Beyond compare

3rd January 2020

Beyond compare

Title of film: The National, I Am Easy To Find

Director: Mike Mills

Production Company: MJZ

Director Mike Mills cold-called The National band to see if he could do a video for their track Sleep Well Beast but after a conversation with vocalist Matt Berninger a search for something much bigger than a music video began. There was, says Mills “a sense of we can do anything and actually we don’t want to know what we’re doing”.

The National gave Mills about 15 songs, some unfinished, some with lyrics, some without, and so began a two-year collaborative process which evolved into this stunning short film.

Shot over five days in Los Angeles on “a limited budget but unlimited freedom”, with the subtitles as the script, Mills would send rough-cut segments to the band who would send back vocals, an improvised process which built up over a year of editing.

Listen to Mills talking about the creative process in his accompanying commentary, above.

Credits

The National, I Am Easy To Find Written and directed by Mike Mills Cinematography by Daniel Voldheim Production Design by Victoria Morris Costume Design by Danielle Kays Edited by Aaron Beckum Music Mix by Jonathan Low Sound Design and Re-Recording Mix by Zach Seivers Produced by Geoff Linville Produced by Emma Wilcockson & David Zander Executive Produced by Youree Henley Casting by Good People Casting

Tags: Mike Mills, MJZ, The National