Fantasy Meets Reality
When Rachel approached me about doing a music video for her new song Goddess, she had four major components she knew that she wanted to incorporate::
1. A Fantasy-like setting featuring an outwardly Goddess-like version of Rachel. A scene that represents our Idolized Self: what we think we need to be in order to be acceptable.
2. A Bathroom-Scene in which Rachel would cut her hair, mourn the shattering of that idolized self, and then find joy in accepting herself for who she is.
3. A sequence inspired by the intro credits of “Orange is the New Black” that focus on close-ups of all different types of women - and in this music video’s case, men. Show diversity, as well as detail. Particular qualities that stand out, that express uniqueness.
4. An empowered, natural self performing in the middle of Beale Street.
We decided to approach the Fantasy Scene by focusing on light and shadow in an all-natural, and naturally manicured, environment. Helena’s Harbor View Trail was the perfect location to find this balance. It boasts 200’ Willow Trees, Golden sunsets, and has a naturally low brush floor due to seasonal flooding.
For the Bathroom Scene, I wanted to film Rachel “through the bathroom mirror,” in order for her to have a vulnerable moment, seeing herself in the mirror - rather than performing for a camera. I did this by setting up the camera on the backside of a two-way mirror, and lit it with a ring diva light.
Additionally, we brought up guests into the bathroom scene once Rachel was finished with her part, and captured our montage sequence in the same space. It was important to me for the guests we were filming to not be performative, but to be interacting with the song and their own souls as they faced their reflection.
And then finally, we approached the empowered/accepted self scene by filming on Helena’s Cherry Street, which thematically fits the idea of beauty-within-brokenness.
To tie it all together, I wanted to include a writing-scene. The whole concept felt very meta to me, and I wanted to bring it into a moment so that the various expressions of Rachel - the Idolized Goddess, the empowered Goddess - were expressed as a form of self-reflection of the true Rachel, who is a girl in her room, with a guitar, writing a song about healing.
By celebrating the writing session, the act of creation, the artistic process itself, I feel like we get to really celebrate who the artist is as a creator, and as a person, rather than who the artist aspires to be, or who they think they need to be. For me, this is very relatable - and a healthy reminder to celebrate the process, the creative act, the journey.
Thank you for writing a beautiful song, Rachel, and for bringing me in to help you execute it.