Ritual. Supernature. Memory. Visions. Salt. Gold. Smoke. Sex. Metal. Blood. Gods. Fire. Death. Honor. Family... and the Sea.

 

To develop the sequence we sought the haunting, ancient, fearsome, visceral part of us.

 

 

We began with music. Fever Ray's "If I Had A Heart" was the first move, and it became the soundtrack to our development, our pitch, and eventually the finished work. Our sequence was inspired by a folktale found in The Sagas. That of the nine sisters, the goddesses of the waves, that would pluck Viking explorers from their ships and pull them to a sensual, dark, watery grave. The Vikings' relationship with death was built on honor, inevitability, sex, and the constant presence of gods pulsing through every grain of sand and swell of the ocean.

 

We follow the separation of a Viking from the living. He slips into darkness amongst ornaments of his life. Weaponry, gold and bone. His fading memory flickers throughout before he is consumed by one of the Sisters. He is left a shell below the waves before we learn he is not alone, but one of many sinking below the creeping surge of Viking raiders above. A fiery massive raid assaults a darkened coast line.

 

The concept and visual was fleshed out in collaboration with Art Director Audrey Davis. The shoot took place in a pool and the beaches of Pre-Sandy New Jersey with a sturdy and dedicated small crew, led by DP Khalid Mohtaseb. Editors Ryan McKenna and Jessica Ledoux conquered my mountains of footage. The superb composite work was accomplished by Westley Sarokin, Danny Morris and Suzanne Dyer. Final color by the very talented Damien Van Der Cruyssen.