Ball Of Joy
directed by Cecilia Nordlund (www.cilihili.com)
All my hollowness to you
Original song by the Tall Dwarfs
The music makes me sick
directed by Sven Flesch
From the set of "The music makes me sick"
True art is always more complicated than it looks. It's a good thing then that we aren't trying to make true art, we make music videos. And they usually should look more complicated than they are. At least that's what I thought when we toyed with ideas for the video.
What you see is a rather simple setup of two different sets that Ella and Robert sing and dance in. What you don't see is that they are doing it in two completely different rooms and at exactly the same time. What you also don't see is that everything was recorded in one take with one camera. Which is great for the man behind the camera because my part in the production is comprised of precisely two pushes of a button. Camera on, camera off.
For Ella and Robert however it means this: If you make one step to the wrong side, you have to start over. (It happened and we did, many times.) So I suppose it is more like theatre than anything. After all there are a group of stage hands hidden behind the sets that raise the sun, tune the radio, move the clouds, etc.
Another problem is how do you make it seem that both are standing next to each other, before the same background? It is far easier said than done - you cut the set in half and install them in the respective rooms. Then you set up a camera in between and place two mirrors in front of that camera so they each point into one of the rooms. If you watch closely you can see a big fat black bar in the middle of the video. That's where the mirrors are taped together. Also, if you flip the mirrors you can make the background change, and there is your other set.
Now, one could ask why is it two rooms and not simply one BIG one? Because the video - just like the songs - should be homemade and match that intimate feeling. (The video actually was shot at home, my apartment, I still have the sets and I like to play in them sometimes.) But why the mirrors, why not shoot every scene independently and edit them together on a Mac? This video is so much more complicated than it looks! Oh. Yeah, yeah, true art and all that. But is it worth it? We think it is and we hope you have as much fun watching the video as we had constructing, painting, pulling strings, annoying the hell out of the neighbors at 4 in the morning (sorry), and of course dancing. Because after all, it's a musical!