“Son of Sam” is a song by American singer-songwriter Elliott Smith. It was released on April 11, 2000, by record label DreamWorks as the second and final single from his fifth studio album, Figure 8.
The Music video was directed by Autumn de Wilde for the song, featuring intermittent black and white stop frames. Smith is seen following a red balloon that moves by itself; this concept resembles that of the 1956 French film The Red Balloon, although de Wilde notes in the photo-book Elliott Smith that the video was inspired by the 1962 French film La jetée. The video opens with whispers by Pascal Nabet Meyer and Autumn de Wilde.
In an interview Smith said, “The person who did ‘Son of Sam’ is a friend of mine. I didn’t want some hot shit Hollywood guy to make God knows what. My friend Autumn, who is a photographer, had never made a film before, but she was very interested in doing it, so she came up with an idea. It was fun because I knew her, and I liked and respected her pictures.”
