*mouse click*
- [Hailey] Hey guys, it's Hailey Steinfeld.
So I hear that there is a group of friends
that are watching my music video right now,
and I'm gonna drop in and say what's up.
It's a surprise, so let's see how this goes.
- [Director] Go to the settings at the bottom,
and it says stop video, your video will disappear.
- [Hailey] So I'm muting
and I'm stopping the video right now.
- [Director] Okay, great!
- [Hailey] Okay, goodbye.
- [Director] All right, I'm going to cue the other room
that we are ready to go!
[cheery music]
- [Addie] Hi, I'm Addie!
- [Maddie] Hi, I'm Maddie!
- [Matt] Hi, my name's Matt.
- [Maggie] Hi, I'm Maggie!
- [Isa] Hi, I'm Isa.
- Why is this so scary?
I'm whispering and I'm on mute.
- We've been friends since high school
and we're all juniors in college right now,
so pretty long friendship.
And we've probably known Hailey since high school.
- Since Pitch Perfect 2 probably.
- And Edge of Seventeen also came out
when we were like all in high school too,
and so that was pretty pivotal.
- I think we all were in the same English class though,
and we watched Romeo and Juliet, with her version of that.
So, that might've been the first exposure. [laughs]
*cheery music*
- Let's go Hailey, let's go.
[laughs]
Give me that face.
[laughs]
♪Doo-bee-doo-bee-doo, doo, doo, ah ♪
♪ Doo-bee-doo-bee-doo, doo, doo, ah ♪
- Oh!
- So good!
- A bop. [laughs]
- So good.
- The emotion comes out, so good.
[laughs]
- Ooh, oh there it is .
- Oh the drought!
[laughs]
- I love her like fanning with it.
- And then she does sass, give it to me.
- I feel like she should wear that dress for Met Gala.
- Oh my gosh. - Look at it.
- Maggie, when quarantine ends,
I expect you in that body suit.
[laughs]
- I feel like almost all of her close-ups are upside down.
- Yeah. - Ooh.
Nice perspective, Maggie.
- [Maddie] That was good.
- Are you kidding me? - Zebra.
- Are you kidding?
- [Director] And cut!
- It's gonna go...
- She got us, oh!
- It's all fake.
- Oh, hi guys!
- Oh!
- What?!
- What's going on?
- I have been joking for the past week,
that you were gonna jump on to this zoom call.
- We were like, oh my gosh, she's gonna be here.
- This is a prank!
- Holy crap.
- You guys are-
I wanna be friends with every single one of you.
Your comments are hilarious.
[laughs]
- Stop!
- I had so much fun watching that.
- This is a dream, I'm not even kidding.
This is so weird.
- What's going on, how are you guys?
Where are you, how have you been doing?
Talk to me!
- We're all in Florida, we're in Jacksonville.
- Oh, no way!
Nice, okay!
- Oh my gosh, how are you doing?
This is so freaking cool. - I'm good!
- What are you doing in your quarantine?
- I'm good ,yeah.
I'm just, you know, taking it day by day.
I was so happy that we were able to do this video
and get this song out before all this craziness happened,
but yeah, I'm so glad you guys liked the video.
- Oh my god, we loved the video.
- When Lisa said that beginning, say everything,
what you like, what you don't like.
I was like oh boy, oh boy, I'm over here shaking.
I'm like, say it all. [laughs]
- Hailey I know that you co-directed this video,
so I'd love to hear more about what that process
is kind of like, I'm also very much into film too,
so if you have any tips, you know, I'd love to hear them.
- Absolutely!
Well, funny enough, we made a video for this one,
it didn't turn out very well,
so when it came to doing it the second time around,
I figured I'd throw my hat in and see what I could do,
as far as helping execute it, the second time around.
So, Sarah McColgan, how I co-directed it with,
she was awesome just as far as switching gears really fast.
We were on the same page and we got it done
in the very little time that I feel like we always have,
when we're in the music world. [laughs]
One thing about filmmaking and music as well,
but I have found this in filmmaking, more than anything,
you are nothing without the people around you.
And you know, you could be the director,
but if you don't have an amazing DP, and an amazing crew,
and all of these people that are around you,
helping you make it perfect, you got nothing.
What's funny I think Maggie, I think it was you,
that mentioned that all the close-ups were upside down.
Was that you? - Yeah!
- Okay, so when you said that, I was like, there's no way,
there's no way I haven't thought that.
That's so funny, because that opening close-up,
where the cameras does that 360 turn,
that was something that our DP, the night before the shoot,
was like, I think I can get, I think I can get this rig,
that might be really terrible, but could also be great.
And we were at the point, we were just like bring it all in,
whatever you got, let's give it a shot.
And that ended up being like the opening shot,
one of the opening shots of the video, and reoccurs,
but there are close-ups during the bridge,
where it's just like, just this,
and those aren't upside down.
So I was like damn, Maggie almost had me.
[laughs]
But, other than being on a time crunch,
everything went pretty smoothly,
there wasn't really anything specific that was tough.
Oh, I kept leaving hand prints on the walls,
and they started seeing them at one point,
so they were like having to clean them down,
and at one point I was just like,
I don't even know that I mind it guys.
Anybody can say I've been here
for however long they think I've been here,
and my hands are all over the walls, so just justifying it.
But, yeah that happened, and that's about it.
It was a pretty, pretty smooth shoot though, I will say.
- Okay, did you have like a part in choosing the outfits,
or were they just like throwing them at you?
- No, so my stylists Rob Zangardi and Mariel Haenn,
are just basically iconic, and so amazing.
And when I started working with them,
I was really working on identity
and sort of how I can differentiate my style on stage,
versus out on a red carpet.
And they truly helped sort of figure out
what those two lanes were and how we can keep them cohesive.
