Vote for Oliver Heath's Band Of Skulls video clip

Sydney resident and sometime moustache wearer, Oliver Heath, is a film-maker. His works have exhibited all over the place, from commercial galleries to bohemian urban dives.

His latest piece is entered in a competition to become the official video for the Band of Skulls single, Fire. "It's great doing clips for this competition because you can make a video without having to go to the band/label/management committee," Oliver explains from his warehouse studio. "It gets judged when it's done and you get to compare it to other people's. Friendly competition. It's great to see other videos from all over the world."

About the clip, in which a monochrome world takes a psychedelic turn, Oliver says, "Because of zero budget considerations, I have a standby mental list of locations and friends that I like to incorporate into a video project. So in this case I was listening to the song, and my friends at the Carnival of Electric Illusions instantly popped to mind - totally Fires of the Night. The've got a great take on Bowie's neo-romanticism. They live it full-time, and put on these crazy down-the-rabbit-hole parties. I'd wanted a chance to show the magical effect they have on me, and this was it. The story is literally about the slap-you-in-the-face creativity of night creatures dragging you - kicking and screaming - from the perils of the monochrome world."

photo of Oliver by Kalindy Millions

When it comes to inspiration for the film clip, Oliver took from a number of eclectic sources. "I shot the black and white stuff in tribute to elements of Jarmuch and Hitchcock, the colour stuff was inspired by the creature of the night sequence in The Rocky Horror Picture Show," he explains. "The lens filter prisms were from the 70's and a camera fair find, rotated by hand during the shoot, no less."

"I try and keep the clip on theme but not too literal so that it's a mood piece, adding to the enjoyment of the music without stealing the limelight. People should still have space to think about what the song is about, but you don't want to make a meaningless collage of video. It's a balance. I think we got it right this time."

You can watch Oliver's entry to the competition and - naturally - vote for it, here.