The filming of the (parenthesis) music video is complete. And what a weekend it was, over the past two days we recorded over five hours of video on two very different sets for what will be a fantastic piece of art. before I get into it a bit, here's to doug the director who put the whole thing together. and to our spectacular crew: brendan, starr, laurena, colin, jay, nathan, simon, mike, mark, and chris who flew in from vancouver. here's to harris hart; aka: the good doctor. and to steve and mike for building our brainwashing chamber. and to anyone I missed - I hope I haven't - but here's to you.
Walking onto the set Saturday morning on the MTM Studios lot was a kick in the face as to what kind of league we were suddenly in. The set that was built for the Clock Orange/1984-esque portion of the video was to say the very least astounding. We were always told it would look great, but even still, seeing it under the lights as hard hitting. We had walked into the big leagues. This was no kids-with-a-video-camera deal.
Filming started right away, so we got into wardrobe and makeup, and then into our shackles. Harris, the man who played The Good Doctor, was great to work with as well. He looked positively evil stalking around us. You might remember him from the Gary Burns film WayDownTown as the 80 year old kleptomaniac boss. We shot for 12 hours, and what little we were able to actually see in the monitor across the room was fantastic. The day was exhausting, but completely wonderful filled with good food, good people, and about 2000 different pop-culture references to keep us laughing.
On day two we showed up and began to set up for the second half of the video, a more realistic performance-type set. We each got a turn in front of the camera, rocking out as we do in between a set of parentheses created out of light. Interestingly enough, we have come full circle in terms of colour. In our first show at the U of C Gala in 2002, we were smeared with the gel Rosco 43, affectionately known as F.M. (or Fu*k Me) Pink by us tech folks. Well, there was a whole lot of that gel used in Day 2. Back to our roots. Ahh pink...
The day ended with chili, and then beer at the Rose & Crown. This has been one of the best experiences as a band. We were brought closer than ever as bandmates and friends, and our focus on the work has never been more clear. We have nothing but drive to push us forward, and nothing but the goods to make it. This isn't arrogance, it's the truth.
- Anton Degroot
"Thank you Doug for everything you have done, and thank you to everyone who make this actually work. It worked like a well oiled machine. I can't wait to see it! Lots of editing to do now! Doug, if you can top this, then you rule!!!! This is my favorite video of all time!."
- James Duncan
"It's very humbling to have you all working and giving up your time and effort to this project. Everyone is so talented and professional at what they do, and do it all without one complaint or one hint of bad attitude. I know it must be hard to do and we cannot thank you enough, only hope that it pays off for you all in the end. You and your crew fucking rock bro! For we would do another video with you. talk to you soon."
- Sacha Laskow
Sometimes it really amazes me how an idea, so fetal and fragile in its conception, grows and blossoms into something that no one can control or contain. Nor would they want to. It seems some songs were meant to become larger than their creator. It's like watching your child mingling with those kids down the block and suddenly growing into the man you never thought you'd meet.
We arrived at Heavy Industries on the set for the last day of the Summersong Music Video shoot, and the first thing I saw was a life-sized Velociraptor figure going for my jugular. This place was AMAZING. It's one of those wacky Hollywood type workshops you see in all of those "behind-the-scene" shows. The dude's office is the interior of an airplane. There were 20 foot tall gargoyles and a giant Christmas stocking and an ENORMAS cow skull. And right in the centre, they were filming a small marionette named Ademain. I won't give too many details, but I will say its all very Tim Burton/Brothers Quay. Very cool shit. Oh, and they were all covered from head to toe in styrofoam shavings.
After lunch, it was our turn, and Doug (the director, of this and the Parenthesis video) wanted us in red shirts and black pants. Michael, as he always does in fine form, took it a step further and brought some extra costume pieces. Again, I won't go into details, but Anton said I looked uncannily like a young Captain Beefheart. I'm sure I'll be criticized for the blatant androgynous/bi-curious overtones, but I don't listen to da haters.
