DAMAGEPLAN Video Director Talks About The Making Of The 'Breathing New Life' Clip

Video director David Lockard (a.k.a. Red Ezra),who helmed DAMAGEPLAN's promotional clip for the track "Breathing New Life", recently answered a few questions for the French Rock Hard magazine about the making of the group's debut video.

The following is the Q&A session from the Rock Hard interview as posted the DAMAGEPLAN's official fan site, www.damageplan.net:

Rock Hard: How did you meet the [Abbott] brothers?

Red Ezra: "I met the brothers back in 1997 at a birthday party for a mutual friend. They had just returned from their European promo tour for PANTERA's 'Great Southern Trendkill' album. Dime was interested to make a video for the album because everyone in Europe was asking about it. At the time, PANTERA wasn't going to release any video for the album because 'Headbanger's Ball' was gone and nothing but hip hop was getting on TV. But, because everyone in the rest of the world was begging for it Dime felt obligated to deliver. The 'Drag The Waters' music video was born. Shot entirely on Hi8mm and edited on two VHS decks, the hard way. There was no budget but we got it done.

"From that success, I was offered the chance to deliver the big daddy project, the platinum-selling PANTERA's 'Home Video Pt. 3 - Watch It Go!' — this project was overwhelming to say the least. Over four years of footage of PANTERA on the road doing insane shit. It took me a year just to browse the footage and organize it for the final edit. The 'Drag The Waters' video can be seen on that release as well as the greatest hits.

"The next thing I did was the TV commercial for the release of 'Reinventing The Steel'. Dime, Vinnie and I have developed a trust over these projects and I respect them greatly. Huge talents in music admired by many in and out of the industry. Great guys too, real people that you know exactly where they are coming from...there's no mystery agenda to them....it's all about good times and good friends.

Rock Hard: Why did you accept to do it?

Red Ezra: "Dime hit me with the idea of shooting a video for his new band DAMAGEPLAN. 'Of course I'm in!' — the fact that Dime and Vinnie have stuck with me and trusted me to help image them means everything to me. I would do anything for our friendship and help them get their new project rolling strong.

Rock Hard: Could you tell us about the making of this video?

Red Ezra: "The first thing was get to Texas. Driving from Los Angeles, I brought all my own production equipment — lights, camera, and editing gear to save the band money. I arrived two days later and stayed at Dime's. I met Pat Lachman and Bob Zilla for the first time. Instantly got a great vibe off these two guys. We all had some doubles and worked out a schedule. Everything was going pretty fast...the plan on my end was always simple...it's the only way to go really. I think that since they are a new band that I shouldn't come in with a lot of ideas for story or flashy imagery for a music video. I, and we (the band),decided to keep the focus on the band. Concentrate on the performance. Not much directing required from me really — I was basically a spectator taking it in with a camera. I could tell that they had 'it'. The magic thing that successful bands have...'it' — the thing that makes you want to hear more of their music and buy their records, see their shows. It was exciting and fun to be involved with this project. We shot two videos actually... 'Breathing New Life' and 'Explode'. The video for 'Explode' is 90% edited now and should be going out very soon. There are plans for other videos and hopefully I will be a part of those productions."

Rock Hard: Was it easy to work with these guys?

Red Ezra: "Yes, it was like coming home to family. Dime, Vinnie and I have a long relationship now. Dime especially...we are very close friends. I am very impressed with the band DAMAGEPLAN and the new additions to the family, Bob and Pat. Very cool people, very passionate about the music. I hope that everyone will see what I see and fall in love with DAMAGEPLAN — this new band is powerful. I have heard the record probably a fifty times now and there is something for everyone — it's very diverse and well crafted. I shot, lit, directed, and edited this video myself. It was me with the camera and the band basically. I did have a lot of help from the band's roadies Sterling 'C-Ring' Winfield, The Kat, Sonny 'George', and Aaron 'Wirez' Barnes. Without them I wouldn't have been able to pull it off in the short time we had. They are the unsung heroes of the video that no one really sees or hears about. My thanks to them for being there for whatever needed to happen when it needed to happen.

Rock Hard: Good and bad memories about this making of?

Red Ezra: "All good memories...the travel was the only unpleasant part of the production — two days there and two days back — desert and cow pastures. We had some good times and shot some amazing video. I am very happy that the video is doing well and getting a push from MTV — I look forward to seeing the band on 'Headbanger's Ball' on the 24th. I hope to see the video on other metal shows too like 'Uranium' — request it from your fave music video show and support the band."

Red Ezra's official web site can be accessed at www.redezra.com.