Get Immersed in Director Saorla Houston’s Relatable Escapism
Saorla’s mum still tells a story of her at only five years old starring as ‘the little red hen’ in a school play and directing the rest of the kids, as well as reminding them of their lines. “Sounds pretty annoying,” admits Saorla. “But I’ve always liked encouraging other people to perform.” So, it’s not surprising that she was also one of those kids that made all the adults at the table watch her and her cousins’ elaborate dance performance (directed by her, of course).
After attending an integrated secondary school in Northern Ireland, Saorla discovered that she loved art. “I remember my teacher holding onto my first-year sketchbook as an example for upcoming years after I had done pencil drawings of a wine glass for homework,” she says. “It was encouraging to realise there was something I was particularly good at.”
During her teenage years was when Saorla discovered photography. She’d do her friends’ make-up before an outing and take their portraits, while slowly moving towards drawing portraits as part of her art portfolio. Later, she went on to do a one year foundation degree in art and design in Belfast, where she focused on painting, before deciding to go to London where she did an MA in her first bid towards becoming a fashion photographer.
Today, Saorla has eight years of experience in creating moving and still imagery within the fashion and beauty Industry. In 2014 she was hired as photographic producer at Dazed & Confused magazine, commissioning and producing fashion and beauty shoots with esteemed teams from across the fashion industry. Four years later, in 2018, this led to her heading up the then newest Dazed Media property - Dazed Beauty. As one of the founding members, Saorla was able to shape the creative vision of the beauty platform — championing creativity, individuality and self-expression.
In 2020, Saorla began working as a freelance creative director, directing music videos for musicians such as Raye, Baby Queen, Delilah Montagu and Camden Cox. Saorla also released a short form documentary, ‘RAYE Euphoric Sad Songs’, which premiered on MTV in December 2020.
LBB’s Zoe Antonov spoke to Saorla about her current role as a content director at Island Records, directing music videos, her biggest inspirations and more.
LBB> How did going to university and the degree you took affect your career early on?
Saorla> I went to the University for the Creative Arts in Epsom to study fashion promotion and imaging. I realised, during those three years, that I was a bit intimidated by the technical side of photography and learning that side of it wasnt what interested me. I was more interested in people, research, and the conceptual side of creating visuals. I became aware of the role of a creative director from reading the list of job titles on the credits page in i-D magazine as a teen so that role was starting to make sense to me.
In my second year at university, I got an internship at Dazed & Confused magazine. I met Lauren Ford - the photographic producer at the time - and I interned there for three months over the summer. It was chaotic but exciting and I was thrown into the deep end helping Lauren produce all of the shoots for the monthly issues. I loved finding and working with new photographers from all over the world, it all felt very run and gun at the time and we were making it up as we went along. I was so inspired by the people we were commissioning.
LBB> After the Dazed internship, what were your first steps in the industry and what were the biggest lessons learned from those days?
Saorla> At the end of my three month internship at Dazed I went back to do my final year at university feeling inspired by what I had learnt, and interested in the ways I witnessed people at the company get things done. It was 2012 and I was getting into feminism (I had also transcribed a Naomi Wolff interview during my internship at Dazed which had got me thinking). Dazed felt like a very male-dominated space at the time. When I went back to uni after that summer, I made my own magazine called LIP and interviewed 10 women, some of which worked at Dazed at the time. In terms of lessons learnt, I went into that internship with enthusiasm and prepared to listen. I got a lot out of being a fly on the wall and developing my own ideas and opinions about company ethos and ways of working by observing what was going on around me at the time. I also toughened up, working with different people and all their different personalities. I learnt to not take things too personally in a high pressure environment.
I think it’s better to say yes to something challenging and fail than to not try at all. I grew a lot from that experience and was proud of myself for finishing it.
LBB> Tell me about the launch of Dazed Beauty and your role in that process? How did you shape the creative vision of the platform?
Saorla> After my internship at Dazed, I graduated and went to work in retail for four months before Lauren got back in touch and told me she was pregnant and wanted me to do her maternity cover. I was happy that she trusted me to take it on. I accepted, after only 3 months work experience, knowing it was going to be really hard but also knowing I had to give it a try and take the opportunity. Those seven months were testing, but it paid off. When Lauren came back from maternity Dazed kept us both on.
I was totally focused on commissioning and producing other creatives’ work within that time and felt I was neglecting my own creative output. I had realised I was good in detail work, at organising and production, but was also aware I had stopped making my own work.
