Behind the Scenes of "The Villain" with Buried Beneath Me

Buried Beneath Me recently dropped the music video for "The Villain," a project that dives deep into theatrical, creepy, and visually stunning storytelling. Shot at the haunted Black Monarch Hotel in Victor, Colorado, this production brought together a talented team and a ton of heart. We caught up with them to learn more about how it all came together. Here’s the full behind-the-scenes story in their own words.

Q: What was the concept behind the video?

We wanted something creepy and something haunted. After all, you are meeting the villain and we wanted to give the villain a place to call home. A lot of what you’re seeing is the inside of the villains home before ....well, just before.

Q: How involved were you with the creative direction?

I’m very into having hands-on with my projects. That goes all the way from the socials to the music to the videos. I think all of it through and then take the main ideas to Tra$hdog and he really helps me to flesh those ideas out. Between the two of us with Tim, our videographer, we all put our heads together to figure out how to bring those main ideas to life.

Q: What were some of your visual influences for this video?

I’m such a huge fan of flashy movement style rock videos. Those from the early 2000’s that made so many bands into what they are today. Those big theatrics from The Black Parade or the cool undersaturated videos like “Prayer of The Refugee” from Rise Against. We really tried to lean into the creep, we all love that look and honestly it’s what most of us wear is dark black clothing and darker makeup. We’re alternative people, it’s just what we do!

Q: How did you pick the filming location?

The video was filmed in The Black Monarch hotel in Victor, Colorado. We chose that location for a few reasons. The first being, it understood the assignment! We needed someplace that was just oozing “creep” to the max and this gave the desired effect. The other reason was because it was within our ability to achieve it. Tra$hdog and I knew that if we were going to do a video shoot like we wanted we would need the entire hotel and we had a way to obtain this one that was within our means and budget. I also wanted to put as much effort as I could into the art of this whole record. That meant really going further than ever before on the cost of production as well as the value that we were bringing to the table for the listener and viewers. That has taken so much work but it’s been worth every second, in my opinion.

Q: How long did filming take?

It was about a 16 hour day for everyone involved. We also filmed another video for a different song on the same day so we did 2 videos in 1 day in 1 location with 3 different outfits. It was a very busy day. I think I ate one meal that entire time!

Q: Did you face any challenges on set?

There were so many things we encountered that held us up that day. Tra$hdog and I call it ‘the resistance’. It’s an art term that if you are creating something truly amazing you have a lot of resistance in the creation process or in other facets of your life during the creation of that thing. The resistance was for sure putting up a good fight that day. It was snowing in the morning and we all were about 2 hours late to arrive due to slick roads and snow. Tra$hdog had gone up the mountain the previous morning to set up and due to the snow….. that caused the shoot to run into the night. Then we arrived and the ballroom had to be 36 degrees. It was very cold and we had to record a song and film 2 videos in that room. That was the warmest it got all day and it only went down from there. It was also the middle of January at 10,000 feet above sea level  in the mountains of Colorado. The building was built in the late 1800s so it doesn't have the best insulation either and we were in dresses most of the time. To say it was cold is an understatement. Batteries kept dying in the cameras because of the ghosts, equipment would malfunction. So many things did not want us to record anything there, but we did it anyway.

Q: With this being a haunted hotel, did you have any experiences that were paranormal?

Well…. I certainly did. I won’t go into detail about that because I have a podcast interview coming up where I will talk about that more in October of this year so I don’t want to give too much away. What I can say is I had my first physical contact experience with what I believe was a paranormal entity and some experiences I haven’t had since I was a kid. Whatever was in that hotel also played on my dreams with these recurring dreams that I have about this witch. Whatever it was, It pulled out all the stops for me that’s for sure! It also seemed like the night of the shoot I was the only one that was being messed with. Cameras would glitch out when we were doing my shots, batteries would die on my shots, it was very weird.

Q: How was the vibe among the crew?

Once we all arrived after a long morning of driving in the snow and we got to work, the vibes were good. Everyone was ready to do what we needed to do that day. I was honestly surprised I was as light-hearted about the situation as I was. Usually music video shoots really get into my head and it makes me super anxious but that day I felt ready. I wanted to take it on and make the best possible video I could. I wanted to really portray the villain the best way I could in the concept that we had crafted. Even though it was cold we all powered through. Things got really fun once we started ‘The Villain’ shoot though. That’s when we all started to have fun with it, still though I had a small voice of anxiety in my head but it wasn’t so bad. Once I saw what Sam was able to do on the drums for this video, I really was able to lax into my parts and it just worked.

Q: Who directed the video?

