Music-video shot on XM2

[Rohit Colin Rao]

oh and btw, really well done music video nils!

[Charles King]

<<<-- Originally posted by Rohit Colin Rao : i have a gl2 and have been reading about the xm2 but don't know what it is. is it just the european version of the gl2? -->>>


Yes it is.

[Nils Thomas]

Vince: Hmm... I'm sure I posted a reply to you yesterday. Oh well, my connection probably screwed up when I clicked "Submit Reply". Anyway, the answer is that we just panned the flashlight over the typewriter. Nothing fancy, but it did the trick :)

Rohit: The XM2 is the European version, yes. The only difference being (as far as I know) that it uses PAL and the GL2 uses NTSC. Glad you liked it! :)

[Vince Skinner]

ok Nils, you sound nice enough that you won't flame me. I would like to know where you get your inpiration or ideas in your video. Did you have a brainstorming session with the band or did you come up with the ideas just on your own. And if so where did you get your ideas. Like the idea of the guy going through the book and tearing out pages, or the guy painting the wall with blood. Or when he shuts the book, the wind starts to blow. That was great btw. That reminded me of something out of a mythical 80's movie. Just curious. Thanx man for any input you might have.

V

[Scott Silverman]

<<<is it just the european version of the gl2? -->>>


Correct.

[Nils Thomas]

Vince: I would never flame anyone! :) Actually, I'm quite flattered that you show such interest! :)

Where do the ideas come from? Well, let's see. This time, I think the location came first. We were looking for a place nearby that would look cool on video. It suddenly dawned on me that we had this huge old fortress just a 10 minutes drive away. I had never been inside, but had some ideas on how it probably looked. Anyway, I think the first idea was the one with the matches. It's hard to say where that idea came from. I guess it was the idea of someone holding on to the last glimmers of light, in otherwise total darkness. Actually, when I think about it now, the idea may come from the H.C. Andersen story, about the little girl with the matches. The next idea was the one with the flying pages. That I think was inspired by a video Harald Zwart ("One Night at McCools", "Agent Cody Banks") did for a-ha's song Velvet. In nearly all the scenes there were things floating in the air, be it dust, leaves or bubbles. I really loved the effect, and wanted to do something similar in this video. That was at least part of the inspiration. The other two key scenes (writing on the wall (which by the way is a VFX shot - the text was added in post) and typewriter) was created after we decided that we wanted a "theme" for each of the guys. But you know - everything is a process. The ideas start one place, and end up somewhere else. It's also a very organic process, so it's hard to pinpoint the exact inspiration for something. Though I had most of the conceptual ideas, the video turned out as it did because of the interaction with everyone involved. The band played a huge part in forming the video. Two days before the shoot, I sat down with Shahryar Kashani (the one with the books) and Martin Beyer-Olsen (the one with the matches) and wrote down the entire video, so we knew roughly how long each shot should be. In a music video, this step is VERY important, because the video is going to be cut to music, and you can't just cut or extend scenes as you can in other video genres.

The video we shot was actually not my original idea. I first wanted to do a post-apocalyptic thing in a desert somewhere (inspired by another video favourite of mine; Madonna's Frozen), but since we live in Norway, there are not many desserts to choose from. I still feel that that video would have been better, but I'm quite happy with this one too :)


Hope this gave you some answers Vince! It was not a easy question ;) This was in fact quite helpful for me too, as I'm working on a DVD for the video now (just for fun), and having to remember all this is very helpful since I'm doing the commentary-track soon. We're also going to have a commentary-track with the guy that cleaned up after us! ;) (we don't take this to serious!) :)
Anyway, just ask if there is anything else you're wondering about! :)

[John Locke]

Nils,

I really enjoyed your film. It's very imaginative.

No deserts in Norway, eh? I spent a summer in Ringøy on the Hardanger fjord and it's the most striking place I've ever seen (and I've seen a lot). You couldn't live in a better film location. You could've substituted a desert setting for, say, a glacier setting, or one of the upper valleys with waterfalls every direction you turn? How about one of the turquoise fjords in spring?

Show off Norge a bit. :)

[Vince Skinner]

Nils, That is great about the guy cleaning up. I laughed! That would be a great addition to a DVD. You really answered my question. I agree about it being an organic process; constantly evolving. I guess each artists takes inpiration from others, just like scientists and most other professions. Yeah, I second the request to show off some of your country. I'd like to see some video of that. :)

V

[Nils Thomas]

John: I've never been to the west coast of Norway (I live near Oslo), but I hear people say it can be quite impressive.

Actually, one of my favourite musicvideoes does quite a good job of showing of Norwegian scenery. It's based on a time-laps movie that was shot in the late 70's (I think). The camera travel around an island, while a whole year pass. Really neat effect!
The video is for the Norwegian band a-ha, who were inserted into the film.

http://www.syndicate.se/gallery/aha_lifelines/default.asp

I really recommend that you download the video, and have a look! :) One of my fav songs too.

[Vince Skinner]

Thanx for the post Nils, That was a great video! Wouldn't you be proud to call that your work?? Well, it's something to look to for inspiration. You gotta love A-ha, I still love the "take on me" video. I still love seeing that one, and that was made over 15 years ago.

V

[Nils Thomas]

Vince: According to some people I should be proud to call any work my work! ;)

I've been a fan of a-ha since Take On Me. It's to bad they're considered a one-hit-wonder in the States (and it's actually the wrong use of the term, since they had several hits). I guess thats the price of making something people remember really well.

[Jesper Hallen]

Yes, the canon gl2 is the american name on the xm2...