A post apocalyptic music video from Reykjavík-base director Erlendur Sveinsson (last seen on DN here), Midnight (The Hanging Tree) for HOSH & 1979 (feat. Jalja) pulls us into the near future, in which a young woman braves the impending danger of violent storms to embark on a long and desperate journey to deliver a vaccine to her sister.
About the genesis and VFX challenges of his dystopic road movie Sveinsson says:
“I’ve had a road film brewing inside my head for the past couple of months. I was excited about the motorcycle in the snow and to play with elements of mystery and suspense.
This was a very challenging project throughout and was made right before the worldwide spread of the Coronavirus. The post production took place during quarantine which made for a unique experience. We made this with a nimble crew and everybody gave it their all. The video was shot in one long day right outside of Reykjavik, Iceland.
The weather in Iceland can be quite unpredictable and we were surprised to find out on the shooting day that there was not a single cloud in the sky. That meant that we had to add clouds and storm elements to almost every single shot in post production. I worked with the extremely talented Jakob Thorhallsson on the VFX and he really went above and beyond creating this look.
Me and Ási, the DOP, were aiming for an underexposed look and wanted to distort sharp lenses with film grain overlay. That’s why we shot this on the Masterprimes. Nicholas Liebing, our sound designer really gave it life and was able to design/mix the sound in a way where it really pulls you into the music video. Overall it was an unforgettable experience making this post apocalyptic video during these crazy times. I’m extremely happy with the result and thankful to the artist and the label for trusting me with this project.”
