music video production

The Concept

Our writing and creative team had an absolute blast dreaming up ideas for Kylie Spence’s “Lying Eyes” music video for Kylie Spence. All of her artistry exudes both a palpably confident intrigue and vulnerable searching, a rare air of sensitive strength.  To match the sound and meaning of this particular song, we developed a kind of jigsaw mystery in the video’s story, portraying Kylie’s recent relational struggles through flashback and present-day storylines, all imbued thickly with symbolism.  Only as the story closes along with the song do all the threads come together, allowing Kylie to move forward with new, albeit haunting, revelation.

The Video Shoot

We shot the video in the desert with a 1967 Cadillac convertible and international Gucci model, JJ. And—oh, baby!—does that car deliver visual punch in this video, and JJ’s no less easy on the eyes either! Moreover we knew Kylie would be able to embody the various emotional movements of the song in her acting, so for her counterpart in the video knew we needed to find an up-and-coming actor who could emotionally rival her—a mystifying someone whose eyes could draw our audience in vulnerably close, though they would already know all along this song is ultimately titled “Lying Eyes.” But you’ll have to see the video itself to see how the lyrics ultimately bear out in the visceral visuals. We will leave the ultimate mystery for you to explore, but here is a preview of some of the plot elements.

The Plot

The story starts when Kylie moves to kick JJ out of her car, out of her life, once and for good. But immediately after and all too quickly, she begins to reminisce about happier times they shared together, remembering the relationship through rose colored glasses, as they say.  And, heck, we’ve all been there! Suddenly, however, almost as if summoned by her reflection, JJ appears and disappears again before her. After pulling over, while she looks around for him, Kylie stumbles across a photograph, but we don’t yet see its image. As she reflects on it, again, somehow JJ appears now in the driver’s seat of Kylie’s car, beckoning her over. Mesmerized by JJ’s charisma and motivated by her previous rose-hued reflections, she gets into the car with him, but knowing all to well where this can lead.

As Kylie sings now about the relationship again, the two drive through the long, deserted desert roads. But just as surprisingly as he appears, JJ disappears again in the blink of an eye. At this point, despite the struggle with her torn feelings, Kylie gets more honest with herself about the reality of their relationship. She’s reminded of the games JJ continuously played with her heart, and she regrets letting him back in so easily. When he appears suddenly in the middle of the road ahead of her, Kylie decided to end the relationship once and for all in one desperate, decisive move. As she speeds towards him, he gives one last look of desperation before she zooms right past or through—you’ll see what we mean. We see that JJ has transformed into something new, something we will leave for you to see—but to be sure, Kylie will only have her memories and honest reflections to contend with in the end. She closes out the video with more questions than where she began, but she also has more resolve, more clarity, more confidence in herself. But some mystery still remains as to what was real and what was not.

Spirinity Productions directed, produced the story, produced the video, cast the talent, and edited the footage for this video.

Spirinity has partnered up with singer-songwriter Dylan Bernard and his team several times over the last four years, matching the messages and emotional textures of his music with vivid and palpable visuals! Dylan is not only an adaptable music talent, but he’s also game for any novel or creative challenge the team imagines. Most recently, we had an absolute blast putting together this music video for his new single, “Forever For Now.” As you will see, its aesthetic and style is quite distinct from the first video we produced with Dylan for his single, “Flames”.

Some Thoughts on Production:

When we first began to discuss the visual concepts for this video production, Dylan and his team knew that they wanted the lyrics to match the imagery. The chorus to the song begins, “Forever for now, I need to be alone to figure it out…” This wandering lonesomeness, contrasted with a lonely hope for clarity, poignantly guides the message at the heart of the entire song. With the visuals, we sought to colorfully draw out this tension to grant emotive and visual language to the the sort of heartache that is all too familiar for all of us. This song is about learning to feel comfortable alone after a relationship has ended, to become at home with oneself again, so we knew we had to use desolate locales to image Dylan’s internal wrestling and process. We shot in the California desert, to externalize the felt isolation in the song itself. Plodding along a deserted road, stepping through a disused living-space that once served as a lively home, wandering along a cracked and dried lakebed, and returning again to his bleak desert highway, Dylan walks through expressive images of his heart’s reflection, perhaps walking all of us through our own as well.

Instagram TV (or IGTV) had just launched when we were discussing the video’s concept. Dylan and his team wanted to put the music video on IGTV, where vertical videos are desired. So we decided to film in a way where the video could be used on horizontal platforms such as YouTube, but could also be cropped into a vertical video for IGTV. That is why Dylan is kept in the middle of the frame throughout the video. This was a very intentional choreography choice

Another element that was keenly considered in the making of this video was the visual bookends. The cover art for Dylan’s single featured Dylan in a tie-dye shirt and black jacket with an empty, pale sky behind him. And we wanted the video to open and close with a similar visual—bringing that very image to life!

It was a hot day in the desert, but Dylan remained his cool, calm, and collected while filming his single (and without looking sweaty). We had a great time shooting with Dylan and his team, and, as always, we look forward to many more collaborations to come!

Call us today to get started on your next project!

If you like this video, please check out some of our other video work:

Alexa Friedman’s “Meant to Be”.
Alexa Friedman’s “Enraptured”
Kylie Spence’s “Lying Eyes”

About the Shoot

When an artist and her team approaches us with a big idea and a budget to match it, we are game to bring that video production idea to life! In this case, Christine Lee and her team wanted a fast-paced video to mirror her song, one styled on the classic larger-than-life, vintage feel of the 80s. They wanted all the classics: big stage, full band, DJ lights, smoke machines, bright lasers, and, of course, background dancers—the whole shebang! Can you blame them? Who wouldn’t want to star in their own personal rock concert? (Fun fact: after we finished the shoot, the onset crew performed their own fantasy jam-sesh up on the stage before tearing down!)

Marshall speakers, Fendy guitars, DW drum kit, action lights, and laser beams—the stage was set for Christine’s rockstar fantasy. But, we still wanted more. So also created a backlight silhouette runway and an LED backdrop lit with both with standard lighting and UV options. By the way if you need gear rental for your next project, we do that too!

Shoot Day

On shoot day, our musicians and dancers arrived ready to rock! It was important that the band members be both experienced as actors and actual musicians. When shooting a music video to a pre-recorded song, we don’t need the band members to actually play the song. However, many of our crew members are musicians as well, so we made sure each band member knew how to play the song exactly on point, just as it was recorded, so their fingers and rhythm matched up.

For the dancers, we brought in professionals in several dance styles—from ballet to breakdancing, from popping to hip hop. And when it came to shooting the dancers on our surprise silhouette runway, we told them to let their creative energies loose, blending their various skills into a wonderful synthesis just asking for witnesses!

The LED backdrop with UV lighting was one of the favorites of the day—does anyone not get excited when they enter a room glowing vibrant with UV lights? We sure do! Bedazzled in glow bracelets, glow necklaces, white clothes and oodles of energy, the cast and crew had a blast rocking out to Christine’s own rock fantasy. One member of our crew even claimed a cameo in the final cut!

When it came to editing, our final cut became a whole new fusion of styles and elements for our team, complete with cross dissolves, layered scenes, and light flares galore.

To be sure, we had an absolute ball working with Christine and her creative team on this video! We hope your joy experiencing the video matches ours making it!

We would love to work with you on your next project. If you have any questions about our process or want to see more of our work, we invite you to explore our website.

Now, we at Spirinity are no strangers to long shoot days, multiple set locations, and plenty of travel, but have you ever visited the desert, beach, an inner-city graffiti wall, and an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of a town all in one day?! Welcome to our shoot for Xin Zhu’s “Siren”! We’ve always loved novel experiences and new challenges, and for this video production we not only blended a variety visuals and locales, but also musical genres and video styles. We had always wanted to do a K-pop, hip-hop infused music video, and with Xin Zhu we were finally able to make that happen! To accomplish all this, we brought in one of our favorite choreographers, Kedua, and a crew of incredible female dancers.

When we were approached about doing video production for “Siren,” we had about three weeks to finalize the concept, cast, rehearsals, shoots and edits for the video before Xin Zhu was traveling back to China! In this particular case, time was our most precious commodity. So we got right to work! With the time crunch, we knew we would only have one day for actual shooting. Xin Zhu wanted to film in three completely different locations, so we knew it would have to be a long day, but our crew is always up for a real challenge! But we also had to be sure the additional cast dancers we hired were gifted, not only with incredible talent, but also with undaunted stamina!

We began the day at 4:00am caravanning to the sun-rise sand-wastes of the So-Cal deserts. Part of our caravan included a beautiful Mercedes-Benz G-500 and 2018 Bentley, both featured in the music video. The first half of the day we spent in the desert, dancing, setting off colored smoke bombs, and driving the cars in the cracked curvatures of a dried lakebed. Sure, we almost melted in over 100 degree weather, but it was totally worth it!

After a much-needed lunch-retreat at our favorite desert restaurant, we headed straight to the beach! The breeze and cool water were more than refreshing, after a hot summer morning and afternoon in the desert. We appreciate that about California—there’s so much diversity in locations! It’s not a surprise that this is where the film industry truly took off so many years ago. One of our favorite shots of the day was taken here on top of the cliff by our drone pilot, when he circled the girls with the sunset in the background. It was hard to leave the beach, as it always is! But, alas, it was time to head to the warehouse and graffiti wall.

For this video production we wanted each location to have a completely different vibe, so Lauren and the dancers changed outfits. We set up the G-Wagon with fog, as well as colored and Quasar lights. After more choreography and song run-throughs, we moved on to the graffiti wall location.

After the long shoot-day, we were off to the editing bay. Again, time was precious! We wanted to keep the edit fast paced to match the song. Thankfully Xin Zhu brought the heat all day, refusing to lose focus or energy through it all. And the dancers were flawlessly consistent in the choreography and energy at each location, so it made our job that much easier!

