Photo taken by Jon Weinberg

I’m actually finishing something I started a long time ago. Raul B. Fernandez is back, again! This is his biggest project to date. You can find out all about it here. Or you can just read on. I’m a big fan of the animation in the second half of the video. Get out the kettle corn and try to make yourself prepared.

[SRO] How did you find the artist (Ian Dudley)?

[Raul] Ian went to Florida State when I was there. We had many mutual friends. We knew each other but we’re not that close. The keyboardist in The Woods, Aaron Deyoe, was also in a band with me during college. Chris Cantey, the producer of the video, is very close with Ian and had been wanting to make a video for The Woods for a long time. So, we had many connections, Ian sent me a copy of the album and once I heard it, I knew I wanted to work with him.

[SRO] Was the concept pre-existing? Or did it come from the song?

[Raul] The concept actually came mostly from the album cover art, but also from just listening to the song and reading the lyrics. The entire album was actually a short story before any songs were written. Ian then wrote the songs to tell the story. I had never read the original story, but this video magically turned out to encapsulate many of the elements from the entire piece.

[SRO] Are there any sequences that were cut out in final or dropped during pre-production?

[Raul] Honestly no. It’s really cool to read the original treatment, then look at the storyboards, then watch the final piece, and see that it’s basically exactly the same. I’m really proud of that transference of the concept.

[SRO] How long was the shoot?

[Raul] We shot for 4 days in a studio. The first three were with the massive blue screen and the last day was in the 20′x30′ forest that we constructed on the same stage. The forest was being dressed while we shot the blue screen portions.

[SRO] Was it difficult for the divers to shoot with those ancient outfits? Where did they get them from?

[Raul]The suits turned out to be a much bigger issue than we expected in all,respects. Firstly, finding them was quite the task. We had everybody we knew working on it. Eventually Juliana Hong, our wonderful wardrobe girl, found a contact that had heard that Fox had some possible options. We looked into it and indeed they had a handful of pieces that we had to put together. The suits were originally for the movie Men of Honor starring Cuba Gooding Jr. If you search the movie page you can see some pictures of Cuba wearing the actual suit. And also they were used in the Sponge Bob Squarepants movie. So, we knew they had good energies attached to them. On set, they were also a lot of work. The actors were sweating like you wouldn’t believe and getting them in and out was a long ordeal. All in all, they worked out wonderfully, I couldn’t be happier with how good like look.

[SRO]What was it like working in CG animation? Was it difficult to direct?

[Raul] I had worked very little with CG. That was one of the reasons for me wanting to do this video so much. It was totally new. I had the distinct pleasure of having Chris Cantey produce as well as do the CG, so he was there from the start. In many ways he co-directed the project with constant input and his skilled touch in all things visual. I found it very fun to direct, because it required a lot more pre-visualization and thinking in abstract elements on set. Even just planning the shot list was totally backwards, we were always shooting in the same “direction” towards the blue screen, but had to
remember how people need to be positioned and where the sun should be for lighting. Adam Habib, the DP, created some system of tagging the bed to keep track of it all.

It was fun to direct the actors and say things like, “Protect your face from the swarm of vultures attacking you” when, in reality, he was just swatting at the air in a warehouse in Burbank.

I enjoyed the post graphics process because I trusted Chris to his work for months and then started seeing renders and they just kept getting better and better. The final images are very similar to what I had imagined, but in many ways, much more awesome.

[SRO] Did you want the drastic change in scenery from the woods part to the bed part?

[Raul]We knew all along that we wanted those two worlds to look completely different. Originally the woods was going to be a real location, but we couldn’t find a good enough looking area that wasn’t freezing cold at night. The decision to build the forest was the best thing we could have done for several reasons. One of the biggest was the possibilities it allowed for controlling and changing the lighting in the shot. We also didn’t have to freeze out asses off. It actually ended up costing less than a real forest. Original incarnations for the concept had Ian building the ocean world piece by piece with cut out set pieces. It was always a more magical place with the aesthetic coming from Ian’s drawings.

[SRO] What do you want the audience to take away from this?

[Raul] Heh, that’s heavy shit. Well, as with all my music videos, I try to keep a very strong narrative thread throughout. Hopefully the audience feels with the characters just like any short film. Someone told me the other day that this was my most “emotional” piece to date. I thought that was a great compliment. But really, we were just trying to make an entertaining piece of work that hopefully is inventive and fresh for the viewers. Music videos should hold up right next to any other storytelling medium. I’d like to think we achieved something like that.

[SRO] Your favorite/proudest part of the video?

[Raul] Hmm, i think my favorite moments are the whale coming up out of the water or the sinking dock (inspired by the sinking band from the Titanic). I’m also very proud of the overall feel and execution of the graphics. I constantly get people asking, “How did you make the waves move… PA’s?” I love that some people can’t tell that they are all post effects. It’s a true testament to the skills of Chris Cantey. I’ve also had people say it reminds of them of The Little Prince, which is one of my favorite books from my childhood. I’m thrilled that that influence came across.

[SRO] Whats next for you?

[Raul] Good question. This is the first time in my life where I’m not, in some way or another, a student. I have a lot of loan debt to pay. I’ve been doing a handful of online commercials to stay afloat. I’ve got some music videos in development for the next few months.

I’ve been taking meetings with managers and agents. Hoping to find a nice place for me to start working; it would be great to make a living doing what I love. All in all, I’m very hungry to keep creating work that I’m proud of and that can involve the talented people around me that I love.