Newtown Landscape — And One Young

Resident — Stars In A Music Video

By Shannon Hicks

Residents of the Castle Hill Road neighborhood in the area of Holcombe Preserve may have noticed some activity around the preserve’s barn earlier this week, but most probably had no idea that a future music video was in the works.

Had anyone walked around the red barn near Castle Hill’s intersection with Birch Hill Road, it was quite a sight: Two children were romping around in costumes that can only be described as purposely-tattered textiles in green and red while a tall model was wearing her own version of the textiles in shades of tan and orange. A small hut had been assembled for the shoot, which was wrapped in colorful strips of fabric during the course of the day. Cameras and video screens were set up, and a small crew was busy capturing everything the way the project’s director, Adam Levite, envisioned.

The day’s work will eventually be featured in the video for “C’mere,” a song on the band Interpol’s current album Antics. The band itself never came into Newtown for the video work, but will be incorporated into the finished product.

Interpol is a New York-based band that i’s currently on the road supporting its latest album; the band recently sold out a second concert planned for March at Radio City Music Hall. (Fans and the curious can catch the band performing on The Late Show with Craig Ferguson on February 16.)

The shoot in Newtown came about when Mr Levite called on a friend of his, Newtown resident Rob Cox, while looking for a location for part of the video. The two men met when they were both working on the school newspaper at the University of Vermont; they graduated in 1989.

“Adam called me wondering if I knew of a wooded location where we might shoot part of the new Interpol video,” said Mr Cox. “I guess I had told how part of Newtown, despite being just an hour’s drive or so from the city and the overdevelopment of many areas of town, still feels pretty rural.

“I suggested he and Kira [Dixon, the video’s producer] come up and scout for locations,” Mr Cox continued. “They came up on Friday and I showed them to Newtown Forest Association land near the red barn around the corner from us on Castle Hill.” (Mr Cox and his family live in the Colonial that was featured in Newtown Residential Preservation Society’s Second Annual Kitchen Tour last September.)

After Mr Levite and Ms Dixon decided they liked the NFA property, the group contacted Wes Gillingham of Newtown Forest Association and he granted permission for the use of the property for one day.

One of Mr Cox’s sons, Sam, was one of the two children who will be featured in the video. Sam is a first grader at Head O’ Meadow School.

“Sam definitely had a blast,” Mr Cox said. “Before we moved to Newtown from London last year, he had done one or two theater/film projects. He was in a BBC children’s program called Tibbabilla.

“This was his first music video, though.”

The crew arrived in Newtown around 9:30 and spent the day filming. It was a chilly day, but the snow on the ground helped with the video’s look. The costumes worn by Sam and the other child in the video, Annabella Rosa, and the costume for the model, were designed by Elyse Allen, a textile designer in New York City. They were colorful, but not heavyweight.

“I think Sam and Annabella, after a whole day’s shoot in the snow, are more than happy to wait a while for the next one,” Mr Cox said. “But I have no doubt he’ll want to do it again.”

Adam Levite runs Associates in Science in New York City. A former graphic designer, Mr Levite did print campaigns for MTV, Burton Snowboards, and The Guggenheim Museum, among others. Now heading Associates in Science (AIS), he has been working with the bands Tortoise, Elefant, Beans, Taking Back Sunday, and Burning Brides as well as Interpol.

He was also involved with Nike’s 2004 Art of Speed campaign, where the sports apparel company commissioned 15 young filmmakers to interpret the idea of speed. Mr Levite’s video was called “A Meditation on the First Law of Thermodynamics.” After working with Interpol and fellow AIS director Doug Aikten on a previous video that used thermal imaging and night vision equipment to great results and positive reviews, Mr Levite stuck with the thermal imaging camera for his Nike short film.

His friend Rob Cox was impressed with what he watched his friend do in Newtown this week.

“It was my first time seeing Adam in action,” Mr Cox said. “He only went into film directing a couple of years ago [but] he a very talented guy and I suspect we’ll all see more of his stuff in the future.”