Trevor Green – Lonesome Road

May 08, 2016 · Digital Cinema Projects

Time-lapsed desert landscapes and Ancient dancers join for a transcendent vision in this music video for Trevor Green’s Lonesome Road.

As a time-lapse photography enthusiast, I always try to push my projects into new territories to ideally create breakthrough ideas and hybrids of visual concepts. With this project, we wanted to combine the aesthetic appeal of time-lapse with the engaging and entertaining nature of a narrative music video.

Trevor Green - Lonesome Road BTS, 12 foot motion slider slider setup.

12 foot motion slider slider setup for a sunrise time-lapse in Baja, Mexico. (Photo: Lance Page)

This production started with a trip to central Baja, Mexico in November of 2012. I was so inspired and energized by the natural untouched beauty of the landscape that I just couldn’t stop shooting time-lapse, not knowing at the time what would come of the content I was capturing. The more I explored and captured what I saw the more I felt a sort of ancient presence, like an abandoned memory. Something that has been so entirely distanced by time.

Trevor Green - Lonesome Road BTS, 3-axis slider in Baja.

3-axis slider setup to capture the sunrise in Baja, Mexico. (Photo: Lance Page)

After returning from Baja with a pile of time-lapse content I met musician Trevor Green and we discussed possible music video ideas. I had a listen to some of his new tracks and there it was, Lonesome Road. The track resonated with me the same way the Baja landscape did. And what made it stand out was that it doesn’t have a punchline, it takes it’s time to solidify a very somber and contemplative mood and then builds energy from within that realm. This combined with time-lapse photography made for a very meditative and almost hypnotic experience.

Trevor Green - Lonesome Road BTS, Studio crew shooting overlays.

The Lonesome Road studio crew shooting Trevor’s overlay shots. (Photo: Zack Benson)

For me the track really said a lot about the passing of time. Of course the time-lapse fit right in but we wanted to take it a step further and introduce the element of slowed down time as well. We decided on the idea to incorporate ancient tribal and interpretive dancers, slowed down and mixed in with the time-lapse content. For me, this particular visual aesthetic really solidified the concept of time transcending not only thousands of years but also just fractions of seconds.

Trevor Green - Lonesome Road BTS, dancers Alejandro and Buddy.

Alejandro Meraz Chichiltekolotl (left) and Buddy Silversmith in their respective garbs and backlit studio lighting. (Photos: Zack Benson)

Trevor Green - Lonesome Road BTS, Maria interpretive dance.

Maria Teresa Chavez performing interpretive dance with backlit studio lighting. (screengrab).

 

Trevor Green - Lonesome Road BTS, Laura Dasi Performing

Laura Dasi performing interpretive dance for the video’s slow motion overlays. (screenggrab)

So we had this beautiful aesthetic of altered time, what we needed now was a story to help the music drive all of these visuals. We went with Trevor journeying through the desert landscapes and toward the ocean with that dramatic slomo, while encountering visions of our ancient dancers. But we needed a way to wrap it up and really connect all of our different elements. Trevor mentioned the idea of including a child as a way to incorporate how time affects us dramatically through generations. We felt this was a fantastic way to close out this big and grandiose journey through time. The simplicity of our character discovering essentially a younger version of himself. Trevor’s son Ryder played the role of the ‘cosmic child’.

 

Trevor Green - Lonesome Road BTS, Troy, Ryder and Trevor on set.

Director of Photography Troy Page shooting the scene with Ryder Green as dad stands by. (Photo: Lance Page)

 

Trevor Green - Lonesome Road BTS, sunset shot at Blacks Beach.

Troy getting the golden sunset shot at Blacks Beach in San Diego, CA, our first shoot day with Trevor. (Photo: Lance Page)

This project has been our own big and grandiose journey over the last year of production. It has over 50 time-lapse sequences in the final cut and took around 30 days of production spread out over 7 months with trips to Baja, various California deserts and southern Utah. It has been a blessing to have the opportunity to capture such beauty and to be able to work it into an artistic creation to share with you all. Thank you for being a part of this amazing experience.

-Lance Page

Trevor Green - Lonesome Road BTS, studio crew and partial cast.

The studio crew and partial cast for Trevor Green – Lonesome Road. (Photo: Zack Benson)

Click here to check out our more recent music video for Trevor’s ‘Voice of the Wind’ title track.