Video Premiere — Mimi Raver’s ‘Make It In America’
In an instant gratification culture, Mimi Raver still embraces the art of making art. Case in point, the video for her new single, “Make It In America.”
Described as a “song about love, loss and just trying to live,” or more succinctly on her webpage, “This is a breakup song,” Raver could have just released a lyric video or a performance piece of the compelling tune and be done with it. Instead, she went a little further. Actually, a lot further.
“It took a few weeks of me making all the sets,” she said of the video, which features puppets and rooms modeled after actual locations, all made by Raver. “Lots of Friday nights making puppet wallpaper alone in my house.”
She laughs, noting how it did only take one day to shoot, but she doesn’t need to defend herself. It’s nice to see that some people still care.
“I think that’s just a personal preference as an artist,” she said. “I’m very much DIY and I don’t know whether that’s me just having a very limited budget or maybe being a control freak. But I think the art that I make in all mediums…that’s just the way I am. I feel like I have to do most of the stuff if I want it to come out the way I do. If I have an idea and I think that I can make it into something fully formed, I just do it.”
That’s a tough path to take, not just in music, but in her other gig as a photographer. Opting for film over digital puts her in a position where she can’t lean on technology to save her on site or while editing; she’s got to get it right the first time.
“I’m a person who works really well under pressure,” she said. “I don’t know what it is, but I always make my best work when I’m really under pressure, especially with photography. I know people who shoot digital and it’s like a machine gun. Whereas I take the time to make sure that it’s the right angle, the hair is right, the clothes are right, and I think having the pressure to make it right the first time is a lot of how it works out for me. I make better work when I have something to keep me accountable or to make sure that I’m making the best work I can.”
So how does she fit in this day and age, when the work that went into the art isn’t always appreciated by the end user?
“I think people pay attention if there is some narrative about how it was made,” she said. “But generally, I think the way that people consume art these days is very limited in that it’s consumed very fast and then forgotten about.”
That’s the bad news. The good news is that Raver isn’t changing the way she approaches her art, and if you do stick around, it’s worth the wait.
“I did feel a little bit crazy at times spending so much time making little sets and getting everything together, but as soon as I finished shooting the project, it just felt so satisfying,” she said. “It was a very satisfying thing to complete an idea that you have, to make it actually become something real and even just shooting it on film, which I do a lot, it makes it so much better. You have to keep having a high standard for yourself.”
So there will be no digital shooting in her life as a photographer, and no auto tune in her music career, one that this trained vocalist with a degree in voice hopes will keep moving forward.
“Singing is a talent that I’ve always had and I feel really satisfied expressing myself with my voice,” she said. “Music is something I would really like to have be successful for me as a career.”
For more information on Mimi Raver, click here
