Face to Face with... Kris Moyes

He may have only just begun delving into the wide world of commercials but Australian director Kris Moyes has built up a diverse bulk of work including music videos and short films, which may seem fun and light-hearted, but are shot with a very serious attitude and focus. The man recently signed with Independent Films and here he talks about crossing life’s line, moving an audience with a good idea, and fishing without a clue.

You recently signed with Independent, how’s that going?

Independent are a great company and I’m really looking forward to us working together in the UK. From what I hear there is so much fun to have. Jani Guest and Dan Dickenson are lovely people and seem to be seriously committed to representing me.

Tell us a bit about your short film City Limits for fashion label Romance Was Born...

Well, it’s a satirical film noir about revenge. I was interested in defining a moment when you choose to cross a line, and dramatizing that decision when you choose to do something you cannot undo. I like how City Limits gives us the impression that it’s only a slice cut from a bigger pie. There is no beginning and no end. The whole thing was shot in one day, with a crew of 75 people and a budget of $8k which was remarkable. Once I outlined the plot I had great fun writing a script based on this absurd dialogue that came out of many long phone calls between co-writer Ben North and myself. (Watch the film at the end of the article)

Is it influenced by the eighties?

I think that vibe comes from the score written by Rohan Bell-Towers, Alex Akers and Kim Moyes [his brother from The Presets]. The locations, style and costume indicated an extravagance and hedonism that was prevalent in the 80s; however, it doesn’t look like it was set in the 80s. I really wanted to tell this story in a landscape that was difficult to pin point when or where it was set. The protagonist had a Croatian accent, the currency did not look Australian and the costumes were unfamiliar.

What’s the difference between making music videos and commercials and which do you prefer?

This is hard to talk about without elaborating. Generally there are a lot of differences and some similarities. The similarities usually come from money. The more the budget, the less the input. This rule applies unless you are a heavyweight director. From my limited experience in the commercial world, the director is brought on board relatively late in the concept stage. Usually an idea has been market researched and green lit by the client before a director is even approached. I see the terrain is starting to shift as younger creatives replace the old guard. Music videos are becoming much more like commercials now, too. No matter what the medium, whether it’s music video, commercial, artwork, event or happening, what has to move the audience is a good idea. These days, it is of no consequence what forum that idea exists within.

All the music videos you’ve done are pretty diverse; does this depend on the artist or just the general idea and song?

That is because all songs are different. They inform the idea. I’ve always had this view that ideas exist in the world and you discover them. Italo Calvino speaks of this in Six Memos for the Next Millennium. Imagine that you’re walking down the street and you see these sign posts. Your job is to take notice of the signs and extrapolate some meaning from them. The signs are ideas and in this case the song is the street. Different street, different signs.

What’s the best commercial you have shot?

I think I’m a little too fresh into my career as a commercial director to have much of a selection to choose from. I’ve only made something like three commercials. I like each of them for different reasons. The Cadbury Favourites commercial has a joyful, optimistic tone to it and a subtle in-camera trick. The Smart Energy commercial had a 1:1 scale 3D stroboscopic zoetrope. We didn’t know we could actually achieve anything with it. There were many question marks looming over this job until we saw the rushes the day after and discovered that it worked, much to our relief. I liked the Honda commercial because of how easy it was to shoot. My friend and I shot it handheld over an eight hour day and then Animal Logic did a shit load of CGI to make it look like we had animated it frame by frame, for real. So yeah, I haven’t done much but I like everything I’ve done, for individual reasons.

There’s a lot of dance music on your reel, what music are you into?

I’m into a lot of diverse music. I have been conscious of not doing too many dance music videos. I can only really think of the Hercules and Love Affair and Presets music videos which I could categorize as dance music. Having said that, I have noticed that dance music has become quite popular in the pop music world, especially with Stargate producing a lot for all the big names.

What’s the best thing about Sydney and why?

I grew up in Sydney so I love the beaches, but I just relocated to Melbourne because there is a much more inspiring artistic scene down there and my girlfriend and I wanted to be closer together after a year of going long distance. I can say the best thing about Melbourne is that we live opposite the Victoria Markets which is where we get all our fresh produce, vegetables, cheese, meat, fruit direct from  farmers. There’s a stall that sells boreks (Turkish pastries) which are incredible. There’s nothing like this in Sydney.

What do you like most about being a successful director?

Success! Hehe. I get encouragement out of knowing that there are people (about 15 of them) who appreciate the time, effort and consideration for creating something that is different to a lot of stuff that is currently being made. My work looks fun and light-hearted but I take it very seriously because I want it to be like a special present for the people who it resonates with. I hope this is self-evident when you look at the body of work I have so far.

What inspiring things have you seen, read or watched recently?

I’ve been thinking a lot about the role of reference material in culture and what’s around the corner. I’m reading a great book called The Consolation of Philosophy by Alain de Botton. The book elaborates on some philosophers such as Socrates, Epicurus, Seneca and Nietzsche and encourages the reader to develop ways to obtain a strong, independent philosophy in our own life.

I’m just about to begin watching a film called Wavelength starring Robert Carradine of Revenge of the Nerds. I’m sure it’s terrible, but, what attracted me to this movie is the incredible score composed by German krautrock band, Tangerine Dream.

I’ve been revisiting the old TV show called Fishing with John, which was written, directed, produced, scored and hosted by John Lurie featuring a bunch of his friends such as Jim Jarmusch, Tom Waits and Willem Dafoe. Though neither he nor his guests know a thing about fishing, he is able to create interesting episodes full of anecdotes, which is hilarious. I have also been listening to music by The Yellow Magic Orchectra’s Haruomi Hosono, in particular an album called Swing Slow, a collaboration with Miharu Koshi. Really digging Good Morning Mr Echo.

Watch City Limits below.