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The Making Of Monarchy Of Roses Video & Interview

Watch the Behind The Scenes video of "Monarchy Of Roses," directed by Marc Klasfeld:

Watch the full music video here:

Also check out this interview with music video director Marc Klasfeld by Altair Pereira Santos:

How did this project come to you?
I assume since the band was happy with the "Maggie" video and the way it came out, they sent me this song to write on.  I was happy they did.  Growing up, I was a very big fan of RHCP and continue to be, so it’s always exciting to work with someone you admire.

And how did the decision to work with Raymond's art come about? Was it your idea or the Chili Peppers?
I sent Anthony a pitch to do a graphic design based idea.  He liked the idea, but he wanted to use Raymond Pettibon instead of the art/style I was proposing.  Which actually made my ideas better. Anthony and Flea talked to Raymond and got him on board to give us the rights to move forward. 

What was the first stage in making this video? Could you explain the process to us?
We shot the band on green screen.  Then we took stills of Raymond's work plus the footage of the band and I edited together a rough animatic of the way I saw it all working.  Then we sent that animatic to the animators. Then the animators would send back their work and I would make notes.  And we went back and forth like this for 6 weeks until we had the video finished.

You shot with a green screen, but it looks like it’s a live recording because the band’s performance is very real and natural, as we see on stage.
The band are amazing performers, so it’s very easy to capture an energetic, magical performance. There is tons of great footage that we didn't use too.

We know that you and the Rockhard Company are experts on music videos, but I can imagine that on every new job, a new challenge arises. What was the biggest challenge to complete this video?
The challenge these days with music video is that there isn't as much time or money, and there also seems to be not much passion in the music business about making something great. But RHCP comes from a different time and place. So I knew that I can trust in them.  And although there wasn't as much time or money as I would've liked, there was a passion to make something great and interesting and new and special, and I feel we accomplished that.
But it still wasn't easy.

How long did it take to finish everything?
From the shoot date to the premiere date it was approximately 6 weeks.

Posted on November 30, 2011