MassiveMusic's Star-Strewn Vanity Project

Last week we brought you photographer and filmmaker Jason Bell's Vanity Fair Hollywood Portfolio trilogy, starring the cream of the UK's acting talent. Bell talked about how the project came together and how he got so many stars into one project. 

He also talked about the importance of the music in the three films and how his partnership with MassiveMusic London was integral to the finished piece of work. Here, MM's creative director, Nico Steiger [pictured below], elaborates on their role in creating the work.

How did the project and collaboration with Vanity Fair/Jason Bell come about?

We've been fans of Jason's amazing work for quite a while and had been lucky enough to meet him through friends a few times. We always wanted to work with him in some way and when we heard about this Vanity Fair project, we realised that this was the perfect opportunity.

At what point did you get involved in the project?

We started talking to Jason and his management about this project at a stage at which it wasn't even clear yet if there would be a film.

It was Jason's idea to produce a film on the back of the stills. When we first started talking about a potential collaboration it was more of an opportunistic, creative 'what if?' discussion.

Luckily the Vanity Fair people really liked the idea. 

With the distinct British slant to it, did you know exactly how you would approach it?

Yes and no. Of course the great idea behind the films already defined a certain route for the music. 

Still, it was quite challenging to find the right approach. We utilised some of our non-British team members who started with some cultural research which helped us understand more what 'Britishness' meant abroad.

What was the most difficult part of the project?

It's always a challenge to play around with different music genres and cliches without losing the story. We needed to help the plot and glue all the different scenes together, treading the fine line between elegance and humour.

And the most enjoyable?

This really was an amazing project with a great director... and quite a good cast! We had a lot of freedom to get involved in a very creative way.