My dear friend Rick Myers, who was instrumental in working with and managing my first real band, Some People’s Children back ion the 80’s, has directed a video for the title track of my album, “In Transit”. I think it is pretty cool. Rick, of course, can do a much better job describing the process and all, so I turn it over to him to tell the story. Enjoy! -gz
George first mentioned the idea for a video while he was still finishing the recording of the album “In Transit.” He’s seen some test footage I had and wanted to shoot video using a moving high-speed camera shooting at 120 frames per second. When he was ready for the video, we revisited that concept, but the idea of shooting crazy video with a high-speed camera mounted on a Glide Cam in a functioning international airport seemed like a bad idea. Getting permission might be possible, but the time and restrictions would be many, and shooting ‘guerrilla’ style was out of the question. I didn’t think the TSA would appreciate me running through a terminal at MSP with a strange looking high-speed camera on a steady rig!
So, we talked a bit about some of the video tricks we used years ago with George’s band, Some People’s Children. SPC made extensive use of video clips during live shows, and most of that was ‘found’ footage from a wide variety of sources. I suggested we take some stock footage and manipulate it to fit the song. He agreed and I began searching for footage, mostly notably from the Prelinger Archives. I started collecting pile of footage of vintage aircraft, films showing airports from the late 40s through the mid 60s. Then came the question, “What would it look like if Stanley Kubrick made a music video?”
It seemed to fit. The song, “InTransit,” is a slow-paced, almost dreamy song, and Kubrick was known for letting a shot linger. Plus, as we sorted the various clips, it became clear we would do the whole thing in stark black and white (with the exception of the very first and very last shot). The video is the playback of a very old and broken hologram. There are practically no shots that have not been altered in some way, sped up, slowed down, even played backwards. Dozens and dozens of clips bounced back and forth between Premiere Pro and After Effects in a process that became known as ‘time phucking.’ The video hints at a storyline without really providing any details. It’s what is left, bits and pieces of memories.
The CGI blimp is courtesy of Stan Bissinger, owner of Apparition 3D. As always, the stunt llamas were trained by Llama Fresh Farms, Ltd. in Paraguay.
– Rick Myers, Director/Editor