Tra$hdog of Tra$hdog Productions directed this video. I connected with him because he produced the record and had some experience in directing. I think he did a great job and I know I certainly learned a lot about filming from him and Tim. It was also very weird for me to let go of the reins on directing and wearing all the hats but I think It for sure made the video better in the end.

Q: What was it like working with a full crew?

We had Tra$hdog directing and running audio, he also handled a cam or two during filming haha. Then we had Tim Meyer of Tim Meyer Visuals on Cameras and in charge of Videography and lighting on the set. We also had about 6 other extras on set with us that would help with little things in the videos or get behind the scenes shots while Tim and Tra$hdog were busy running things. It was by far the most people I have ever had the pleasure of working with on a project that came from my brain. It was for sure an honor to be surrounded by individuals that were giving it their all for this vision and this band. It has driven me to push this project even harder than I thought I was going to push it when I started this whole journey. They pushed hard for me, now it’s my turn to push this project to where it needs to be for them…it’s the least I can do for now.

Photo by Tim Meyer.

Q: What was your first reaction when you saw the video?

I don’t remember the final cut so much as I remember the first time that Tra$hdog sent me the first draft of the video. The first draft and the final draft are not that far apart in terms of edits. Sam and I just had a few shots that we wanted to squeeze into the video so we changed those few things and then it became the final cut. But the first draft was unreal. I remember standing in my kitchen and I got a dropbox link from Tra$hdog. I opened it and it was the first draft of the video. I screeched and ran across the house to get my headphones. I threw on my headphones and pressed play in my kitchen while I was frying some fresh flesh in a pan on the oven. I was blown away! Because this was the first video that I had ever hired out for external production I really didn’t know what to expect and I honestly couldn’t believe it. The ability and talent that Tim and Tra$hdog both have for the video is amazing ....I actually watched it a few times because I was so blown away I couldn’t really make any critical notes on things I wanted to change! It was so good and I just remember thinking, ‘Ya, this is why we hire out.’ Such a great experience that I won’t soon be forgetting.

Q: Do you have a favorite shot or scene?

All the shots that I really loved are in the video. Sam and I really wanted to get that shot where I’m singing to her over her drum kit in the ballroom. The electricity that we shared in that moment was great. It was like we both knew that this video was just going to be unreal when it was finished. That was originally not in the video but we really wanted that one in so we got that in there. The other shot I loved is when Sam is standing behind her kit at the end of the hall just dead staring at the cam at the end of the video, it’s probably one of my favorite shots of the whole project thus far. That attitude she gave just really made the video step up to the next level.

Q: How much editing and revision did it take?

It took 3 or 4 revisions to finalize the video. We just needed a few tweaks,nothing major,but it was important to get it just right.

Q. Is there a hidden message or Easter egg in the video people might miss?

There’s a few of those in there actually. Really all of these things tell you a story, but it’s really up to the viewer to catch on to what those are and what they mean. That’s the beauty of music videos, you can craft an entire world into the meaning of the song that exceeds what the song is able to say. I really love what they can do for a song. I often wonder how many people will pick up on those little hints but I’m sure I’ll never know the answer to that.

Q: If you could change one thing about the video, what would it be?

I think my biggest complaint about any music video is that we never have enough time to really flesh out the ideas. I think if I had to do this one again, I would try to get the hotel for 2 whole days and attack this on a multi day shoot. One song per day and one shoot per day, so we could all have enough energy and clarity of mind to really follow through with all of the ideas we have. It seems when you have one idea it often bleeds into another Idea and then that goes to another idea and so on. Before you know it you can get lost in a shoot really quick and walk away with no content that is aimed at the narrative. Thankfully the team was very cognizant of that and I’m glad they were paying attention, because it can happen if you are not careful. I think the next video we do I also want to tell a bigger story about this character so we will see if I can pull that off!

Q: Is there anything else you would like to tell us about the making of the villain music video?

If you enjoyed reading through this article that Loud and Heavy has been so gracious to put together for us, you should go join our mailing list. There is a ton of behind the scenes content on there including a very in depth behind the scenes video of the music video shoot. We offer behind the scenes emails each month that include very exclusive content that only our mailing list members get. I also just want everyone to remember if you are ever made out to be ‘The Villain’ in a story or if you really are the villain in the story it’s ok to feel this way and it’s ok to feel broken. Keep moving on.

Creating “The Villain” was an adventure in every sense of the word. From the eerie setting to the obstacles they faced, Buried Beneath Me showed just how much passion and dedication went into making this video a reality. With plenty of behind-the-scenes stories to share, this is just the beginning for them. Keep an eye out for more, because they’re only getting started.