Sleepyhands wanted to make a video out near where they live, in Sydney’s northwest suburbs. They wrote to us to suggest a dam in Northmead, which they said looked a lot cooler than it sounded.

And they were right – frequented by hikers, surrounded by an iconically Australian forest, covered with graffiti, the dam was the perfect setting for Sleepyhands’ dreamy melodies and bittersweet, surprising harmonies.

The band members are avid skateboards – one member’s broken arm was caused by skateboarding, and now she uses the cast as a percussion instrument – adding to the quirky collection of things the band hit to make their beautiful sounds.

Coney Island took some convincing. Kate and Damon weren’t exactly thrilled about the idea of performing on the Wonder Wheel, or the idea of an acoustic session mid air and 100ft above the ground. I totally understood, to me the Cyclone is akin to skydiving but can you do a Shoot The Player video at Coney without getting on the rides???

We arrived to a completely desolate, scary Coney; everything was boarded up for the winter and nothing was open except for a lonely mattress factory across the street. We trekked through the icey wind towards the water looking for a light to film under and people to form our impromptu audience. No one. Freezing, we quickly set up on the boardwalk, Damon turned a trash can into a drum and warmed Kate’s hands until the final moment of shooting. It took a few takes to get the song – all of us hopping about and rubbing our hands together to stave off the painfully cold air on our skin.

- Amelia
Produced: Amelia Tovey
Photographed: David Sosnow

A couple of weeks ago Nightmare and The Cat ventured out into the rain with us on Ludlow St, New York. We did one take of this song walking up the middle of the road, dodging taxis and squeezing between cars pretending that the rain was going to leave us alone any minute… It didn’t, and when a pair of drunk jersey boys started hassling the band we took shelter under some scaffolding and went for take two.

Photographed by David Sosnow.

- Amelia

Remember when it snowed so much all we could do was talk about the snow, think about the snow, take pictures in the snow and conceive of ways to collaborate with the snow? We called up Scott Matthew and asked if he’d be game to wander round the un-plowed streets with us and he did more than that, he climbed up into a drift.

Scott Matthew is one of the loveliest men you’ll ever meet. I first came into contact with his music via the Vienna based Playgrrround and was struck that this gentle sincere bear of a man  was actually Australian – I didn’t think we bread them like that. Scott has a new album out – check out www.scottmatthewmusic.com for more.

These videos were photographed by David Sosnow.

I’ve been wanting to film Fences since 2007. Back in the day when myspace was a way to find new music, I came across demos of ‘My Girl The Horse’ and ‘Same Tattoos’. Both songs stayed with me as gentle, personal conversations that spoke directly to an imagined female character. I think Chris and I exchanged a few messages of mutual appreciation back in 2007 or 2008 but it wasn’t until 2011 that we met properly in Brooklyn, New York.

So, at first, everything that could go wrong, went wrong. Gale forced winds by the water, snow on a sunny day, spilled coffee, a new camera, last minute jobs, a birthday, a sick day – a plan, and then a rescheduled plan. Chris and the band were unfazed by all of this and we agreed to just meet up before his show and do a little filming in the basement at the Mercury Lounge.. As we hunkered down with Sara and the band, the morning’s chaos seemed a world away. Chris was so generous and easy to work with, we nailed the two songs quickly and within an hour we were back out on Housten St, leaning into the wind.

Thanks Lauryn for the camera, David for the mics, Kashi for the vibe-control and Sasha for carrying everything.

- Amelia
www.sadcastle.com for more.

But it’s not so easy to make Shoot the Player films with musicians who play them:  the instrument isn’t exactly portable, and they aren’t generally found in the sort of places we like to shoot in, public places where musicians don’t usually perform.  (Take a look at our Sydney Festival series if you want to see what happens when pianos do start popping up unexpectedly on street corners!)

Scott Spark: Last Christmas (What Do You Say?).

So when we shoot piano clips, we go to where the piano is – but we still always try and get away from a standard onstage performance.  We’ve shot Amanda Palmer in her pyjamas, playing at the Opera House before her gig, and Parades in their living room (after they kicked grandpa out.)

