Jonathan and I had the pleasure of working on a project for Victory Records to Direct/Produce/Film a music video for the band, Close Your Eyes. The original project had 2 possible songs, and the label decided on “Keep The Lights On” (my personal favorite from their new album). It was such a struggle to contain my excitement to be working on this project, and especially difficult not to share my progress with you guys as the album still had not been released, and we had a preview of the master recordings. I spoke with Shane Raymond, Close Your Eyes lead singer, briefly after the video shoot, and as he told me stories about the thought process and place where he was when he wrote this particular song, it was as though I was speaking to the man behind the Wizard of Oz, and was hearing all of his passion and dedication to the art and to his lyrical purpose. I think he is an amazing guy, and the band was nothing but stellar during the shoot. Brett’s family came down and I was able to meet them – such a great support system, and so encouraging.
Before my exposure to the band, I had no idea that Christianity had such a great outlet for music in this style, and I definitely did not realize how powerful the lyrics could be when screamed at the top of one’s lungs. I really enjoy the story that is being told in the song about a sinner who is pulling his way out of the things that he despises about himself and how he’s lived his life; and that in order to keep fighting he is asking God to keep the path lit so that he may one day find his way back home.
Jon heard the song first and immediately had a concept for the shoot. Jon conceptualized a dark and very industrial hallway to symbolize the path that the sinner would be walking through. We wanted the lighting to gradually change through the hallway until finally he would be immersed in darkness. The band’s performance was set in an unsavory location for continuity of the concept that powerful messages may be (and should be) spoken(or screamed) even in darkness. My favorite part of the entire video happens near the end. We are very thankful to both Close Your Eyes and Victory Records for calling on us for this project. I’ll let you watch it now…
Check it out – the video has already hit 220,000 views on youtube.
and here is a brief behind the scenes look, to a dubstep song that we listened to cranked up high as we set up.
Please feel free to leave a message or contact Jon at J@arkfilms.me or send me a message – d@arkfilms.me
by Daniel Chee
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