Pre-Production Introduction

The band I’ve chosen to for my music video project is Sigur Rós. They’re an Icelandic band that I’ve admired for awhile, and they’re one of those bands that despite most of their fans cannot understand a lick of their lyrics (seriously, several people have tried translating them, but they could never succeed because the band has a habit of writing their songs in Icelandic and a nonsense language they made up), the music is just powerful, full of emotion of every spectrum, and anyone can carve out their own meaning. The FAQ on their website says that their work is under Creative Commons, meaning that using their music for film projects is permissible as long as it’s not for commercial use or the film is being screened at a prominent and/or international film festival. If that’s the case, they have a .doc one can download, fill out, and send to management to request permission. Hopefully it will not have to come to that and I can just worry about this being a student music video project.

Sigur Rós has produced several songs I like and I have outlines and scenarios to accompany them, but I’m most interested in “Glósóli.” The story idea I have for “Glósóli” is about a melancholy, elderly man who lives in a village inhabiting an island. The denizens are able to see the spirits of the recently deceased, who always fly away to the sun (symbolizing heaven) soon after they die. The plot now involves the old man modifying his car into an airplane using scraps, with the ulterior motive of flying to the sun.

I always liked the song for its melancholy atmosphere, that at first felt aimless and full of longing, but then it crescendos into power, triumph, and heartwarming sweetness. After listening to it several times, the song reminds me of my grandfather, who has been depressed for several years ever since my grandmother died. And after reading an interpretation of the lyrics, the song always refers to finding someone.

How I want to tackle this project is through animation. My reasons are is that I do not have the resources to actualize what I want in this video. The animation, however, will have to settle for a sort-of ‘animatic’ feel due to the fact that I do not have the time, energy, software, experience, or talent to produce a quality animated feature. My plan will be this: I will first write a script and create some concept sketches to figure out the look of the film and research the setting. Then, I will try to work every Sunday after I have finished my homework and weekly or bi-weekly comic strip for the picket to sketch rough versions of the environments and then the characters on my computer using my Intuos tablet. After that, I will do clean-up and ink the rough sketches. Then color and soon, editing.

If, however, the task has proven too arduous, I will abandon this project and try another idea or song with a camera and hope it will be more efficient. If I also cannot do a song by Sigur Rós, I have a friend back home who’s a musician and has written several songs. If I cannot do something by Sigur Rós, I will ask my friend if he would be willing to collaborate.