"Only Words" from Director John Welsh

It is an utterly moving song. And honestly I had the basic idea for the treatment towards the end of the song the first time listening, that's how inspiring that song is. There is an overall essence of the song that I tried to match precisely with the visuals so they moved in unison. Although I had the basic idea, it took very long to flush out the details, such as how to make the video flow like the song. Everything from moving a scene a few seconds forward, or the way the character moves the paintbrush right with the surge of the song, or the tire swing swaying with the inflections in Chad's voice. And these tiny details did come with listening to the lyrics very closely and the core of Only Words. My main concern was to create a video that moved together with the song so that when viewed they seemed as one.

Do you normally use music to inspire you? If so, what do you listen to? Was Paper Route a departure for you?
Music moves the world subconsciously. That being said, I absolutely use music as inspiration. I think a lot of artists do. I have played guitar for 12 years, and I'm in a band, so music is a huge part of my life. I listen to all types of music really. I was brought up on Motown music thanks to my Father. So I feel like that really set a good foundation for appreciating all types of music. Lately I've been really into Broken Social Scene, The Shins, Bloc Party, Elliot Smith, and David Bowie. But at anytime you can catch me listening to The Temptations, Otis Reading, Son House, Sly and the Family Stone, Nirvana, or Gang Starr. So Paper Route wasn't a departure for me at all. In fact they have been on constant circulation in my car.

I understand that Paper Route had a hand in choosing your treatment for their song. Did you have any direct contact with them during the process? Did you find the amount of input you had/did not have from the band freeing or hindering?
After I was informed that I was the regional finalist, the kind people that are running the contest in Los Angles gave me the band's contact info. I shot Chad Howat an email, and eventually we had a lengthy conversation on the phone. Chad is an extremely nice guy. I actually asked him what his influences were and what inspired him to write Only Words. Chad was very helpful and only had encouraging words to say. I was trying to find some sort of plane both of us could move on with his music and my video. So talking to Chad only helped the process.

What films/directors made you want to direct? Which make you wish the Lumiere brothers were bakers rather than inventors?
Wow, there are so many films that have affected me in one way or another. I guess some films that sprouted the internal process of me moving towards filmmaking were in no particular order: Snatch, A Clockwork Orange, Apocalypse Now, The Big Lebowski, Pulp Fiction, The Good the Bad and the Ugly, Rushmore, O Brother Where Art Thou?, Goodfellas, Vertigo, Touch of Evil, The Graduate, The Shawshank Redemption, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Chinatown, Taxi Driver, Heat, The Godfather I & II and Psycho. Then the films that sealed the fact that I knew I wanted to direct: Man on Fire, Russian Ark, The Royal Tenenbaums, Boogie Nights, Gangs of New York, Traffic, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Decay of Fiction, The Lord of the Rings I-III, City of God, Napoleon Dynamite. Well I guess I was already making films when Napoleon Dynamite came out, but I love that movie.

Damn, I can't believe I named so many movies. I usually never give movies when people ask my influences. I usually just say directors. So here are the few people that have actually altered my path in life: Wes Anderson, Spike Jones, The Coen Brothers, Martin Scorsese, Tony Scott, Guy Ritchie, Mark Romanek, Francis Ford Coppola, Clint Eastwood, Alfred Hitchcock, and Michel Gondry. These are just some of the people that have influenced my decision to work in film. My Father was a big part. He used to take me to movies every weekend, and my Mother has also been unbelievably supportive. My professors at UArts also refined my craft.

Are there any locations in Philadelphia that you think you'd enjoy using as a set?
That's actually a good question. I feel Philadelphia is the biggest untapped resource on the East Coast. We have everything a big city had to offer only you can shoot here for free or next to nothing. You don't even need permits to shoot on Philly streets, how cool is that? I think David Lynch said it best with, "Philadelphia, more than any filmmaker, influenced me. It's the sickest, most corrupt, decaying, fear-ridden city imaginable. I was very poor and living in bad areas. I felt like I was constantly in danger. But it was so fantastic at the same time...I had my first thrilling thought in Philadelphia." That's absolutely the way I feel about this gorgeous city. As far as a location I would like to use...well there is this shell of a building by Delaware Avenue that overlooks I-95 that I always thought would be extremely cool to shoot in considering there is no walls and the sun would come in from the east and I-95 is basically parallel and a stone's throw away. I don't know who owns it or how I would get in there though.

What's your dream project? Go ahead and imagine you have an unlimited budget, complete artistic freedom and (if necessary) the ability to bring back the dead so they can appear in your production.
Damn, that's a serious question. Well, I have many dreams, and I guess one was actually fulfilled with this project, being able to direct a funded music video with full creative control. But I feel I have so much to learn before embarking on my absolute dream feature project, so my dream would be to sit in with a director working currently from pre-production through post. Let's say Clint Eastwood. If I could have just hung out on set with him and watched as he shot Million Dollar Baby, now that would be a dream.

Has being a finalist brought your work any attention?
Well I guess more then I was getting before, so yeah. But obviously not enough, hahaha. I mean, hopefully the right person sees this piece and something possibly happens because I really feel I had a great cast and crew. I would love the opportunity to build an all Philly crew of just all around talented people, and make films with them the rest of my years. Speaking of attention, I guess this is where I make the cliché plug, so if you want to learn more about this music video you can go to Scionxpressfest.com, if you want to view other works by myself or other great directors go to Parlayfilms.com. But I think the most attention has come from the Mohawk I shaved for good luck after we finish shooting. People ask why the hell I have a Mohawk, and I tell them about the contest. Whatever works right?

Who do you favor at the Academy Awards this year?
Umm...well I think Joaquin Phoenix might take leading actor, but then there will have been two Oscars going to actors portraying the rise, fall, and re-rise of music legends in two years. I myself am partial to Philip Seymour Hoffman. Without a doubt George Clooney deserves Supporting actor for Syriana. He was amazing in that. Rachel Weisz should win for The Constant Gardener. Robert Elswit should win for Cinematography with Good Night, and Good Luck; that movie is visually stunning. Paul Haggis deserves best director for Crash, but I haven't seen Munich and you can never underestimate Spielberg. I also think Haggis deserves best screenplay too. I'm ashamed to say, however, that I haven't seen all the films up for best picture so I don't want to voice an opinion on that. But how is King Kong not on that list?

Phillyist can't say about King Kong (although we suspect it's some sort of Hollywood anti-ape conspiracy; we don't remember Planet of the Apes being nominated either); however we can say "Best of Luck!" to John - and encourage all you indie music fans and aspiring film makers to come out to the Scion xPress Fest screening and show your support for local talent.