This is when I decided to take on a part-time masters in visual sociology at Goldsmiths University while I continued to work at Dazed for two more years. Within this time, I got really into documentary filmmaking, journalism and creating immersive spaces. My final major project was called ‘Perform Your Self’. My research explored self embodiment in the selfie age and I interviewed ten 18-21 year old girls, creating a final documentary film.
When I finished my MA in 2018, there were rumblings in the office of a new Dazed Media output in the works - Dazed Beauty. Publishing director Susanne Waddell and editorial director Bunny Kinney asked me if I would head up production. There was a full new team joining from across the creative industry, it was a really exciting opportunity to be at the start of something new that felt risky but within the safe confines of an established company.
Our focus was the future of beauty - it was inclusive and wide stretching. On the team, we all challenged each other to think about things differently, which was what made it great. Isamaya Ffrench (creative director) and Ben Freeman (art director) were pushing the conventions of image making. For the launch of Dazed Beauty, I was getting 3D head scans in for our cover stars to be worked on by digital artists. It was an exciting place to work, it often felt boundaryless and it was a space for the imagination to run free.
I was keen for us to document how people were expressing themselves in the world at the time. My interests lay with real people, documentary film and photography, particularly after my MA - this was what I was keen to showcase on the platform. For one of our themes, we decided to explore masculinity: ‘Behind The Masc’. We commissioned 12 photo stories from across the world showcasing the ways people were ‘redefining traditional tropes’.
LBB> What was the process of starting to freelance as a creative director and why did you decide to branch out in this way?
Saorla> I had started to think about moving from fashion to music after I had worked on a freelance project for Babeheaven while at Dazed. I had discovered I really liked working with artists to create visuals that felt authentic to them. It was a way to combine the escapism and storytelling that I loved about fashion and beauty imagery with an artist's real story and music.
I threw myself into freelancing during the first lockdown in 2020. I had reached out to Semera Khan at Polydor who gave me the opportunity to start freelance commissioning for them. I commissioned Fiona Jane Burgess to direct a video for ‘Natalie Don’t’ which was when I first met RAYE. We hit it off on set and shortly after she asked me to do creative direction for her.
LBB> Tell me about your short documentary for RAYE’s ‘Euphoric Sad Songs’ - what was the ideation process for that and how did it come together? Why was it important for you to make it?
Saorla> I had been working with RAYE for a few months and by that time, I was so aware of the stories she had to tell and the entertaining and revealing way she tells them. She’s really sincere and, in her own words, an ‘open book’. I wanted her fans to see this and give her the opportunity to talk about her artistry as a writer, her music and the stories behind each song on the project. I tend to film documentary content through the eyes of my teenage self. What would I want to see from my favourite artist? How can I get the essence of the artist across as if they are talking to a friend? I like things to feel really personal and real.
LBB> The music video for ‘Natalie Don’t’ was your first ever freelance job - how did that go?
Saorla> I was building a reputation for myself in a new industry and had a lot of work coming through at that time. One job would lead to another, it was a bit of a domino effect, but I was still working out my boundaries as a freelance creative.
Weighing up fees, with workload and capacity. I found that I wasn’t able to say no to jobs at the beginning - or at least that’s how I felt. This led to burnout, which in turn meant I learnt about my boundaries and how many jobs I could do at one time. Learning to say no and understanding the boundaries I need to put in place in order to do a good job has been a huge learning for me within my freelance life.
LBB> Why did you gravitate towards music videos and what about the medium fascinates you?
Saorla> I’ve always loved music videos, growing up in the ‘90s and early noughties. This is where I learnt about pop culture (like a lot of my peers). I think combining visuals with music is such an exciting format and can be so emotive.
LBB> If you had to describe your creative style and vision in three words, what would they be?
Saorla> Escapist, authentic, immersive.
LBB> Today, where do you find inspiration and what kind of themes do you find yourself exploring a lot in your work?
Saorla> My music videos always start with the artist and looking at their previous work/visuals and thinking about how I could best communicate what they have to say. I get a lot from having in-person meetings and getting to know them and their personal inspiration. My main aim is always to accentuate a personality and evoke a feeling from the viewer. I get a lot of inspiration from my own memories/experiences and I like making things that feel relatable but escapist at the same time. I work a lot with young women and want them to feel empowered by the process and have fun - hopefully that comes out in the work too.
LBB> What is the best thing on the horizon right now and what makes you excited for it?
Saorla> I’ve recently taken on the role of creative director at Island Records for the next year while Holly Williams is on maternity leave. Heading up the creative team at Island, I’m really excited for us to grow and develop some key goals as a team. It’s an exciting time to experiment with new visual formats and keep collaborating with exciting creatives and developing artists - putting their artistic identity front and centre.
I’m also working on my first short film, which I'm really excited about so watch this space!
