A video and commercial director of international repute, Steve Glashier built up his first showreel making amazing promos for Brighton bands like Blood Red Shoes and The Lodge, something he still loves to do.

Does imagination make up for lack of budget?
With The Lodge house party video we got in all the dodgy people we knew, like drug dealers, and it was just a party in front of the camera. It really worked, it went mental on the internet and was one of the first of my videos that a lot of people saw. I don’t think we were paid for any of those early videos, but as much as it was me doing bands favours, they were giving me the opportunity to make videos.

How much of video direction is overcoming all the technical challenges?
You have these ideas and then you realise you’ve got to actually set up a camera on the singer with a light on his back… Knowing what I know now I wouldn’t do it. They’re mental videos with no understanding of anything, but a bit of arrogance and ignorance made it work.

Do you think about a video’s viral potential when you’re making it?
I just got in on that initial wave, when there was a freedom in that you didn’t have to get it on telly anymore, so you could take things a bit further. Suddenly you can have drugs in it, a full party – you can push it a bit.

Is it good to be working on bigger productions with better equipment now?
Looking back, I’ve managed to get away with quite a lot on really shit cameras – now everything takes so long, with 30 people bringing the lights in, and you really just want that freedom of when you first started.

What are you up to now?
I’ve just finished a video for an artist called Ren Harvieu on Island Records, I’m about to do the Quantic Soul Orchestra in Spain, just finishing a Playstation advert, and then a couple more videos I think…

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