MEMORIES
THUTMOSE
music video treatment by
Ben Kadie
concept
Our video opens in Thutmose's small New York apartment. He's in the middle of a painful argument with his girlfriend. This could filmed as a short dialogue scene before the track begins, shot in a naturalistic style.
She walks out the door.
It's one of those moments that you will never forget, that burns itself into your memory, that you replay in your head when you can't sleep.
We cut to a wide shot of the apartment, Thutmose standing alone in the space.
The camera slides right. We pass through the wall and find ourselves back in the same apartment. We see her walk out the door again. The camera continues and we see her walk out again. And again. We are watching this moment in a loop.
The entire video is built upon this moment repeating, presented as one continuous shot.
previs
The impossible effect is achieved with two techniques: filming with multiple cameras, and motion control. See 3D pre-visualizations below of what the footage looks like put together. Throughout the video, several variations on this technique will be employed.
Please note - these are crude renderings and this strange 3D man looks nothing like Thutmose! But I hope it explains what the effect will look like.
motifs
As the memory loop continues, the room begins to change.
At first in subtle ways: She walks out a little slower. The door is a different color, etc.
As the video continues, the changes become larger and stranger.
The furniture sits on the ground at odd angles. Large mirrors appear on the walls, reflecting multiple fragmented images of Thutmose.
Along with the moment of Her leaving, other moments from the relationship are introduced. We see multiple versions of Thutmose and his ex passing through the frame at the same time.
Eventually, we see the room covered in clear plastic sheets, with torn sheets of plastic also hanging from the ceiling.
The plastic blurs Thutmose when he steps behind it, giving him a ghostly appearance.
Memories,
Don't ever let them fool you
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Throughout the video, Thutmose's performance is mixed seamlessly with narrative motifs.
Thematically, the changes to the loop relate to the way our memory changes over time. Every time you recall a memory, it is altered, distorted. Memories aren't real. The video feels like reliving one memory on repeat, until it is so distorted it's unrecognizable.
The video ends with Thutmose standing by the door, everything back to normal. No time has passed at all.
cinematography
Gregory Crewdson
Moody mixed color lighting. Playing with light and shadows. Dynamic light and colored light is used more as the video progresses.
creative reference
Dis Generation - Tribe Called Quest
reference for motion control camera effects
reference for patterns of movement, repetitive movement coming together in an interesting way. Imagine a similar pattern of movement created by seeing multiple versions of Thutmose and his ex crossing through the space.
"Collide-o-scope" by Naren Wilks
reference for technique of combining multiple cameras into the same shot