In the “Behind The Song”-series we talk about the writing process, the technical side, the ideas behind the lyrics, and much more… Today we tackle the track “Letting Go” and the accompanying music video made by Emily Weeks. The track is taken from the 2013 Psy’Aviah EP “Future Past“.
Behind “Letting Go”, the music and the video…
With this track, we wanted to make a kind of electronic ballad, influenced by both triphop and EBM. From our perspective we think the EBM influences can mostly be found in the typical bassline, and a more triphop approach is used with the drums and crackles (as percussion elements). The lyrics themselve deal with “moving on”, literally “breaking up with the past” as the chorus part describes. To dive deeper yourself, read the lyrics below…!
A story that begged for visualisation…
From the moment I started working on the lyrics & music, I quickly knew I had to reinvite animator & director Emily Weeks to make an animated music video, with a story based on our lyrics. This time though we asked her to limit the decors and color usage, to make the video a bit grimmer in contrast to the “On My Own” music video she procuded for us. ”I really liked Psy’Aviah’s idea to restrict the color palette of the video to black, white, and a little bit of red, which corresponds to the aesthetics that the band has established for themselves, and also works excellently in the context of this story.” - says Emily Weeks, and she adds:
Powell & Pressburger’s “Black Narcissus”
“The story grew really out of films and artists that I enjoy, as well as my own emotions and memories. Starting from Yves’s initial concepts for the film, I then looked at a lot of reference and the story was shaped from there. I find references to be formative in the creation of my work, as these are works that are important in film history and are very effective at what they do. Therefore, a lot can by learned from them. Some of the inspirations included German Expressionist films, Egon Schiele, and classic films from the 50s and 60s about nuns, such as Powell and Pressburger’s “Black Narcissus” and Zinneman’s “The Nun’s Story”. I found Catholicism to hold a wealth of inspirational material. It is so full of symbolism and metaphor, which I exploited. I am drawn to non-linear storytelling and surrealism, as I think this way of approching filmmaking has the potential to reveal more than linear narrative or extreme (self)consciousness.”
The black and white minimalist look…
Dogville (Lars von Trier)
The music video has a distinct minimalist look in decors and color use. I hinted Emily Weeks at some movies where I saw minimalism could focus attention more on the story and on certain parts of the animation/”dialogue”… For me this was in particular the film “Dogville” by Lars von Trier - where the scene is in fact nothing more than a black & white canvas where the actors perform their part. No props, no buildings, nothing… It’s extreme, but it puts a lot of focus on the story.
Vampyr (Carl Theodor Dreyer)
The monochromatic palette brings shot composition and sculpturalism of forms to the forefront, which I enjoy playing with. As in German Expressionist greats, I wanted any decors or backgrounds to reflect the psychological state of the characters. The statues play an important thematic role in this film.”
Valerie’s hair
Valerie’s hair (concept sketch), Emily Weeks
One example of the german expressionist influence in “Letting Go” that I want to highlight is something Emily Weeks already hinted at: “I wanted any decors or backgrounds to reflect the psychological state of the characters“. The most noteable appearance of that is I think Valerie’s hair, which mirrors her progression and devastation as a character in the story, and it reflects the deterioration and eventual dormancy or death of her psyche.
Software used in “Letting Go”…
“All of the animation and drawings in the video are digitally hand-drawn in Photoshop.
The added textures (watercolor paintings and splotches, paper, etcetera) I scanned in and composited with the digital lines in order to try to achieve the look of the traditional media that I used during character design.”
“Overall I’m still experimenting and using many different techniques in my animation practice. I prefer hand-drawn techniques and traditional media as much as possible. This particular video used mostly digital technology, and I mainly use Adobe Creative Suite, which includes Photoshop, After Effects, Premiere, etc. My workflow takes me through many programs in conjunction in order to acheive the final film. However, I do not view the software as important to the work itself. Creativity, vision, and the ability to express something specific are most important.”
“The intersection of digital and analog techonologies is always an interesting question for me. I try to use digital as seldom as possible, but digital is an important part of my process. I think, no matter whether the media I use is mostly digital or traditional, I’m always looking for a handmade quality; there is such a thing as digital handmade.”
Listen to the track & watch the music video
Lyrics
she wants the cage she lives in to vanish
clean out her closet and break through the walls
that stop her from dreaming, that make it impossible to live her life
she wants to clean the mess inside her head
clear old dusty boxes with memories
of stories she wanted forgotten, but never really could
facts, eveidence, figures, clues and hints
tangible evidence of a crime at hand
bruises, injuries, black eyes and tears
tangible evidence of a painful past
break up with the past, leave it all behind
it’s easier said then done
break up with the past, leave it all behind
i know, it’s easier said then done
if only the days would move a little faste
sleep would last just a little bit longer
and being awake and conscious, wouldn’t have to be so endless
come let waves erase all the past
let them wash it away and bury
everything that once was, ’cause some things are meant to be forgotten
facts, eveidence, figures, clues and hints
tangible evidence of a crime at hand
bruises, injuries, black eyes and tears
tangible evidence of a painful past
break up with the past, leave it all behind
it’s easier said then done
break up with the past, leave it all behind
i know, it’s easier said then done