The Prodigy Fanboy – Liam Howlett Keith Flint & Maxim.

Paul Dugdale

Lalitha Suhasini did a little interview with Paul Dugdale. The interview is about the filming of the Milton Keynes gig and shooting videos for The Prodigy.

Also “Liam completely trashed the dressing room”? Sweet! I would love to see that footage!

It’s a great little read. Interview in this Full Post.

Credits go to “evans” from Brainkiller.

Shooting The Prodigy
Music video director Paul Dugdale recently won the Best Live Music Coverage award at the UK Music Video Awards for his livewire video of the band’s performance at The National Bowl in Milton Keynes, UK. In an exclusive phone interview with Sunday MiDDAY, Dugdale tells us the story behind some hair-raising videos and how he recklessly crosses over to the rough side for a recce.

What was it like shooting at the Milton Keynes Bowl?
Milton Keynes was insane. There were big flares in the crowd. And when Keith (Flint) dived in, the crowd split at one point. It was insane. We had nearly 20 cameras and only eight cameramen. But we wanted to cover what’s happening at every corner. It’s also brave of the band — they just love doing what they do.

Are you torn between running for your life and shooting some of your craziest footage ever?
It’s quite like Who Dares Wins. It’s intense and dangerous sometimes. At a show in Scotland in 2008 (it was at the T in The Park festival), five minutes into the show, my camera was nailed by beer or god knows what. Fortunately, we had a couple of spare cameras around. You just got to do what you have to, to get the best footage.

How did it all begin?
My first shoot with them was when they were on tour in Bilbao, Spain, six months before their album Invaders Must Die came out in 2008. They were test running the songs at shows, still writing some songs and quite apprehensive, since it had been four years since they’d released a new album. I was obviously a fan of the band. Their stage craft is spectacular and we hit it off straight up. Oh, and it was raining in Spain so it was a crazy shoot.

There must have been some shocking moments that may or may not have made it onto video…
No one likes having a camera around 24×7, but The Prodigy are good that way. They’re pretty out there and I get access to their most intimate times. They’re always cool and have a good vibe. Sometimes, one of them has a look that says, ‘Put that camera away.’ Yeah, but one of the times I got shocked as well was after a show in Serbia. It was a very good show but Liam completely trashed the dressing room. I don’t know why. Maybe he was letting off some of the post show adrenalin. These were those thin-board walls and I have some shots of Liam punching big holes through them. It was a very quick shoot and some if it is in Take Me to The Hospital Josh Homme/Liam Howlett wreckage remix version.

What are the edits like?
I edit all my videos. I try to keep it as real as possible and keep it hard. The cuts are quite quick to maintain the energy and excitement that the band brings to the show.

Name a video that you’re really proud of.
I’ve shot a lot of tour films for them, but music videos are pretty timeless. The proudest I’ve been of is the Invaders Must Die video, which is the first video I shot with them. It had helicopters and actor Noel Clark in it, which was a really cool move on the band’s part.

What kind of inputs does the band offer for the videos?
Roping in Noel Clark for Invaders Must Die was their idea, but Take Me To The Hospital was the first real collaboration. It was Liam’s idea to get an ambulance. The concept for that video was more them than me.

Where did you find that run down building where Take Me To The Hospital opens?
That was a crazy place. The opening shot is set in a derelict mental hospital named Hellingly Hospital in Southern England. I found the place through a girl I met on the internet. She worked as a stripper and photographed these derelict buildings as a hobby. The hospital must have been out of service for at least 20 years. So we went there and spent the day shooting, avoiding vicious dogs and strange men. It was the most terrifying thing I’ve done in my entire life. The windows were boarded up and the place had these long, spooky corridors. The place had a dark, mean spirit. It was the weirdest Sunday afternoon that I’ve ever spent and we nearly got caught by the police as we ran out of the place. We made excuses even as we had cameras stuck between our legs, and luckily we got away.

Source: http://www.mid-day.com/specials/2011/jan/020111-arena-acts-metal-music-iron-maiden-the-prodigy.htm