Lorenzo Gabanizza

Director and Producer of I don't want to live without you

How do you approach storytelling within the unique format of a music video?
First thing first, you should be effective. You don't have 90 minutes but 4,5 minutes to spread a message. Therefore you need to know exactly where you're heading to. And to do this, you need to know exactly what the salient points of the story are and what message you want to give to the audience. Besides this, in music videos, at least it is my opinion that this is the case, there must be a certain relatedness between the images and the music and the lyrics.

Can you share some insights into the creative process of translating musical concepts into visual narratives for your music videos?
Is simple. Everything is written and thought out first. And the images, the scenes, follow the story. Often, however, it can happen that the idea arises from the filming itself and the concept develops in the meantime. As I said before, a song has tighter timeframes than a video, everything happens faster and the director must translate what the songwriter wants to express in a few minutes. To give an example in literature, Marcel Proust and Anton Checov.

In the realm of music videos, what role do aesthetics and visual style play in conveying the mood and message of the song?
A very high role. Colors, shots, even the way images intersect and follow one another... all this is the soul of the story.

Tell us about a particularly challenging or memorable moment during the filming your project? How did you overcome it?
A memorable moment is certainly the one in which you see me singing with Martina leaning on my shoulder. It was very hard to continue filming, because in that moment all the weight of the story, of this man who lost his wife prematurely, fell on my shoulders and for a moment, that suffocating aura invaded me: I sang and the tears ran down my face and only one thought helped me get through this moment: the thought of the audience who would see the scenes and who deserves, in addition to my respect, a first-rate product.

What considerations go into selecting locations and designing the visual elements for a music video?
As far as I'm concerned, the location must be chosen with the utmost care, nothing must be left to chance. Because for a video, being effective translates into its ability to transport the audience into the story and to do this it is necessary that the lyrics of the song is closely related to the images that follow one another on the screen. Audience must recognize the story and the places that the singer sings.

Can you highlight a specific project you are especially proud of, and what makes it stand out for you?
This one, surely. This, as an actor, is giving me back great critics. I am proud because I was able to create with my acting the kaleidoscope of emotions of the protagonist. Of course that couldn't have been possible without the support of a great actress as Martina Sacchetti is.

How do you stay inspired and keep your creative energy flowing when working on diverse projects?
Inspiration is a whimsical goddess and does not follow our time frame, like a ghost living in a parallel world. Also, inspiration for me is independent of what I'm doing. Many times I find myself writing stories and songs on the same day, other times I can't put a single word after another. What I mean is that everything must be as natural as possible and flow from the soul. Generally, if I am passionate about a project, it keeps me inspired all the time and just as love has no limit, so does artistic inspiration.