Blair has posted the Tool August 2015 Newsletter this morning, and this time around it’s an interview with Tool video designer Breckinridge ‘Breck’ Haggerty. Here’s an excerpt:
BMB: What is the usual process of putting together the video clips and such for a Tool show or tour? The starting point and finishing touches? How much of the material used in the projections do you create, and do you get input from the band members? I’m guessing that Adam Jones is involved?
BRECK: Adam has always been very involved in the design, and all of the other band members contribute in different ways. Generally, Adam will give us the big picture, and Junior and I put the show together from there. The visuals are made up of small looped segments that I weave and layer through the show. There must be 2000 clips in the collection at this point, so there’s a lot to work with. The iconic images you remember from the shows are the works of far greater talent than my own. By name: Camella Grace is responsible for the psychedelic nudes and swimmers, Chet Czar creates the fish-skinned creatures of your nightmares, Meats Meier crafts the intricate mechanical/spiritual beings that populate the show, Matt Santoro, Kevin Willis, Robyn Breen Shinn, I could go on and on… My role is in the arrangement and mortar, and I build the abstract visuals that bind all these great artworks together as a whole.
BMB: What are the usual preparations for putting together and syncing up the video design for a Tool show or tour? How long does it normally take before you are good to go?
BRECK: The prep time depends on how much the show needs to change. When we made big leaps in design like with a new album, it can take months. If we’re just on to another leg with the same design, it may only take a day. This time around, we’re starting with a new overall concept from Adam, and we’re going to re-work the entire thing, so we’re starting to build the Halloween show now.
Seem like a lot of effort to go to just for one show…
