Post by stevemacdonald on Mar 14, 2004 8:54:07 GMT
If there's one song from Pure I'd love to see made into a video it's Benedictus. The startling contrast between its utterly serene vocals and its mindblowingly assertive orchestral accompaniment sets my creative mind on fire.
Here's how I would direct the video, line by line:
Opening bars of music: The scene is a placid beach at sunrise. With a wide-angle view we see gentle waves rolling in and rolling out as seagulls and herrings scamper playfully in the sparkling, foamy water. The sun is big orange ball of fire in the background, tangent to the horizon.
The first words are heard: "Benedictus...... Benedictus ..." The camera pulls back to reveal that this idylic beach sunrise is just a reflection in Hayley's eye.
"... qui venit in nomine Domini." Slowly, her entire face and figure come into view and she is seen standing with her feet together wearing a cream-coloured Romanesque dress make entirely of silk. The early rays of the sun on the fine fabric create a lovely shimmering look in the gentle morning breeze. Her long hair shimmers too.
"Benedictus, Benedictus ..." Camera slowly pans 180 degrees around to reveal a glorious snow-capped mountain looming in the distance flanked by luminous puffy clouds. Camera continues to pan around to find Hayley again, but this time she's standing with her back to the Grand Canyon at sunrise. She's in the same outfit.
"... qui venit in nomine Domini." Camera zooms into her eye to see the reflection of the beautiful blue planet earth as viewed from space.
More bars of soft music. The scene of the earth suspended tranquilly in space slowly dissolves into a vision of Hayley sitting down in the sand at the same beach where it all started.
And then it hits like a sledgehammer: "Hosanna in excelsis." We see a huge, brilliant burst of multi-colored light representing the birth of the universe. Woven into this burst is a closeup of Hayley's face and then a longer shot of her charging toward the camera in slow motion atop an Andalusian horse of the highest calibre.
"Hosana in exelsis" the scene resolves to just her on the galloping horse. The camera then swings around to see what Hayley sees as she storms forward. She's on a tree-lined pathway with the sun overhead flickering through the leaves as she progresses.
Loud music tapers off. Gentle music continues. She slows down, dismounts the horse in front of an old monastery. Its massive wooden portal is held open by a monk who gestures for her to enter.
"Benedictus...... Benedictus ..." Hayley is seen walking into the chapel which is lit up inside by hundreds of candles. The candle are all dancing and create amazing patterns of reflection in her eyes and the camera again closes in on her face. She is calm.
"... qui venit in nomine Domini." The closeup goes in tight on her eyes. The reflections of individual white candles transform into the same little seabirds frolicking in the lapping waves at the beach that we saw at the beginning, except that this time the sun is setting and properly slips below the horizon in a blaze of glory.
Finis.
Here's how I would direct the video, line by line:
Opening bars of music: The scene is a placid beach at sunrise. With a wide-angle view we see gentle waves rolling in and rolling out as seagulls and herrings scamper playfully in the sparkling, foamy water. The sun is big orange ball of fire in the background, tangent to the horizon.
The first words are heard: "Benedictus...... Benedictus ..." The camera pulls back to reveal that this idylic beach sunrise is just a reflection in Hayley's eye.
"... qui venit in nomine Domini." Slowly, her entire face and figure come into view and she is seen standing with her feet together wearing a cream-coloured Romanesque dress make entirely of silk. The early rays of the sun on the fine fabric create a lovely shimmering look in the gentle morning breeze. Her long hair shimmers too.
"Benedictus, Benedictus ..." Camera slowly pans 180 degrees around to reveal a glorious snow-capped mountain looming in the distance flanked by luminous puffy clouds. Camera continues to pan around to find Hayley again, but this time she's standing with her back to the Grand Canyon at sunrise. She's in the same outfit.
"... qui venit in nomine Domini." Camera zooms into her eye to see the reflection of the beautiful blue planet earth as viewed from space.
More bars of soft music. The scene of the earth suspended tranquilly in space slowly dissolves into a vision of Hayley sitting down in the sand at the same beach where it all started.
And then it hits like a sledgehammer: "Hosanna in excelsis." We see a huge, brilliant burst of multi-colored light representing the birth of the universe. Woven into this burst is a closeup of Hayley's face and then a longer shot of her charging toward the camera in slow motion atop an Andalusian horse of the highest calibre.
"Hosana in exelsis" the scene resolves to just her on the galloping horse. The camera then swings around to see what Hayley sees as she storms forward. She's on a tree-lined pathway with the sun overhead flickering through the leaves as she progresses.
Loud music tapers off. Gentle music continues. She slows down, dismounts the horse in front of an old monastery. Its massive wooden portal is held open by a monk who gestures for her to enter.
"Benedictus...... Benedictus ..." Hayley is seen walking into the chapel which is lit up inside by hundreds of candles. The candle are all dancing and create amazing patterns of reflection in her eyes and the camera again closes in on her face. She is calm.
"... qui venit in nomine Domini." The closeup goes in tight on her eyes. The reflections of individual white candles transform into the same little seabirds frolicking in the lapping waves at the beach that we saw at the beginning, except that this time the sun is setting and properly slips below the horizon in a blaze of glory.
Finis.
