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.
This production started with a trip to central Baja, Mexico last November. 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.
Twelve foot motion controlled time-lapse setup 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.
The 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. That’s when we came up with the idea to incorporate ancient tribal dancers slowed down and mixed in with the time-lapse content. For me the combination of slow motion tribal dancers and desert landscape time-lapse photography together really solidified the idea of time transcending not only thousands of years but also just a fraction of a second.
Alejandro Meraz Chichiltekolotl, Aztec dancer. (Photo: Zack Benson)
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. Deciding on having Trevor journey through the desert landscapes and toward the ocean while encountering visions of our ancient dancers worked perfectly but we needed a way to wrap it up and really connect all of our different elements. Upon brainstorming, Trevor mentioned the idea of using a child as a metaphor. A way to incorporate how time affects us as humans from generation to generation. 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 child.
Director of Photography Troy Page getting a shot of Ryder with dad standing by. (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.
The crew and partial cast on our studio day. (Photo: Zack Benson)
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