Good evening, everyone. (Or good morning, depending on when you are reading this.)
I hope your February is going well, so far. Though the days are getting longer, for some reason this month feels the darkest in the Pacific Northwest. The atmosphere has been cloudy and rainy for months, and glimpses of the sun are a rare gift that only happens a few times a week at best. But there is also the smell of Spring in the air, and the well-watered ground reminds me that new growth is emerging in the weeks ahead.
Speaking of darkness, I am thrilled to share with you another music video that composer Julie Cooper commissioned me to work on. This one is titled “MOONGLADE in Jet Black” and features my first-ever attempt to film with my drone at night… and over the ocean, no less!
We also took a “less is more” approach with the aerial footage in this edit, blending in rare moments of moonlight and dark ocean waves with monochromatic footage of the chamber orchestra, filmed by Alex Barnes. This intentional balance with delicate dissolves resulted in a finesse that I am really pleased with.
Please, enjoy!
Filming at Night
You might not know this, but most drone cameras aren’t exactly the best at filming in low light conditions, not unless you have a fairly expensive setup. Luckily for me, DJI’s flagship foldable drone, the Mavic 3, equipped with a Hasselblad camera, features a new Night Mode with high ISO, which really helps in filming in low light. But then there’s the daunting reality of flying in the dark… something I wouldn’t typically recommend to anyone!
But when Julie reached out with her initial idea for her nocturnal composition, her main request was to end the music video with a beautiful shot of moonlight reflecting on water. Could I achieve this with an iPhone or my brand new Sony A7III? Of course! But it wouldn’t really be that… dynamic. Not for me, at least.
So I checked the weather & moon phases, and in a rare aligning of the planets, there was a full moon appearing on a clear night in the Pacific Northwest… in the fall… right at the beginning of rainy season. It was too perfect! So at 3am on Sunday, October 29th, I drove out to the Oregon Coast and sent my drone out into the void.
In the Key of Colour
Did you pay any attention to “in Jet Black” in the title? And wonder what that was about? You may have noticed that many older classical pieces include the key in which they are performed in, such as Bach’s “Mass in B Minor” or Mahler’s “Symphony No. 5 in C-Sharp Minor”. This was a common practice among composers before the 19th Century. Instead of giving their compositions names, they would simply state the type of work it was and in the key it was composed to distinguish it from other works by the same individual.
Enter the phenomenon known as “synesthesia.”
Synesthesia is the mental condition where your sensory wires get crossed, resulting in perceived relationship between the senses. For example, someone with synesthesia might see certain colours when they hear specific sounds or see numbers or words. They might even taste certain flavors when interacting with a particular word or phrase.
As it relates to Julie’s latest album “OCULUS”, each song has a colour associated with it. Julie’s studio musicians (two chamber orchestras made up of the Oculus Ensemble & Her Ensemble) were conducted by Jessica Cottis, a world-renowned conductor who has the gift of synesthesia!
So when Julie started to collaborate with Jessica on her album recording, Jessica shared what colour she saw when she heard the key that each piece was composed in. Therefore, when Jessica heard the key in which “MOONGLADE” was composed in, she saw the colour Jet Black. (And the same goes with many other pieces on the album, such as “ANGEL in Dark Green,” “PAVANE in Burnt Orange,” and “COLOUR ME in Deep Purple.”)
How cool is that?! I often wish I had the gift of synesthesia.
Listen Now
Waimarama
I’ll leave you with this short story about a fun moment that happened in New Zealand, just a few weeks ago.
I was invited by some new friends to stay a few days at a beautiful property that overlooked the ocean. On the first night, I learned from my host that the name of their home was “Waimarama”, which is a Māori word that translates to “moon over shining waters.” Even the entrance to their property had the name with the moon over water set in stone!
This was my home for the four days leading up to the release of “MOONGLADE in Jet Black”. Needless to say, I messaged Julie and we both freaked out a little bit over this crazy coincidence!
And yes, if you’re wondering… I DID wake up at 3am again and sent my drone out over the moonlit waters to film yet another moonglade!! Julie’s already decided that when we work on a live concert together, the moonglades from both Oregon & New Zealand will be the backdrop for the orchestra! I can’t wait for that evening; it might just be as magical as standing on the edge of the sea in the middle off the night.
Peace be with you, especially in the darkness of night,
Stephen Proctor