Famous Dutch rockers The Gathering were planning to release a new album in the fall of 2011. This album was Norwegian native Silje Wergeland’s second record as the band’s new singer.
The Gathering had expressed a desire to get closer to their own artistic preferences, the heart and soul of their music and this could definitely be heard in the very first track they recorded for the album, Heroes for Ghosts. An epic 11 minute journey from melancholy to ecstasy, the song is a testament to the band’s creativity and musical prowess. It’s hypnotic, it’s got drive, it’s ecstatic and it’s beautiful.
You can find the director’s commentary here and the script here.
Norway
I was very excited when they asked me to shoot a musicvideo for this track. We had been friends for a long time and they know my work. Because of the length and dramatic nature of the track, they decided my filmmaking style would be a perfect fit. In April of 2011 I flew out to Norway, where the short film cum music video was to be shot. We decided to film the video in Norway because of its’ beautiful and dramatic landscape. The band’s photogenic singer, Silje Wergeland, a Norwegian native, would feature in the video. In collaboration with mainly Frank Boeijen en René Rutten (the band’s keyboard player and guitarist respectively) I wrote the script for the video and the band had given me license to experiment, they gave me freedom to shoot what looks good and fits with the music.
Process
I shot the video on the Canon 5D MkII, with a set of Canon primes, I had a DVtec shouldermount with me and a Glidecam HD 2000. We had some crazy adventures, among which me and my camera hanging over the bow of a speedboat at 40 knots, speeding across the North Sea! We shot in a very luxurious hotel, we shot on an uninhabited island and we shot hanging from fast-moving cars! 😉
Editing can be a very lonely job and you have to be careful not to become too myopic. There´s a risk you run that you won´t be able to look at the work objectively anymore, after a while. I was very lucky to be able to discuss my work with two kick-ass filmmakers, one in Hollywood, the other in Hong Kong. Their feedback and perspective were invaluable, so thank you Joe and thank you John for taking the time to watch an early version and giving me feedback!
At this time we’ve accumulated over a quarter of a million views on Youtube.
So here it is!
Credits
Music video for The Gathering – Heroes For Ghosts.
A film by Marcus Moonen
Producer – Maria K.
Written, directed, filmed and edited by Marcus Moonen
Special thanks:
The Bjaarstad & the Kråkenes Family, Mads Lilletvedt – without you this would not have been possible
Scandic Neptun Hotel Bergen
Garage
Ujevnt
Marko Martens
Joe Fiorello
John Salcido
Filmed in Bergen, Norway
Heroes For Ghosts
Music by R. Rutten/F. Boeijen
Lyrics by Silje Wergeland
Produced by René Rutten
Drums recorded at SoundVision studio
Engineered by George Konings
Vocals recorded at Conclave & Earshot studio
Engineered by Herbrand Larsen
Additional recordings at Studio 2
Engineered by René Rutten
Mixed by Guido Aalbers at GieSound
Mastered by Paul Matthijs Lombert at The Mastering Factory
The Gathering:
Frank Boeijen – keyboards
Marjolein Kooijman – bass
Hans Rutten – drums
René Rutten – guitars
Silje Wergeland – vocals
Guests:
Jos van den Dungen – violin and viola
Noel Hofman – trumpet
(c) & (p) Psychonaut Records
