Carmelina (2001)
"Carmelina" was directed by Bill Morrison. It was the first video to be released off of Audio of Being.
The video plays out like two parallel films spliced together. On one track, Matthew Good prowls the dimly lit back room of a nondescript warehouse, launching into Carmelina with his band amid flickering strobes and haze. On the other track, we follow a corporate office worker, presumed to be Carmelina, going through her rigid nine-to-five routine: coffee runs, photocopier jams, and perfunctory small talk in the break room.
Throughout the four-minute video, these worlds bleed into each other. Good storms past office cubicles, his shadow falling across desks as overhead fluorescents flicker in time with the guitars. Meanwhile, Carmelina’s polished exterior cracks: she pauses mid-conversation, transfixed by the distant roar of Good’s chorus, and for a moment, she sways as if in a concert crowd. By the end, she abandons her stapler and heels, stepping through a folding office partition into the smoky performance space, becoming, at last, part of the band’s unleashed energy.
Trivia
- Shot over two days in Vancouver warehouses and an actual high-rise office suite.
- Minimal crew: director Bill Morrison, DP Curtis Wehr, and a handful of crew who doubled as office extras.
- Emphasis on practical lighting effects, no digital effects, to highlight the video’s gritty, analog feel.
- The title character was portrayed by a local actress cast on the strength of a single “office look” photo
Commentary
"I wanted to make a video encapsulating how many of us go through our daily lives. We can do crazy, fucked up shit for a living, then on our lunch break, we can go off and be completely normal. Almost like living in 2 worlds at once." - Matthew Good