Scott Spark is our latest.  We shot the funny, friendly Brisbane performer at the piano bar at the Menzies Hotel in the Sydney CBD.

Piano bars are great – the instruments are likely to be in tune, and they are public enough to allow for surprises.  And they were a lovely contrast for Scott’s songs – intimate, heartfelt, personal pieces – not what you might expect to find in a hotel bar, as the post-work business people and hotel guests discovered.

Scott Spark: Keep It Together.

We’ve been wanting to film Luluc for years. Jonathan and I first saw them play a gentle, memorable set at the Hopetoun Hotel in Sydney in 2008; a venue that sadly no longer exists. We’d just come from filming The Tallest Man On Earth and were high from the experience. The Hopetoun was packed and the crowd was it’s usual hot, restless self. Somewhere around 9pm, Luluc took to the stage and turned heads with their soft, delicate performance, barely a whisper above the familiar sound of the ATM machine at the bar and the crack of pool balls rolling around in the back room.

These videos were shot in Prospect Park, Brooklyn. I moved here around the same time the band did. We met properly for the first time under the bridge in the second video here.

If you like this, check out other Melbourne bands Grand Salvo, Laura Jean, Oliver Mann and Ned Collette.

- Amelia

On a weekday afternoon, Martin Place is generally packed – officeworkers in business attire, lunchtime athletes in sports uniforms, bike messengers, shoppers, tourists staring at the spots where The Matrix movies were filmed, hawkers, people collecting for charities – and buskers.

Passenger: What You’re Thinking from shoottheplayer.com on Vimeo.

Passenger – aka Mike Rosenberg – is originally from the UK, but he spends a lot of time in Australia, and he’d done a fair bit of busking in Martin Place. So when he suggested filming there, we jumped at the chance – it’s about as public a spot as you can get in downtown Sydney, and we were excited to see how Passenger’s beautifully catchy melodies and heartfelt, vulnerable lyrics would play against the old buildings and the bustling midday crowds.

Passenger: Golden Thread from shoottheplayer.com on Vimeo.

As it turned out, it was a sunny day but chilly – at least by Sydney standards – so there weren’t as many people as usual. Those who were there were treated to a lovely performance, and we’re sure Passenger found a few new fans – in addition to a couple of old fans who found him!

Passenger: Rivers from shoottheplayer.com on Vimeo.

First Aid Kit: I Met Up With The King

Like most of you, we discovered First Aid Kit over the internet. Their live one take cover of the Fleet Foxes’ Tiger Mountain Pleasant Song gave the impression of two young, comfortable, relaxed musicians, effortlessly talented and warm in front of the camera.

First Aid Kit: Our Own Pretty Ways

We just missed out filming in Sydney but made it happen in New York. Amidst the chaos and excitement of CMJ the sisters met us in Washington Square Park and gave us four songs in just half an hour. All around us people enjoyed one of the last sunny days of the season; jugglers, dog walkers, students, hawkers, tourists, buskers and artists filled the park with its usual landscape of lively activity. The girls were interrupted a number of times by fans and one lucky guy even had a song dedicated to him; Our Own Pretty Ways. Enjoy.

- Amelia, with David Sosnow behind the camera

It’s rare that we get the opportunity to shoot at a piano, we were spoiled by Luke Jerram’s public piano project during Sydney Festival 2 years ago but since then there has been a lack of pianos on Shoot The Player – you can’t easily carry one around with you to a shoot and although we get flexible when someone offers to play a keyboard, it’s just not the same.

Parades: Loserspeak in New Tongue

For this hypnotic, languorous acoustic version of Sydney band Parades’ Loserspeak in New Tongue, we descended on one of the band member’s living rooms – displacing his elderly grandfather. And rather than being surrounded by passing strangers, we were joined by images of Dan’s family, watching over us from inside picture frames – with the real family listening in from nearby rooms.

We hope you like it.

- Jonathan