A couple of weeks ago, I released my first music video as Anna Rest Easy. It was a fascinating process, and I think it deserves a blog post.
For a few months beforehand, various scraps of ideas had been festering in my brain, slowly piecing themselves together into fuller pictures. There were four main inspirations for the concept, the first (and perhaps most evident) of which was Siaâs recent video trilogy, featuring Dance Moms star Maddie Ziegler:
These videos (Chandelier, Elastic Heart and Big Girlâs Cry) spoke to me for three simple reasons:
1. They are well focused. Maddie, the leotard, the wig, the crazy eyes, the style of dance - these things are now all instantly related to Sia and her music. They didnât overcomplicate the videos with an array of contrasting locations, outfits and ideas; they kept it simple and relevant.
2. They mean something. The use of Maddie and the art of dance to visually represent the song is extremely effective. The videos rightfully inspired an emotional response from viewers, as well as some intriguing discussions about the songsâ meanings.
3. They look nice. Maddie is an incredible dancer, both technically and emotionally, and she is simply great to watch, especially against the bleakness of the setting.
I did not want to make a video of myself, standing in a forest, my hair blowing in the breeze, followed by a forty second shot of a sped up sunrise, or the occasional close-up of a bush...it had to be remotely interesting, meaningful and different from the hundreds of thousands of superbly dull music videos that infect YouTube in this image-obsessed day and age. I loved the idea of finding someone that could embody the meaning of the song and represent the music to reflect how it was written.
My second inspiration was a scene from the 1993 film The Piano, starring Holly Hunter and Anna Paquin:
Anna Paquin has served as inspiration for a huge amount of the Anna Rest Easy project (including its title!), and, as a passionate pianist and avid fan of the lead actresses, I was always going to feel close to this film. This particular scene is so important, because itâs almost completely wordless - it uses music, dance, and face to convey more emotion and meaning than the rest of the film put together. I love the childlike fluency of Anna Paquinâs dancing, and how the music compliments the complex connections between the three characters on screen. This scene was also the inspiration for the song âCountry Girlâ, so it seemed only right to reflect it somewhat in the video.
My third inspiration was the location:
I wanted to find somewhere that felt like home, and I am very fortunate to have a father who takes this much pride in his garden and grounds. I grew up in this amazing farmhouse in the Somerset countryside, and could almost hear my song just looking at it, so it was inevitable that I would return there for filming.
Finally, my family. Whilst Anna Rest Easy is technically a solo project, it also really isnât. My family is full of exceptionally talented individuals who have contributed to the project in some way. My brother Tom plays violin on the recordings and also helps to compose the beautiful string parts, my cousin Lizzie does all of my CD artwork freehand with felt tip pens (insane talent), and my mother hand makes most of my merchandise. Earlier this year, it also occurred to me that (as well as a writer, artist and actor) my eldest brother George is a rather talented filmmaker. Ding.
George and I threw around some ideas for a while, but nothing really stuck. We couldnât really decide on what track to use, and, though we were fairly certain we wanted to involve children, we were facing a brick wall.
Then I saw the album cover:
Earlier this year, I travelled to Hastings to visit my cousin, Jacob, and his lovely family. I rarely see them, so it wasnât until my finished album cover was staring me in the face that Jacobâs eight-year-old daughter, Evie, flooded into my head. Not only does she bear a resemblance to the character on the album cover (notably the striking red curls), but she also happens to be a talented gymnast. Ding.
I pitched the idea to an obliging George, and then to Jacob, who promptly responded enthusiastically on behalf of Evie and the family, and we set a date for filming. âCountry Girlâ became the clear choice for song. I decided to pop down to Hastings for a day a few weeks before the filming date, to have a brainstorm with Evie, and we ended up choreographing the opening sequence together there and then. She was incredible to work with - delightful company, wildly imaginative and mature beyond her years. Having met me only a handful of times, she was quick to warm to me, and also to the song. We also chose an outfit for her - I remembered a jumpsuit she had worn to a wedding the previous year, and luckily it still existed and fit. It was important to me that we werenât in pretty dresses.
Filming weekend was incredible fun. Evie and Jacob and I travelled to Somerset from our various homes on the Friday night (thought I might as well have crawled there on my tongue, thank you M4 traffic), and we had a chilled out evening of barbecue and cartwheel, followed by a late night Only Connect marathon.
On Saturday morning, George and his friend Jason (a genius in most senses of the word) joined us to set up for filming. Evie and I put on our respective jumpsuits and prepared to shoot the opening sequence, which we had already rehearsed. Shooting video only can have its benefits, as Jacob was able to yell out the choreography to Evie during filming, from my detailed notes. Examples:
âDo the spinny thing!â
âJumpy landy split thing!â
It was professionalism at its most bestest. Evie tirelessly threw herself around for hours in the knot garden (with occasional water breaks), and we eventually relocated to the paddock above, where there was more space. After some hours of flips and cartwheels, Evie started to do her own thing, and we decided to just let the cameras roll, because it was all absolute gold. The contrast from composure and poise to childlike playfulness was completely inspired, and we decided to make it the basis for the video, using the songâs sudden change of character 2/3 of the way through as a place for the transition. This was when I started asking Evie to do unusual things like pretend to play the piano, to walk around a tree, to do âthe robotâ, or to do the famous âapple tree stareâ.
When we felt we had enough footage, George and I were feeling so motivated that we decided to get on with the editing immediately. We set up at his house (down the road) and stayed up till stupid oâclock. Some final touches the next morning saw the completion of the edit, and it was ready for release later that day. Look at our happy faces:
Thatâs it really. We all had an amazing time and are crazily proud of the finished video, so please give it a watch and share with the world:
