Hadfield is a Canadian cinematographer with a background in film (including 2013’s I Saw You) who has recently recognized the possibilities of music videos to become highly artistic and stylized films. Peter’s perspective is that music videos have always had a massive potential to showcase filmmaking as art. His perspective is that music videos are an accessible form of filmmaking that allows bidding directors and cinematographers to experiment in the craft to create new and interesting works of art. It seems only natural that he would lend his talents to his fellow countrymen producer Harrison x and Clairmont the Second. This adventurous seven minute long video has an implied narrative that is not forced and features a dizzying amount of set changes. The result is a feeling or an emotion rather than a dictated storyline. It is exactly what Hadfield and Director Scott Cudmore were aiming for with their interpretation of the music. After speaking with the artists, they felt inspired to create a viewing experience that was entertaining, surprising, and …at times bewildering for the audience. Peter recalls, “The video gets praise for having so many distinct vignettes and changes in mood. I approached it like any other project. I listened to the song to get familiar and then discussed the themes of the song with Scott [Cudmore] the director. We talked about how we could evoke the feelings that go with those themes through camera movement and lighting. For all the planning on the video, there was also quite a bit of improvisation. We knew the broad strokes going in.” Scott Cudmore has worked with a number of well known artists including; Sloan, Lucius, Timbre Timbre, etc. and his work has been featured in Billboard, Pitchfork, and other major music publications. Cudmore knew, as a director, that he needed Hadfield as a cinematographer to navigate the overwhelming movement and lighting in “It’s Okay, I promise.” Cudmore states, “I’ve worked with Peter on a number of various projects, ranging from commercials to very experimental music videos. He is always a great collaborator, unafraid to try new things and new ways of creating images. He’s always a pleasure to work with and I am always thrilled at his results.”
Embracing all challenges and opportunities, Peter keeps a constant schedule of varied projects. Some of his upcoming work includes The Royal Bank of Canada’s “Training Ground” (a commercial to inspire young Olympians which receive funding from RBC), another commercial spot with NHL player Max Domi, a commercial for Los Angeles based company Soapbox, and a music video for the band Odonis Odonis.