Chayse Irvin, ASC, CSC on Travis Scott’s “Mo City Flexologist”

Director Kahlil Joseph’s name is just as likely to appear in world-renowned art exhibitions as it is atop the credits for lauded music videos. In the latter category, Joseph recently reteamed with cinematographer Chayse Irvin, ASC, CSC — an artful craftsperson in his own right, with feature credits that include Blonde and BlacKkKlansman — for Houston-based hip-hop star Travis Scott’s “Mo City Flexologist.” Photographed in a spontaneous style on 35mm film, the music video paints an abstract portrait of Missouri City, Texas, the Houston suburb where Scott grew up.

In this Q&A, Irvin shares his perspective on the production, for which he worked with an equipment package that included a Millennium XL2 camera and Primo lenses provided by Panavision Dallas.

Panavision: How did you come to reteam with Kahlil for this music video?

Chayse Irvin, ASC, CSC: Kahlil called me on a Friday afternoon and asked if I was free Tuesday. I told him I might have a doctor's appointment but could be free later that day. He told me he was thinking of shooting for Travis, and by Sunday I was in Houston. There was never a question — he knew I'd come. We spent Monday with Travis, hanging out. He took us through Mo City, showed us his corner of it, the weight of years hanging in the air, and described memories and the people he admired as a teenager. By Tuesday, we were filming.

How would you describe the look you wanted to create?

Irvin: It's raw and free of any preconception. There's never a plan. No traditional script or storyboards. We just have a character, which is the artist, along with their community or family. Our script is the feeling of the core idea or sentiment of the music based on what we observe after we arrive at the character's habitat. We assimilate into their community and study the culture, like ghosts — moving through their streets and their homes. It's done with a photojournalistic eye. The structure and approach are like that of an essayist. The culture either shows itself to you or it doesn't. You either capture it, or it slips through your fingers.

What brought you to Panavision for this project?

Irvin: My first AC, Dave Edsall, reached out to Panavision on Labor Day weekend. He managed to get someone who told him Panavision Dallas had a 3-perf XL2. Dave flew up to Dallas, walked into Panavision as they opened Tuesday, and the producers got the rental sorted. Dave and the camera crew were in Houston by the time the light was falling. That same evening, we were shooting.

How did you land on your camera package?

Irvin: Luck plays a part in it, or fate, or something in between. DP Ian Rigby lent me his Arri 235, which was our B camera that I operated and pulled focus for myself. No one else was going to see it the way I needed to. Dave and operator Andrew Fletcher handled the A camera.

Dave told me about the XL2 — how with a few clicks you could throw the shutter out of phase, make it strange and disjointed. I told him to do it. That's when it clicked. Everything started to fall into place.

What’s unique about collaborating with Kahlil?

Irvin: Kahlil isn’t like other directors. There’s no preconception of how it’s supposed to be, no preconceived images in his head. Everything captured is raw, a product of intuition and whatever happens in front of the lens. It’s spontaneous. The camera moves, the world shifts. You catch it or you don’t. The chance that governs it, that’s where the truth lies. Nothing controlled, nothing forced. Just the moments that offer themselves to you, and the ones you let slip by.