My Video Work with Thomas Eckel

My Video Work with Thomas Eckel

October 15th, 2011 // 2:03 pm @ Site Admin

Back in the mid 90’s I directed a video for a well known artist in the gay community, named Thomas Eckel.

This was a lot of fun as we shot it in Naples Italy and amazingly, also in Pompeii Italy. (They told us that National Geographic had to wait 3 months for their permit. Ahhhh it’s amazing what $100 USD will do when the big boss isn’t at the national park).

I really loved making this, it’s one of my favorite things I ever directed. I had a lot of creative control. Thomas had so much faith in my vision, he basically gave me cart-blanch to do whatever I wanted. I picked the locations and wrote the plot etc. It’s got this whole crazy Fellini theme going on and although this is a bad VHS dupe, this was shot on film and looked beautiful in the final cut.

After going to Italy to direct “alone” in 95, Thomas asked me to work with him on a video for his next album in 98.

This time we shot in Spain, in Madrid, Toledo/Consuegra, Barcelona & Port of Lligat. Thomas was so happy with how Alone came out, this time he really let me loose and asked me to come up with something special to go with the songs strong message. All I was told was that we were going to Spain to shoot in and around Madrid & Barcelona.

I decided on a Don Quixote theme as the original windmills from the Cervantes book were only about an hour away from Madrid in Consuegra. The windmill and all the castle shots were done there. All the religious iconography and the scene with the beggars was done in Madrid, right across the street from our Hotel.

In Barcelona we shot all the piano scenes in a music conservatory and many of the shots on La Rambla, the main street/public area in Barcelona.

But the real treat for me was that I talked them into shooting in Port of Lligat, which is the home of my very favorite artist Salvador Dali. If you look at many Dali paintings you will see they are set in a bay with 3 small islands in the distant background. This was the beautiful port he lived in. If you watch when Thomas goes into the water for the baptism scene, the very same islands can be seen in the background. It was a wonderful thing for me to do “my art” where Dali did his. Really amazing.

I loved doing this video, sure it’s a bit indulgent on all our parts but the song has a great message and I think the images are beautiful. Again, this is a bad VHS dupe, this was shot on film and looked beautiful in the final cut.

Tragically, Thomas died at a young age of suspicious circumstances. He was a great guy and I was grateful for all the faith he had in my work. He was smart and funny and I enjoyed spending time with him. He is missed.

Also a big thank you to my old friend Brian Drago who produced both videos and hired me to work with Thomas

You can see some pictures of the Cervantes windmills and castle here.

Category : Entertainment &Story Archive