Director Hannah Lux Davis on Cher Lloyd "Oath"

Hannah Lux Davis, director: "Since the song revolves heavily around friendship and loyalty, I loved the idea of following a group of badass girlfriends on an adventure. Starting them in detention was a quick way to show their character right off the bat. Even though fall was already nearing when we shot the video, I still felt that summery vibe in the song, so ending at the beach felt like a very fitting release of energy at the finale.

We had about two business days to tackle  location-heavy/daylight-dependent/5-product-integration/narrative-based video. NBD. My team and I hit the town hard scouting high schools, beaches, and gas stations (which was later replaced with the laundromat idea after a bit of random luck). Knowing that we had to stay on the West Side if were going to end at the beach, we went with Venice High School, which was the first school I scouted. I must admit, A) High school is still a little scary ,and, B) I stuck out like sore thumb with my blonde hair and my iced soy chai. That being said, the school was perfect and I was stoked they were able to come through.

I wanted to stay in an adventurous/ambitious narrative state of mind for 'Oath' and, at first, my idea was much more complicated than what we eventually ended up shot listing. Cher was very adamant about performing in the water on the beach and I later found out that the video shoot was the first time she had ever worn a swimsuit! I love working on the styling with female artists, and this video called for some great looks. The school girl look was my favorite (well, tied with Cher’s custom made swimsuit), and I drew inspiration from my childhood fave, Clueless for all of her friends.

The shoot day was pretty chaotic, which was to be expected, and I was a bit nervous about our three company moves and over 140 people on set. My DP, Simon Thirlaway, was killer and exactly what was needed for a shoot like this. A beauty driven badass! For the driving shots, I was holding onto his legs while he hung off the side of the Mustang! Good times.

It was really fun to watch Cher turn on her A-Game as soon as the camera started rolling. Becky G was also a blast to work with and damn can that girl can move — she’s only 15!>

Cutting this video was a pretty fast and intense process. It was one of those videos that couldn’t be cut a million different ways so it made the fast turn around for delivery a bit more manageable on my end. This was also my first experience working with Dave Hussey which I was extremely excited about. I love how the color turned out!

My team worked incredibly hard to allow me to do my thing on this shoot and I’m extremely grateful for that. Also, shout out to Leah Harmony for taking a chance on the wild card. ;)  Cher Lloyd and Becky G are true talents and I can’t wait to cross paths with those girls again!"

--> watch "Oath"

Cher Lloyd f/ Becky G "Oath" (Epic)
Hannah Lux Davis, director | Brandon Bonfiglio, Luga Podesta, producer | London Alley, production co | Simon Thirlaway, DP | Alex Delgado + Brandon Mendez, Production Designer | Hannah Lux Davis, editor | Dave Hussey, colorist | Leah Harmony, commissioner 

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