NORAH JONES "HAPPY PILLS" director's edition
CAPITAL/EMI/ BLUE NOTE
RUNNING TIME: 2:57
MUSIC VIDEO, 2012
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Set in the early 1960's, Happy Pills tells the story of a New York housewife who murders her husband by drugging him with chloroform and pushing his car into a lake. In order to move on, she covers her tracks with the sheriff and even starts up with a new man, but dead or alive, her Husband is still haunting her.
This was my first music video with the enigmatic New York cinematographer, Bradford Young. We had bonded earlier in Sri Lanka as he shot a Bollywood sequence I was directing. Bradford stayed there three months shooting the entire feature and the day he landed back in freezing NY I made him head out to scout the entire tri-state area in search of the right location. Since the budget was quite small, we needed a place that could give us every look, and that had a lake nearby. We finally landed in Bedford, NY at a house that was overtaken by the British during the revolution. It had lots of great details and Norah liked it so much she stayed there during the filming. We shot in March and fortunately the mild East Coast winter hadn't turned the ground to mud, giving the brown leaves a very fall-like look. The one major concern was if Norah could ride a horse. On the shoot day we learned she’s a Texas girl who had even won some rodeo awards as a kid. So that was that.
Back in LA Isaac Hagey served as my devoted editor, while his Bonnie Brae associates concocted a plan to sink the car (without any plate shots - just a clip of the car parked by the lake). With enough sleepless nights they figured it all out, and boom, we were locked. Dave Hussey was the colorist on Norah, working on it with so much joy and excitement it felt like it was the first thing he ever graded. What an amazing man.
Norah Jones "Happy Pills"
Director Isaiah Seret
Executive Producer Candice Ouaknine
Line Producer Brian Turnrer
Cinematographer Bradford Young
Editor Isaac Haggy
Production Company PRETTYBIRD
Music Video Rep Doomsday
Colorist Dave Hussey
VFX by Pete Sauvey & Marc Steinberg (Bonnie Brae)
1st A.D. Mike Maguire
Prod. Supervisor Elise Majorossy
Camera Operator Christine Ng
Gaffer Jim Jones
BB Electric Warren Renneisen
Key Grip Rob Smith
BB Grip Chris Wiesehahn
MISTRESS Kristina Klebe
NEW MAN Colin Donnell
DEAD MAN Kris Scott
SHERIFF Robby Johnson
LAWYER Bill Corry
NORAH'S FRIEND Sarah Oda