ALKE – “Touching Me Now”

DIRECTED, PRODUCED, SHOT, & EDITED BY MICHAEL GAUTHIER

For ALKE’s “Touching Me Now” music video, I took on multiple roles — director, cinematographer, producer, and editor — guiding the project from concept through post. This made the film a deeply personal collaboration between the artist and myself, blending creative direction with technical execution.

The concept was centered on independence: ALKE wanted to show herself driving with no one else at the wheel, symbolizing being in control of her own journey. To capture this, I chose the desert at sunset as the setting, pairing natural beauty with cinematic symbolism.

I shot on the RED Komodo with Tokina Cinema Zooms, utilizing a car-to-car black arm rig for dynamic driving sequences. We also used a process trailer and a hostess tray for performance shots. This combination allowed me, as both director and DP, to design and execute the visual storytelling seamlessly.

In post, I incorporated digital sunset VFX elements for a cyber-inspired edge. To give the final piece a tactile, vintage quality, I used a film-out process: after picture lock, we recorded the digital master onto Kodak 16mm film stock, then scanned it back into digital. The result was a gritty, analog 16mm texture layered over modern digital capture, bringing the best of both worlds together.

With the support of a small but dedicated crew, I was able to direct and shoot a music video that feels cinematic, stylish, and authentic — true to ALKE’s vision of independence while carrying my own signature approach to visual storytelling.

KEY GRIP/GAFFER/CAMERA OPERATOR: OLIVER BUKOWSKY

1ST AC: MATT KRUEGER STUNT DRIVER: CORBIN MANNING

COLORIST: LOREN WHITE VFX: NATHAN SIMS

FILM OUT: COLORLAB CAMERA RENTALS: CINEMA CAMERA RENTALS

SPECIAL THANKS:

ALEXANDER SCHWAB ADAM SHAMBOUR KIMBER MARIE BRENT MADISON ANDREW BAXTER MATTHEW RIVERA DILLON SCHNEIDER KATHY KARRASCH BRITTNEY PAULSON