VIDEO VOYAGEUR: 3 Q’S WITH STEPHEN JAYMES

The new video for Stephen Jaymes’ latest single release, “Last Predictable Summer,” orchestrates a disconcerting dance of juxtapositions, exploring themes of impending doom and carefree revelry.

Using regular stock photography, Jaymes paints a striking portrait of the zeitgeist, where sun-drenched scenes of frolicking beachgoers and carefree road trips collide violently with the grim spectre of apocalypse. This cinematic manifesto, a punk-ironic folk opera, thrusts the viewer into a kaleidoscope of cognitive dissonance.

The listener is serenaded by William Blake-inspired imagery invoking apocalyptic falcons and gyres. The video morphs seamlessly from blissful ignorance to haunting premonitions, showing diseases seeping from the permafrost and plastics raining down from the heavens, all while an infectious rhythm compels us to sway to the beat of our rapidly approaching doom.

As the world teeters on the edge of a collapse, Jaymes emerges as our reluctant prophet and punk poet laureate inviting us to join him in a danse macabre to face the music.

In this interview, we caught up with Stephen to find out the inspiration behind the new song and the story of the music video.

The official music video for “Last Predictable Summer” by Stephen Jaymes is now available on YouTube here:

1. Tell us the story of this song, why did you choose to visualize this song specifically in this way?

I’m releasing my first full-length album this fall, and in the process of writing and recording the songs, I realized I had this feeling of urgency. We all know things are seriously out of whack in the world along multiple vectors, but we’re rewarded for ignoring that, numbing out.

So the realization sometimes comes at you sideways. I looked at the feeling, and what I saw was a background belief that next year nothing will feel normal, and nothing will ever really feel normal again. That this is the last year where we can all push our apocalyptic fears to the background. Which means this summer, the season for fun, is the last normal summer.

The last time we can dance obliviously. From here on out we’re going to have to learn how to dance to oblivion. Being oblivious won’t be an option. The devastation that just happened to Houston, the assassination attempt that has left everyone asking what is real – these are the harbingers of our future reality that I sing about in the song. They’re arriving even as I’m trying to promote the single. So it turns out my sense of urgency was founded.

2. What was the inspiration behind this video (visuals, storyline, etc.)?

Once I had the song written, and it wrote itself out pretty quickly, it was pretty obvious to me that the video had to be people having summer fun, oblivious to the doom over the horizon. Originally I was going to make a video with Ross Kolton, my collaborator on the three previous official videos, but Ross got called out of town by a big client on our shoot date.

I had already created the video that eventually became the official Last Predictable Summer music video in a fit of inspiration, feverishly seeking out the perfect stock footage to create a visual equivalent of an infectious, danceable rhythm carrying an apocalyptic message. It was supposed to be a guide for the project with Ross.

But once I started showing it to people whose opinion I trust, the feedback was that I already had the official video in hand, that I should release the stock footage version. The clencher for me was when my partner Christal, who as a professional film editor has worked on big shows like Scandal and Inventing Anna, said that the message played better with me just out of the way. I knew she was right.

3. What was the process of making this video?

Unlike my previous three official music videos, where we meticulously planned out locations and shots, this was a product of an inspirational trance. In one 24-hour period I found all the stock footage I needed, licensed it, and cut it to the song.

Like I said, it wasn’t supposed to be a public video. It was supposed to express the overall mood I wanted to convey in the larger video we were planning. Being in that mode took the pressure off and let me focus on getting it as close as possible to perfect so that Ross would get the visual message I wanted to convey.

Luckily for me, the world of stock video has really modernized in the last couple years, with so many creators wanting to earn passive income from their cool shots. I don’t know that I could have made this a few years ago. I want to personally thank everyone involved in the bus shots. Without that amazing footage it might not have come together so well.

Side note, when you look closely, notice that the driver of the bus isn’t really sharing everyone else’s mood. I couldn’t have asked for something more perfect even from an AI generator. For the actual cutting, I use a variety of different editing softwares, but for this one I just cut it fast in iMovie on my iMac. No filters, almost no transitions. It’s not even color treated. I wanted it raw, like someone shaking you awake.

Once I accepted this as the official version, an ethos of blunt reality was born. Less was more. To be honest, everything about the writing of this song and the making of the video was pretty swift. Like these ideas had been percolating for awhile and were now ready to be poured out fast. It’s not always like that.