This entire music video had to be sunset lit with only a day to film it all.
In this case, I committed to the tail end of a local pier. The lines from interconnected wooden planks were a great way to direct viewers to what I wanted them to notice in the scenes and to keep the video from looking flat. Additionally, details like the deep and sharp angles made by the setting sun, and the rushing water that animated the static background, were integral in opening up the moment. In contrast, several inscriptions carved along the pier were included to tighten it.
For the concept of the video, given the lyrics to Titanium and the way this dance track was “intimitized” by R&B group, Legaci – I knew I wanted the video to have a sadness and strength about it. The pier, to me, was perfect in that, there is all this water with an unspoken force to create tragedy and to also cleanse. And there was this rustic structure within the mighty water filled with inscriptions that have survived the power of the ocean – while those relationships carved into the wood with intentions of an immovable love, may or may not have. It is about the in-betweens of life. It’s the “what ever happened to them” question from these inscriptions. And it’s the hope that whatever happened to their love stories has made them stronger. That was the story I wanted to tell.
As the director, Legaci allowed me a blank slate and full creative freedom to approach this project. So not only was I able to conceptualize this video, but I set up the framing of the shots, choreographed the shot transitions and the group’s “natural” movements, and braved through my insecurities to take on some handheld camera work (see 0:51 to 1:22).
Something I didn’t anticipate but it definitely helped me through the entire process was my background as a dancer. I came at this ROCKUS-produced version of the track, needing a viewing experience that would dance. I wanted the scene to dance with the camera and the camera to dance with the music artists. Goes to show that no past creative attempt is medium-specific or ever goes to waste; it only makes you bolder as a problem solver.
Special thank you to Chris Abad, for the editing, Micah Tolentino, for co-filming, and Maria Shenelle Mariano, for additional pick-up shots – for which without them, I would’ve done a horrible job.
More? This is my handheld camera work for Legaci’s cover or Mirrors by Justin Timberlake, below:
