence” (for it reminded me great Pantera songs) that my former boss at disco “Telepincha” Javier Chicote and his partner Pepe (thank you both!!!) lend us, and the black clothes matter. Andrés had got all he could find, as well as some chains, but still ain’t enough, so we decided to buy more with the last estimation we counted on.

The last week before the filming I worked on get together all the rent, bought or lent equipment and take it to Ando’s house, who came along with me to buy the famous 90 square meters of black textile to the Plaza Mayor (sure the shop assistants still remember...hahaha!!!)

On Thursday (two days before the beginning of the filming, because it started on Saturday) we_Andrés, Ando and I_ put the finishing touch to the garage. We checked the camera lighting and we left it all prepared for Gauntlet could place all their stuff like drum set, amps and guitars the day after (Friday). Once we had finished, the band felt very pleased with the attrezzo and lightning, so we just had to wait for “D” day “H” hour...THE FILMING!!!

The two days we spent filming were an absolute mayhem. It was very hard, but we really dug it and we all found out that Ivo actually has the makings of an actor...what a great miss for Bulgarian cinema!

I don’t want to spend too long about the making of, because you have it right here. I just like to thank everyone for their collaboration; on one hand Gauntlet, for trust in me for this project and on the other hand, all the people who has been involved in it and had made possible this work is professional. Thanks to Arjona, Laura, Jacobo, “los Dos Fernandos”, Alex, Jose and Fran Marcos, for the “Explosive Trilogo”.

THANK YOU ALL