And what was so fun about the wardrobe in this video,
is I really wanted to create a sort of clean slate...
with a simple backdrop, and letting it be about the fashion
and the emotion, and the lyrics,
and the melody and the music.
But we actually had a fitting that lasted,
I mean hours.
Somehow managed to get all my favorite looks in the video,
so I can't pick a favorite that ended up in there,
but all of 'em, all of 'em made it in, so.
- We're big fans of the animal print bodysuit.
- Ooh! - We love animal print.
- And the giraffe cape, amazing!
- That was a moment, wasn't it.
[laughs]
That's definitely up there for sure.
When we had tried it on in the fitting,
and it's actually really funny,
because I always knew I wanted the video
to be in black and white, so of course,
it was never really about colors, specifically,
as far as when it came to picking the outfits.
But, everything that I wore, was all black and white,
now that I think about it.
There was nothing that was in color, so there you go.
[laughs]
- It worked.
- I have another question about the video.
You did black and white, and you wanted it to be simple,
but why did you want that simplicity,
why was that a big, important part of the video itself?
- First of all, this video was really inspired
by a lot of different fashion campaigns,
and I find that when you watch,
you know, when you're looking at fashion ads,
it's very obviously very much about the clothes,
and the movement, and the boldness, and the visual.
And I find that sometimes with music videos,
and music videos are my favorite things to watch,
my favorite things to make.
But I find that sometimes, it becomes about,
there's so much going on,
that you don't really hear the song,
you know what I mean?
You lose sight of the lyrics and what is being said,
so it was so important to me,
to just kind of strip back from all of this,
okay.
And just make it about being in a confined space,
and having that sort of introspective feeling,
and then breaking out into these,
what we have as our wider shots on this sort of cyc set.
And the wardrobe was probably the only thing
that wasn't so simple about it,
and that was kind of my area to play
and be a little bit more detailed and elaborate,
and have fun with that, as I love to do anyway.
But it was just important to me,
that this video lent itself to the opportunity
for people to hear the song.
And one thing about this song and this video,
is I feel like it represents so perfectly
where I was, when I felt what I'm singing about,
and where I am now.
And especially at the end of that video,
there are like these cube sort of rooms,
where it feels very isolated and confined,
and the idea is that when those walls come down,
we're in the real world again, and we're fine, I'm fine.
But that was the idea, is the walls come down,
and you know, ready to get back out there again. [laughs]
- Question about your upcoming songs.
Are there any more videos we can look forward to, or expect?
- Not that have been made,
so if I can pull some cool things off in isolation,
then yes.
Which, I'm actually, you know,
have been thinking about because, you know,
we don't know how long this is gonna last,
and it's fun to use those opportunities to stay creative.
So, if you guys listen to these songs,
and have any ideas, please let me know.
- Yeah, I'll sent them over right away.
[laughs]
- Hailey, quick question.
Obviously, you know, you're both very talented
as an actress and a singer,
but I'm curious if there's one kind of art form
you prefer doing more of?
- There's really not.
They both give me something different,
and I feel so lucky that I feel like I can do enough of one,
to where I'm ready to take a break,
and go to the other one.
But I will say weirdly enough,
and what's brought us together today,
is music videos is kind of where my two worlds collide,
for me.
And that's like, I love, I love that.
To be able to tell a visual story in three minutes,
rather than you know, an hour and a half,
and I get to sing in it.
So, that's kind of like the best of both worlds, for me.
- Isa and I are both actresses,
and like I was just wondering,
how do you prepare to act for a music video,
versus a show with a character?
What's your character process kind of like?
- Well I think that as far as--
for this music video specifically,
one thing I guess I was most nervous about,
I'll say nervous, that's the word,
when it came to writing these records,
was pulling off making songs,
that sounded the way I felt,
that did what I was feeling justice.
I didn't know if I was really gonna be able to do that,
and I really, at this point,
feel like I did, and I still am.
When I hear them back,
just like music has it's effect on anyone,
if you guys listen to a song
that represented that homecoming, sixth grade,
that was your jam, that dance song comes on,
and you're like, I am back in that space,
and everything just kind of like, it fills your brain again.
As far as playing a character,
that's you know, hopefully months of,
if I'm given the time,
months of you know, preparation and character analysis,
and all that *beeps*, you know what I'm saying?
[laughs]
And I've always said I've had the opportunity
of working with incredible filmmakers and actors,
that always help bring the best out in me,
but the process is different every time.
And that was the longest answer.
Sorry! [laughs]
But, yeah.
You guys are really awesome, and super fun,
and like I said at the beginning of this call,
like people I wanna be friends with.
But, best of luck to all of you,
with what you're doing and what you're studying,
and what you aspire to be doing.
I love ya'll and I'm thankful for ya'll.
Stay safe, stay home, damn it!
And hopefully we get to meet in person some day.
- [Maggie] True!
[laughs]
[group chattering]
- Of course, of course, I will see you guys soon,
I love you! Thank you!
- Love you!
- Bye!
- That was so cool,
I cannot believe we just sat down
and had a casual conversation with Hailee, for like an hour.
[laughs]
- It felt like five minutes.
I was like, oh my god,
I'm sweating. - I'm still sweating.
[laughs]
- She popped on and we're like, oh this is not real.
[laughs]
But I was really impressed,
because I feel like every question we asked,
she took maybe like a one second beat,
and could go into like a five page essay analysis,
which is just super impressive for anyone to do.
- I adored it all, it was so cool.
- Oh my gosh, okay.
That was so awesome, so much fun,
that was an amazing group of people right there,
and really inspiring actually to hear that a lot of them
are in film and in acting,
and they had some really awesome questions, which was great.
So that was super fun, I hope you guys enjoyed watching.