A grainy camera shot focuses on a wall with “missing” posters, conspiracy notes attempting to solve a mystery, and a rambling man pointing wildly as he explains to the camera crew what he thinks is going on in the woods next door, warning them to be careful.
It’s filmed like something straight out of the beginning of a horror movie a la Evil Dead or Friday the 13th, but in reality it’s building up to the premiere of local indie band Couch Dog‘s latest music video.
“We wanted to do a music video and were very into the idea of doing something involving the woods,” the band’s bassist Tasha Lee said. “I think a lot of what this music video ended up being and how we made it was influenced by our shared love of horror movies.”
The short film debuts at the SLO Guild Hall on Friday, Oct. 27, at 9 p.m. before the band takes the stage for a Halloween-themed concert. The video will become available to watch on the band’s YouTube channel at 10 p.m.
Featuring all four band members—Lee, lead guitarist Pablo Acosta, singer and rhythm guitarist Max Ferrer, as well as drummer Josh Cheruveli—playing themselves, the short film was directed and edited by Lee’s boyfriend, Ryan Porter (though Porter jokingly refers to himself as “Couch Dog’s boyfriend”).
“This was sort of my first time working on a film of this scale with the kind of gear and props that we had,” Porter said. “I brought in a friend of mine from Los Angeles who has more experience, and he acted as a consultant and helped us put it together.”
While the band didn’t want to spoil all of the details of what happens in Not My Night, they did tell New Times about some of the adventures—and sometimes misadventures—they got into while making the short film and its teasers.
Not My Night was shot in Los Osos Oaks State Natural Reserve in April of this year, which the band said was the perfect location to bring their horror movie vision to life. But that also meant they had to contend with the area’s not-always-perfect weather.
“I remember being the most miserable filming the last shot because we had been out there for days and there was this heavy mist coming down, and yes, it did look cool, but you know,” Acosta said, pausing to laugh. “It was a long three days of no sleep wondering when we were going to be done, but in the end that wait was so worth it.”
For three nights, the crew filmed from 6 p.m. to 4 a.m., after which—according to every member of the band—they would then have to tear down the set and carry their gear back to the car.
“I won’t lie, being covered in bug bites and whatever makeup we had on us after filming did not enhance the experience—although in the moment we were feeling great, it was just carrying everything back afterward that was like, ‘Oh my God,'” Ferrer said laughing. “I slept like a baby after each of those nights.”
But the band members also said that those struggles showcase the band’s dedication to the DIY mentality prevalent in the horror movies and music the friend-group enjoys.
“Movies like the Evil Dead films, Army of Darkness, Blaire Witch Project, House are all movies we enjoy as a group,” Porter said, “And I felt like there was a lot of shared ethos between the way we shot this and the promotional footage and those films.”
One of the core components of that DIY mentality, according to the band, was the use of handmade props—all put together by Lee, who has done similar projects for the band for past promotional material.
“We had a lot of props and practical effects like fake intestines, the costumes, a swing, the tents you see in the video. I even built a rig to help film a certain shot using a back brace and PVC pipe and a miniature for a specific shot too,” Lee said. “We also had a lot of practical effects and had to get creative for certain effects including using a combination of fake blood and Hot Cheeto dust for a certain shot.”
But the DIY mentality doesn’t stop there in the short film and teasers, as Acosta composed specific tracks to help enhance the experience and give it that proper classic horror ambiance.
“I sat down with a synth I got recently and tried to make something creepy and epic—capture that atmosphere with a pulsing ’80s bassline and droning synths,” he said. “It was inspired by John Carpenter and those ’80s horror movies, where there is a little bit of humor and joy in the track while still bringing the right energy.”
The band and crew also had an equal amount of fun putting together the teasers to help build hype for the premiere, which offered a different avenue for the band’s artistic expression, according to Porter.
“All of the promotional material we came up with was filmed over the last few weeks including today, right before this interview,” Porter said on Oct. 22. “Putting those together was fun because we got to blend our humor in with the horror.”
The teasers feature a variety of places and faces including attendees of a Couch Dog show in September and even Atascadero record store Traffic Records, but one of the band’s favorites is the one featuring longtime friend Andy Sherar.
“Shooting with Andy was fun because he has this little character he plays all of the time when we are hanging out, so he wanted to bring that into the video,” Acosta said. “The day before we got together and made all the little drawings and scribblings you see as he’s rambling—all of this to tease people and be like, ‘Well, what’s going on? What is the video about?'”
Couch Dog and Porter hope that the film will enhance the musical experience of Not My Night as a song and also stand on its own as the embodiment of what they are as a band and, more importantly, as friends.
“We want to make a special occasion out of this film premiere because it’s special to us,” Acosta said. “And I think you can tell when you watch just how much fun we had putting this together.” Δ
Staff Writer Adrian Vincent Rosas is investigating the sound he heard in the woods. Reach him at arosas@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Oct 26 – Nov 5, 2023.