We appreciate the positive feedback for this video, including the over one million views in China! Our team enjoyed the culmination of different scenery all throughout California, with absolutely amazing dancers and choreography with a killer K-pop artist and rapper, Xin Zhu!

We hope you enjoyed learning more about the “behind the scenes” aspect of this video. If you liked it, we invite you to view our other work:
Maserati
Demi Lavato
Craft Syndicate With Nipsey Hustle and Zaytoven

A Little Background

We had already worked with Estani Frizzell on a couple different occasions before collaborating again for her single, “Higher,” so we knew we would be in for something novel and fun when the opportunity arose! Estani is an exceptionally talented artist and songwriter who wrote the award-winning “Enraptured” and “Meant To Be” for Alexa Friedman, as well as “Cry” for Rachel Gencon. When she approached us to do video production for her own first single as an artist, we knew it needed to be more than memorable, something that would establish her as a true artistic novelty. She had lent her talents so many times to reveal the brilliance of so many other musicians, we knew it was her time to step into the spotlight!

Estani’s single “Higher” is an award-nominated song about the universal longing to express something of tangible value in one’s life, but the daunting paralysis that arises with confusion over the next steps forward. Many of us long to make a difference for the good in a world plagued with bad news cycles and troubled times, but it can all seem too overwhelmingly big, devastating, unassailable. What difference could we make? And where would we even begin?

The songs opens with the lines: “You want so bad to make a difference, but you give up before you start. You say someday you’ll go the distance, but that’s just talking without heart.” Can anyone relate? Estani knew she wanted the video to reflect the haunting anxieties of the desires for change clashing with felt powerlessness that are all too familiar in our day. With that vision, our director, Spencer Evans, went to work imagining visuals to properly mirror these palpable and timely longings. He knew immediately he wanted the video to be a sort of visceral shock for viewers, leaving them with a sense that they had not only roller-coastered Estani’s experience, but that hers had imaged their own as well. Paying homage to Tobe Hooper’s film, “Poltergeist,” the video projects a sort of ghostly battle between Estani and these dark demons of anxiety and despair. And this existential battle is lodged not only between ourselves and the tragic realities of our world, but between our own haunting fears and our willingness to face them. And just as the song longs for a redemptive arc, so the video also progresses toward a more ultimate baptism of hope and release.

The Story…

The story begins with Estani sleeping soundly in bedroom near an old TV. Suddenly, while she’s still sleeping her spirit leaves her body to go downstairs. As she glides down the stairs the lights flash and we get a glimpse of the cross on her bracelet. When she enters the living room we see her dog alerting her with a bark, but we aren’t sure why. If you look closely you see that the TV has followed her.

Estani reaches the front door and a bright light and big gust of wind brushes over her. As she turns to walk away, we see that another has entered the house. Next we see her in the theatre watching the horrors of the news on the old TV that has been following her. Overwhelmed by the weight of bad stories, Estani tries to cleans herself in the shower. The TV continues to follow. Giving up hope, Estani rips her bracelet and the cross falls to the ground. She carries the TV to the pool as the news continues to play. She approaches the edge of the pool, deciding whether to take the plunge and leave her burdens. Just as she is about to hit the water, a hand pulls her out to save her. This action initiates a reversal of her actions and her spirit arrives back in her sleeping body.

Since releasing this video, we at Spirinity have found a second joy in its creation by hearing the various take-aways from its viewers! Did Estani save herself in the end? Was it an angel? Was it her thoughts or just her imagination? Or did the story end on a more tragic note? Also, what was the thing that came into the house? Was that just her? Was it all in her head? Her dreams? Or was it something of darker origin? Whatever you took away from the video and song, we hope it inspires us all to not give up on hope for our world, our loved ones, our neighbors, or even ourselves!

Final Thoughts

Finally, here are some fun facts about the video production side of filming! First of all, the dog in this video is the Director’s named Daisy! If you watch some of our other videos, you might see her make a cameo in a few of them. Either way, she’s almost always on set with us. When it comes to the gust of wind and light at the front door, it actually took us several tries to time it just right. We had one person operating the fan, another doing the light and it wasn’t easy to get the door opened and all of it to turn on in perfect sync! It’s a miracle that Estani was able to stay in character because the crew was definitely cracking up from all the mishaps.

One final filming fact for funzies: You know that feeling when you’re wet and frigidly cold after getting out of a pool on a cooler day? Estani definitely experienced that! After shooting the shower scene, she had to stay wet for the pool scene. While it was a summer day, it still can feel cold when you’re dress, hair and whole body is wet! When we filmed Estani’s fall into the pool, she actually fell in with the TV with 3 cameras capturing from different angles – including a GoPro from under the water. (Don’t worry, our team tested it out ahead of time for safety purposes.)

Truly, we had a wonderful time collaborating with Estani on “Higher” and we can’t wait to do more!