Astera Lights Drive Jena Malone's 'Barstow' Video Shot

A lean, highly collaborative crew and a compact, battery-powered lighting package set the tone for Jena Malone’s new music video, captured over two days by cinematographer Sevdije Kastrati-Dill, ASC, with director Jennifer Reeder.

Working with around a dozen people, the team split their schedule between a Santa Clarita motel at magic hour and a stylised interior rich with saturated greens and moody reds. Shooting on a Sony FX3 with a Lucid Dream FX diffusion filter and a suite of Astera fixtures, they embraced a nimble, creative workflow to serve the song’s surreal, nostalgia-tinged concept.

Reeder approached Kastrati-Dill with a fast-turnaround, low-budget proposal grounded in deep trust from their previous collaboration on Reeder's feature Perpetrator. Reeder was teaming with Malone on a video for the single 'Barstow' from the artist's forthcoming album and asked if Kastrati-Dill could fit the shoot in before departing for Kosovo on her next feature. The answer was an immediate yes.

The piece charts a lone traveller's arrival at a neon-soaked motel, where she repeatedly encounters another version of herself—less doppelgänger than gentle companion, more echo than threat. Actor Robin Tunney appears as Malone's older self, and the pair deliver a layered duet of performances, further interwoven through shifting double exposure treatments during the edit.

The motel's palette—anchored by its red-and-green vacancy sign—shaped a bold neon-noir aesthetic that extends throughout the video. "I always need the lighting to be motivated and have a reason why these colours are being used," Kastrati-Dill explained. "The neon sign was a big inspiration for me. I loved its contrast." The results are unapologetically saturated: warm ambers melting into crisp green backlights; deep red washes punctuated with cyan; a phone booth aglow at dusk; and a vivid red convertible edged with colour. "This is some of the most colourful stuff I've shot," she said.

Given the scale, every item on the truck had to justify itself. Kastrati-Dill leaned on Astera Titan Tubes—fixtures she has relied on for years—and, for the first time, added two of Astera’s new adjustable spotlight Fresnels: QuikPunch and QuikSpot.

The QuikPunch quickly became the set's workhorse. On day one it supplied the saturated green source outside the motel, standing in for signage spill. During the phone booth sequence, a single QuikPunch created a striking green backlight while a Titan Tube provided warm fill from the opposite side, wrapping Malone in complementary tones. "It was amazing using the QuikPunch with a very small crew. Since it is battery powered, we didn't have to run cables or worry about power," she said. "We shot for several hours, and they lasted the whole time with no issues. Plus, the output is quite strong."

Because the Quik family and the Titan Tubes share Titan LED Colour Science, they meshed seamlessly. Gaffer Sika Stanton controlled colour and intensity live via the Astera ART7 app. "You can find the exact colour and saturation you want and just make it happen when you're there," she said.

The Titan Tubes proved versatile across multiple setups: they delivered a pink bedroom backlight, simulated TV flicker, and were mounted in pairs inside the phone booth to key Malone from within the structure. "Upon their release, Astera tubes quickly became the industry standard," the cinematographer recalled. "You can fit them into all kinds of places, they're naturally diffused, you can add more diffusion on top and control them remotely. I don't remember ever running into issues with battery life. They are just very, very easy to work with."

That adaptability matched the crew's chemistry. Malone, says Kastrati-Dill, placed complete confidence in the team, while Reeder and the DP operated with near wordless fluency thanks to their shared history. "We don't have to discuss things a lot on set," said the DP. "We just make it happen". That shorthand opened the door to spontaneous discoveries that elevate music videos. A close-up of Malone against a pink backdrop became the perfect cue to add a soft pink fill—no huddle required—as Kastrati-Dill reached for a Titan Tube to deepen the established colour world. "You can just play," she said. "Using colours that way was really satisfying."

Jena Malone's new album arrives in May, and the 'Barstow' video is available to watch now.

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