Did you explore other ideas or narratives before taking the multi-layered route?

I had some flashes of other ideas but nothing else made its way to the page.  With the other ideas it seemed like the concept was a sidebar or distraction to the really interesting thing which is Adele herself.

Such a simple, but effective idea – did you experiment before the shoot?

We had a technical rehearsal day just to learn about what worked and what didn’t.  How to vary the takes, how structured to be, that sort of thing.

Did you shoot numerous takes to capture the same lip synch or did you use multi cameras?

We shot about 12 takes, varying the camera’s path slightly each time but giving them some key moments of overlap and convergence.

Was the editing straight forward?

Not at all!  Sam Sneade, the editor, said that at times it was more like painting than editing.

And what were the most challenging aspects of the production?

Probably the migraine I had the morning of!  But we were well rehearsed and the crew were ace, so once the migraine got sorted out by Dr. Trunk-Full-Of-Meds, it all went smoothly.

Anything else you’d like to share about the production?

The migraine thing is probably the most colorful thing I’ve got for you.  That’s the only problem with working with really competent, smart, and professional people – Adele included.  The works turns out well but it doesn’t make for juicy on-the-set anecdotes.

I must say when I hear your name I start singing 1234 – oh how we loved that one-track video for Feist. What have been the highlights in your career since then?

If you have to ask I’m not sure there have been many to speak of!  The Depeche Mode Wrong video went over well, I recall.  A few years ago I went back to school to do graduate studies in art.  That ended up rattling my cage pretty good.  Still recovering to be honest.