If It Was Up To Pearl Jam's Aussie Director, Their Latest Clip Would Have Looked Very Different

Australian director Josh Wakely has shared a behind the scenes look at his work on Pearl Jam's recent video, Retrograde, revealing that he originally had very different plans for it. 

The track is the latest single from the Seattle group - who released their long-awaited 11th studio album Gigaton back in March - and was released earlier this month. 

In a behind the scenes video released today, Wakely has revealed that he was forced to rethink his entire concept for the video in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, seeing it go from a a live action shoot to a mix of animation and motion capture. 

The video was also produced by a fellow Australian, Rachel Pinchbeck, and features an animated version of activist Greta Thunberg while depicting a world ravaged by the impact of climate change. 

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"Retrograde is one of the great Pearl Jam songs. There is an urgency and craft to the Retrograde song and the entire Gigaton album..." explained Wakely in a statement. 

"I loved bringing it to life through sight and motion. It is an unusual time in the world and this has been one of my most fulfilling experiences as a filmmaker. Pearl Jam are a band and group of people that I love collaborating with. 

"The vision that I present - of a world ruined by climate change - is my way of sounding the alarm about the consequences of inaction. I sincerely hope this video serves as a reminder that it’s gonna take much more than ordinary love to lift this up."

Check out both the video and the behind the scenes look below.