Human The Artist - Behind the Scenes of Far Beyond
Far Beyond started as a drum loop I fashioned in Logic Pro X, a music making workstation where most of my audio-production takes place. I had been playing around with some chord progressions on the guitar and found a nice melancholic sound that sat perfectly with the tone of the drums. That was all I needed. Far Beyond just sort of flowed through me from that point. The chorus was the first to come. Sometimes the lyrics and melody come to me at the same time. This was one of those times.
I knew something really great was happening. I felt like a collective voice from far beyond was being channeled through the songwriting process. It was like tuning into sweet and soft whispers from my higher self, from my soul. (Little secret: many of my songs begin with a similar feeling-tone). I felt free from limitation, joined with a force far beyond little ol’ me and united with something intangible that somehow still seemed to touch everything.
After a few lyrical rewrites, trying the song in a few different keys and a number of recordings, I had my demo. I brought it to a friend, Daniel Dalexis, an extremely talented producer, to re-record the project and ready it for release.
The idea for the music video came to me a few months after the authorship of the song. I was listening to the record through my headphones whilst jogging on a path through a forest in Southampton, NY. My vocals on the record became disembodied for a moment and it seemed as if the trees were singing the song back to me. I could feel the life-spirit of all the organisms around me. I knew then that I wanted to capture a journey through nature. A journey through the beautiful design of natural forces that somehow simultaneously awakens a journey inward.
Actually manifesting the shoot was a bit of a challenge. After months and several attempts of trying to gather a film crew, lock down times, arrange rides to sites, etc it kept falling through.
As you may or may not know, I’m a pretty DYI kind of guy. Why should this aspect of the project be any different, I reasoned. Resolving to shoot the video myself became the obvious path of least resistance and filled me with a revitalizing wave of excitement for the project. I dove right into tons of research on cameras and decided to purchase a drone. After a few months of learning the ins and outs of my favorite new toy, I started venturing out into the natural reserves offered at the ‘edge of the world’ in Montauk, NY, where I spent this past summer. After many trips and nearly 200GB of footage (shooting in 4k is not easy on file-space) I knew I had everything I needed to begin editing.
Luckily, I had some experience with video making and knew my way around some of the industries top video-editing software. I uploaded everything into Final Cut Pro X and got to work. Admittedly, this also took quite a while as I was still learning how to use the software ‘on the go’. In any case, I wouldn’t be stoped.
This project has had many easy and quite a few not so easy points. Looking back I wouldn’t change a thing. In it’s entirety, the process was a true journey. I was left with many new lessons learned in the field of business, management, shooting, directing, editing and patience! Most excitingly, I ended up with the final product as delivered to you in the form of the Far Beyond music video. I do hope you enjoy it!
Check out my introduction post to see the full music video and to get an idea of who Human The Artist is @humantheartist or Introduction: Human The Artist Now on Steemit!!
Or, check out the music video HERE 😉:
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Again, HUGE THANKS to @jerrybanfield for introducing me to this incredible new platform!! I'm so grateful for the information and thrilled at the prospects of engaging and building with this community!!