The Rose Abloom

 

Music video for the song "The Rose Abloom" taken from the debut solo album of Ben Harris-Hayes from Enochian Theory

Concept

My ideas usually evolve from a single image, and this video was no different. The first image that popped in to my head while listening to the song was of a couple dressed in smart clothes running through a corn field. I just needed a reason for them to be there, and an ending. Once I had that I put together a quick treatment with reference images pulled from the net which Ben liked, and proceeded to storyboard using the excellent Blender software.

Storyboard created in Blender

Initially the couple were going to gate-crash an expensive party, hence the clothes in the above storyboard.

Even though the final video bears only a passing resemblence to these storyboard images, I find it really useful to visualise the concept. For this project it was even more helpful than usual because I knew I wanted certain images at specific points in the song, so I created a very rough pre-viz using both static and animated images.

Storyboard created in Blender

Production

The bulk of the footage was shot in a few hectic hours on the last Sunday in September.

Filming the couple walking up to the house

No time to set up any equipment; total run-and-gun here – even using a light weight tripod instead of the gimbal!

Characters were changed to catering staff due to the fact that we didn’t have chance to arrange an expensive party, but I still wanted them in smart clothing. We did manage to get a great location for exteriors though.

It was really tough scheduling the rest of the shoot due to cast availability and we ended up getting odd shots whenever we could. The shots in the car where done one lunch time in at the end of November! 

You can just about make out my arm in this photo. I was on the backseat viewing the image on my phone that was paired to the GoPro attached to the car bonet.

I had intended to film the wedding scene on location, but it was now the beginning of December, and I couldn’t expect the cast to stand on the beach trying to make out they weren’t freezing cold. So we shot in Claire’s lounge against a green-screen instead.

Green-screen filming

The final scene of the video was shot on location on the beach in mid-December. My initial vision was for Darren to be kneeling down in the sea, but it was way to cold for that (though he kept asking if I was sure I didn’t want him to!). I like the final shot of him walking past the camera though.

Equipment Used

Blackmagic Cinema Camera, GoPro Hero 7, Moza Air 2 Gimbal

My Roles

Video Concept, Camera Operator, Director, Editor