Monday, November 2, 2015

Vague - A Giant Blur (Music Video)



In collaboration with Kulturo
Directed, edited, written by Riar Rizaldi
Cinematography by Adythia Utama
Produced and written by Marshal Pardede

Actor: Jean Marais

Accompanying essay by Dwiputri Pertiwi

Life is often demanding, but sometimes we demand even more from it. When it does not turn out the way we would like it to, it is difficult to avoid disappointment—it is as if we had just been diagnosed with a serious illness, that illness being life itself. It is a truth that becomes all the more difficult to accept when we realize that the disease is also the cure: the faster we run away, the faster we will return. So here we are, running back and forth, escaping, creating and re-creating the giant blur. At this point, the only way to get even the slightest sign of clarity is to go for a long drive when almost everyone else is asleep.

The world rushes its way in a circle.


Exploring themes of uncertainty, fading idealism and the fear of death is what the Jakarta-based trio, Vague, sought out to do through their first music video. "A Giant Blur", which is the fourth track from 'Footsteps' (2014), became the band's first attempt to combine their music with visual components. Vague collaborated with Kulturo, a collective initiated by filmmakers Riar Rizaldi and Adythia Utama.


Nothing is clear. 


It's all a giant blur.


The video focuses on a middle-aged man who, upon receiving a letter from a hospital, spends the night driving aimlessly around Jakarta. As a whole, the narrative appears to be easy to follow, but the process of creating the video proved to be a challenge. "For me, Vague's 'A Giant Blur' is a song that's very hard to visualize as a story," said Riar. In the end, he and his team decided that it was best to treat the character as the video's unifying element—a bridge between the story and the song.

While a song is indeed capable of speaking for itself, "A Giant Blur" there is no harm in approaching it from a different perspective. 

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