“Spirit Mother - Black Sheep” by Clarence Deng
A woman is enticed to eat forbidden fruit in this dark fairy tale/grindhouse inspired music video debut for Spirit Mother.
From The Director
"In terms of visuals, my mind always went to horror whenever I heard the song. The refrain of “I would like to see you turn” is a perfect mantra for the sinister chaos that unfolds — and what better way to capture that while staying fun than a video spiritually inspired by my favorite 70s and 80s horror flicks?
The treatment took a while to get right, but was always rooted in dark fairy tale/folk horror imagery. My DOP Ryan Ackelsberg helped a ton in rewriting and refining it. We shot everything in 2 days in a small studio. Getting the car shots was a challenge given the space (and not being able to turn the engine on), requiring us to clear the car from set then wheel it back in for each significant angle change, but we made it work. As someone more used to longer form narrative projects, balancing a slow burn build with the more frenzied rhythmic sections in the edit -- with only a 3.5 minute runtime -- was quite daunting, but Camille (who also plays in the band on tour) handled the edit like a champ.
Having this be my first music video was incredibly rewarding and an absolute privilege. I couldn't have asked for a better collaborator and artist to work with than Armand and the Spirit Mother crew (SJ, Landon, Sean, and Camille). We had a lot of fun making it, and hope you enjoy — preferrably far away from any fruit platters in your vicinity."
-Clarence Deng
Credits
Director: Clarence Deng @clarenceid
Prod/AD: Emily Reas @emilyreas
CCO: Karla Espino @fun_kee, Carmen Scott @carmenscottshow
Set PA: Maria Laura Sandoval @marialaurasando, Tanvi Desai @tanvidesaii
DP: Ryan Ackelsberg
Editor: Camille Getz @camillegetz
Prod design: Kaleigh Koenig @kaleighekoenig
Cast
Anna Connelly @annakconnelly
Malia Arrayah @maliaarrayah as the Wendigo
Featuring SPIRIT MOTHER @spiritmotherband
Armand Lance @armandlance, Sarah Jane Lance @sarahjane.lance,
Landon Cisneros @landeaux, Sean McCormick @seannmc
SFX Props/masks: Mara Robinson @mkrmua
Art PA: Mia Redwine @mkrstudios, Jared Lopez
1st AC: Mikaela Thorne @mikaelaxthorne
2nd AC: Tim Wakefield @old_dusty
Gaffer: Robert Calva @robert.a.calva
Key grip: Cliff Horn @cmaxwellhorn
Swing/dolly: Riley Songer
SFX/head makeup: Moung Hui Park @redkellymakeup
SFX/makeup: Akihiro Sawada @akihirosmua
BTS Stills: Daniel McGowan @danieltmcgowan
Special thanks:
Illuminar, Out of Kit, Ben Sottak, Michael Smith, Nelson Cooper, 3 Lines Studio, Avid Eghbali, Alex Zavala, Zest Grill House, Premiere Props, Dehaven Camera On The Mark Media
Special Effects Unlimited, Inc
Payroll: Jesse Perez, Juanita Hernandez, Leticia Garcia (CAPS)
Insurance: Alyson Locacciato (Front Row Insurance)
Prod services by Blind Salamander Films @blindsalamander_films & Modulator Films
(c) 2022 Modulator Films LLC
Send Us Your Film
Hey filmmakers! Have a project of your own you’d like us to check out?