All in all, a very inspiring and kick ass shoot. Doug is the man, and he has such a passion and drive to his filmmaking, which is probably why he has such an impressive portfolio and most of us just have ideas written down on paper that never get finished. He took this little song we wrote and made something amazing, on a whim, and purely on artistic instinct and fervor. We owe him a lot. Him and the entire crew. Thanks so much guys.Another video for the new album. I'm getting really excited...
- Cody Harper
I wanted to tell you how much I personally appreciate, and I do as always speak for the band, how much work and time and creativity you put into this project. From our first shaky moments when I was so unsure of everything to now, where I am sitting in Edmonton working hard on the recording that will do for us what OK Computer did for Radiohead, I cannot think that you are in part responsible for ensuring that we are where we are and that is a debt that cannot be repayed. The video will be brilliant! Thank you, a thousand times thanks.
- Anton Degroot
I just wanted to personally thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the things you have done, and the things you continue to do, for our band. Your dedication, your professionalism, your skill, your talent, the team you work with, your vision and your determination are an inspiration to us. The look and feel of the Summersong video blew all of our minds when we walked in and saw the set and the puppet, just as the brainwashing contraption blew our minds the first time. I am so impressed by the things you do, and the dedication you put behind them. I've just recently been involved in producing two very large theatre shows, and I have gained an understanding and appreciation for what goes into producing and creating such a project. You surround yourself with such wonderful people, and your projects look fantastic. Thank you so much for putting your faith and your work into us. We couldn't ask for a better working experience.
- Joel Goundry
Early morning on Monday July 26th I arrived alone to our video’s location “Forget Me Not Pond” in Kananaskis country. Marija and Krista were on their way but were running a little behind. I decided to take a little stroll around the pond and plan for the day also hoping for nature to give me some guidance. The sun was showing signs of peaking behind some grey clouds – I wasn’t sure what kind of “look” we were going to be able to achieve. It seemed as though it was in Mother Nature’s hands.
I heard the sound of a car approaching, so I hiked my way back to the parking lot. Yep … Krista and Marija arrive. Marija gets out of the car covered in gold make-up and in full costume with a big grin on her face. Krista unpacks the car giggling in the background. Marija begins to tell me that her car decided to die at a rather inconvenient time - while going through a drive-thru for their morning coffee! The faces of the people in the drive-thru were a bit perplexed at the appearance of a bohemian gold woman trying to jump-start her car. After a good chuckle, we got down to business.
We worked that day from 8 A.M. to 7 P.M. with several pee breaks in the woods and a short lunch break near the pond. We captured amazing looking footage throughout the day and we actually did get “in” the pond. I didn’t end up putting that footage in the final video due to it being too “pretty”. I got caught up in all the beautiful surroundings that I had forgotten that I needed a darker look for the majority of the video. Oh well, it did not go to waste as Krista and I enjoyed torturing Marija with the glacier cold mountain water. Marija was a good sport and was up for anything!
Around 6 P.M, we found ourselves on the edge of a river filming the second last verse of the song. Once we wrapped that scene, we were all exhausted from trekking through the woods, being eaten alive by mosquitoes, freezing in the pond.
Dark clouds surrounded us in all directions. I told Marija and Krista that we still needed to capture the last verse of the song. It needed to be bright and beautiful. There was a bright yellow farmer’s field that I saw on my way out that morning – I decided to stop there and hope for the sun to come out.
We stopped at the yellow field and got out of our cars. I kid you not, the sky looked as though we were about to experience a tornado! The wind picked up, black clouds flooded in. Marija said with excitement, “let’s film this sucker!” The three of us were considering it as it was a remarkable sight … but then it started to hail - big time! In fact, it hailed so hard that we were worried about hail damage to our cars! Additionally, I was worried about my camera gear getting wet.…We figured it was time to call it a day and get the heck out of there.
It became apparent that Mother Nature was our fourth crew member, integral in the making of the video. It may sound cheesy … but I think the three of us experienced a new found respect for the power of nature, as it really affected our shoot and beat the hell out of us. Once we captured the last frame of the video we all felt we had passed the “test” and were so excited to see it all come together.
We worked really hard on this video but had a blast while doing it. I’m personally very proud of this video because it’s beautiful, dark and simple and there were only four of us that brought it to life: Marija, Krista, Myself and Mother Nature.
- Doug Cook