I finally got round to downloading and editing the footage from the pink-sculpture workshop which Alex Schady led during the Low Residency at Central Saint Martins. A second edit of this music video can be viewed here.
There are a few songs songs which I had recorded but never made music videos for - so the footage from this workshop seemed like the perfect opportunity. Even as we were partiicpating in the workshop I knew which track would be the perfect match for the upbeat vibe and sillines of the workshop - Betrayal In Your Eyes - which I originally wrote as a pick me up. The song also has a more ethereal moment which would work well with some of the more abstract footage.
Photograph by Jonathan Kearney
I finally got round to downloading all the footage from the workshop to my Mac but realised that I would need to record some lip sync in order to provide a "backbone" for the video and to relate the workshop footage to the song. Fortunately, I had saved my antler-veil from the recycling bin and brought it home with me - so I got it down from the attic where I keep all of my costumes (much to the Boudicca's delight - she loves anything that resembles a ribbon).
Presenting our creations to the group.
I also decided to freshen up my hair dye to match the colours of my antler-veil thing; hot pink and bubble-gum blue (since the blonde part of my hair is close enough to yellow). I had the perfect earrings in matching pink, blue and gold colours and I also did my make-up in pink and gold shades - it's just a shame I don't have blue eyes! My original plan was to film the lip sync outside since the lighting would be better and the wind would animate the blue plastic strips which are attached to the antlers - however, when I got outside, it quickly became apparent that the ferocious Yorkshire winds were TOO animating - the antlers kept blowing of my head and my hair in my eyes. I headed back inside to have a rethink - and decded to film the lip sync in front of one of my abstract paintings, titled 'Synchronised Chaos', which - apart from having the most apt title for this workshop - has the same chaotic vibe and bright yellow, pink and blue colours of the pink-sculpture we created. I had to edit the footage slightly to improve the brightness but otherwise, I think it worked well.
Synchronised Chaos, oil on canvas, 100 x 80cm.
The editing process was quite simple. I used the lip sync footage as the skeleton and then dropped other short clips as overlays. I was restricted in the amount of footage I could use as a lot of people had recorded their's in portrait orientation and cropping would reduce the quality too much - but there was just enough to work with. I added some footage of Boudicca attacking the antler-veil for added silliness. With the overlay clips - I did a minor amount of speed editing to try and match clips to the beat (not always successfully). I decided to keep the footage in (roughly) chronological order since I had no better idea of how to structure the storyline - also because I felt like the workshop had a crescendo trajectory which worked for the narrative arc of the music video. I tried to match the content of the footage with the lyrics as best I could, but given that the workshop concept seemed quite abstract and vague - it was a very approximate process.
Our creations laid out on the wobbly tables which I managed to knock over later in the day.
I decided to film a close up shot of my eye to finish the music video and because of the direction I was looking into the camera, my congenital eye condition (Dunae's Retraction Syndrome) - which basically means your eyes don't move properly - is quite obvious but I kind of like how this just adds to the silliness of the video. Having said that I have been trolled about my "skelly eyes" before - so maybe I am asking for trouble by including it....
At the end of the video, I included the "B-roll" footage of me stumbling over a bench which nobody warned me was there (we were taped together and I was walking backwards) - for comedic effect. Karl's response, 'The blind leading the blind' - somehow seems to fit with the song lyrics 'Failed when you tried / Betrayal in your eyes'.
My favourite photograph which I took that day: I admire how Alex manages to look so serious whilst doing something so silly.
The last job was to subtitle the video for inclusivity. I've published the video as 'unlisted' on YouTube and not shared it on my social media, for now - since I am concerned that not everyone wants to be subjected to the relentless onslaught of trolls I have been suffering from recently...
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