Boy, You Need Jesus

by Faith Bennett
Winning best music video director in the 2010 Jacksonville Music Video Revival did not define director Gus Cooper as a one hit wonder. A year after showcasing the performance video for Darkhorse Saloon, Cooper returned to wow audiences with a narrative video for Le Blorr’s ‘Boy, You Need Jesus.’ The video is set in the early 60s and tells the tale of a tent revivalist (played by Blorr’s Cookie) brainwashing his congregation with the word of “Le Blorr-ble” while angered townspeople led by a rebel played by Blorr’s other principle member, Hot Damm, plot to capture Cookie and overthrow him.
The project was, visually, a step up from Cooper’s project last year. Art direction was far more apparent, as pieces such as “Le Blorr-ble” and Cookie’s pulpit were created just for the video. Additionally, the extensive cast was all dressed in period garb, which greatly contributed to the video’s ability to draw the viewer in. The crew and cast, primarily made up of Jacksonville residents, even traveled to Gainesville for the scenery in the field-filled video.
Still, perhaps the most notable thing about ‘Boy, You Need Jesus’ was that, as much as it intensified the acid-rock song and showed Cooper’s directing talent, it very clearly brought attention to the talent of the director of photography, Sean Shea, as well as the producers, Alexandria Lewis and Heather Burky, and to the postproduction work by Tigerlilly Media. ‘Boy, You Need Jesus’ is an example of a thoughtfully assembled team of artists working together to create one successful art piece.