The Flip Phones are the folk rock duo making waves with their debut EP, Better in the Dark, now streaming.

They’ve just released the music video for their thought provoking single “Man Made Moon.” The intimate setting of the video, with Ryan and Lindsey performing for the viewer in a single shot, allows the viewer to really become enveloped in the song. The camera almost acts like the eyes of the viewer, going back and forth between the two. Because the camera never stops rolling and it’s just the one shot, it flows quite well with the atmosphere of the song.

They play with light in the video as well, fitting seeing as the song was initially inspired by a man made moon they read about. The camera being on the move the whole time also adds an interesting effect with shadow, some shots are more lit than others and some shots you can’t really see the artist’s faces. It’s actually quite brilliant in it’s simplicity.

We got the opportunity to speak with the folk rock duo about their video and the song:

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

“Man-Made Moon” was inspired by an article about an artificial moon meant to help illuminate cities and light up the night sky. It made us wonder: Is more light, specifically human-created light, really a good thing? Or should we sometimes embrace the darkness?

This song is the EP opener and lead single, and it asks the question “Are we better in the dark?” “Man-Made Moon” sets the stage for the lyrical themes throughout Better in the Dark, which explore topics such as humans vs. nature and darkness vs. light.

Given the subject matter of the song, we aimed to contrast the natural darkness of the filming location with the artificial lighting behind us to reflect the dark and light themes in the song.

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

The idea with this video was to capture the energy of our live performance in a studio environment while using light and dark textures to create the atmosphere. 

What was the process of making this video?

We made this video with Luke Justin Roberts from LJR Creative as part of his Amplify events, which provide the opportunity for local artists to shoot videos in music studios in the DC area. This video was filmed at Ivakota studio in DC and was shot in a single take with no post-production editing. Luke did a great job of working with us to capture the energy of the song while showcasing the change in vocalists on each verse before singing the choruses together.

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