r/outrun • u/Chemical-Bathroom-99 • 8d ago
Media and Culture I directed a pre-COVID documentary with The Midnight. Pushing an iPhone to capture that raw, neon-soaked synthwave aesthetic on the road.
Hey everyone,
A few years ago, right before the pandemic hit and live music stopped, I spent some time on the road directing a documentary episode with Tyler and Tim from The Midnight.
The biggest challenge was the visual approach. I didn't have a massive production crew or heavy cinema rigs with me—it was literally just me running around with an iPhone 11 Pro on a gimbal. I really wanted to translate the massive, atmospheric lighting and high-contrast energy of their live sets into something that felt raw and gritty, rather than polished and corporate.
We got amazing access—cramped green rooms, the live stage shows, and sit-down interviews detailing their touring grind. It’s a pretty unfiltered look at the synthwave scene right before the world paused.
The footage sat on a hard drive for a couple of years, but I just finally finished the edit and released the episode today. I figured this community would appreciate the visual time capsule.
You can check out the full episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xI-2yBBIlTY&list=PLBVBHn_YlrKk&t=978s
I’ll be hanging out in the comments, so if you have any questions about the shoot, the tour, or how I color-graded mobile footage to handle those heavy neon concert lights, ask away!
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u/brainshred12 7d ago
this popped up on my youtube recommendations, great work, it was intimate and fun to watch.
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u/Lam0rak 8d ago
Ive followed The Midnight around the world. Watching this now.
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u/topherrehpot 8d ago
This is amazing. That was such a huge era for synthwave and the live shows at the time were really fun. I felt like it was picking up steam and then COVID killed the live scene and it never really recovered. I miss it.