Video: HOYOTOHO’s “videopera” combined carefully-created music videos with live performance

An interview with the director of the films reveals that each video was done in a single take.

HOYOTOHO videopera promo

The "world premiere" was at HOYOTOHO's album release show at 1111 Dragon Street Studio

DALLAS — The devil is in the details. HOYOTOHO’s album release and “videopera” at the 1111 Dragon Street Studio art gallery last night was nothing short of a sensory spectacle. In a section of the city where visual artistry is God, the band merged a series of eight creative music videos with a live set that was as visually stunning as it was audibly reverent.

From the open vodka bar and local hanging artwork to the exclusive CD “art pack” featuring prints of song lyrics and pictures of the music videos’ cast, this was a thoughtfulness rarely shared with local music fans. There was an amped, palpable excitement among the crowd as they gathered close to the stage when the lights went dim. The quintet started the set with their album opener “Ready To Die Dying To Live,” with a music video accompaniment synced in perfect unison. The effect was spine-tingling: An ominous, face-painted man lip-syncing from a wall projection was right next to singer Calvin Chynoweth’s vocal musings on stage.

Every video depicted one character lip-syncing to a different song, be it a woman getting pelted with paint, a close-up of a shaggy-haired boy, or a girl slowly submerged in water. The videos, director Tim Ketchersid says, were meant to bring some added originality and performance art to their live shows.

HOYOTOHO’s new video, Virgin Eyes

“It was Calvin’s idea to have these massive Big Brother heads singing in sync with all the tracks, and then I came up with all the different concepts,” Ketchersid says. “We tried to pull pieces together so it’s a whole experience.”

HOYOTOHO moved through their set with blazing energy, matching the ferocity of some of their fans, who already knew the words to every song. “Born Black” was the best effort of the night, with Chynoweth and synth-master Ian Miles sharing drum duties with Aaron Haynes on a couple of extra floor toms. Guitarist Philamer Nieve grooved to the fire-dancing beat as his nearly floor-length dreadlocks swayed from side to side. Behind them, projected on the wall, was a black man painted in glowing white, and as the song progressed, the paint slowly peeled away – a stark and hyperbolic visual representation of the song’s satirical lyrics.

Ketchersid, who lived in Los Angeles for seven years assisting photographers and directors with fashion shoots and TV commercials, spent two months making the videos with virtually zero budget. He says most of the videos were done with a single shot and in one take, an idea that captured and mesmerized the audience.

“That’s what’s most interesting about the projects, the one-shots, and staying on people that long,” Ketchersid says. “You’re forcing the audience to examine this person, to examine what they’re saying, and I think that’s something Calvin and I really wanted to push with this project.”