Music Video and Making-of "In the Mist" with my animated illustrations: Original Music, behind the scenes, from art to video

Press Play to watch the video/listen to my song "In the mist". There is a second video in the post including the "Making of".

In the Mist is the intro song that opens my second music illustrated album The Underliving that shows a mystical realm, a world that is "living" but not "alive" and reach us through silence, through shadows, through dreams and thoughts, through ghostly fog... and anything that can evoke a presence in our mind. A world dormant in the corner of our eyes, always there but hidden to our sight.

Would I fade myself if I step into the Mist?

Above: me in the misty moors of Devon, one of the locations of the video

The end of the song is like a medley of many themes in the album, where some motifs repeat like in a medley... "Unfurl", "become", "don't be sad" but it also halts and stops to mutter softly it's own mantra, just like the fog...

Settle, Rest... then move on... further on

For all of those who stumble upon this post and still don't know me, I love fantasy, and as both composer and illustrator I love to combine my art and music. With the collaboration of my partner and co-producer Héctor (@hedac) we also love to make music videos. This one has a few years already but remains one of my favourites for many reasons, including part of the location is my beloved native island, La Palma. I find the "mist" so ghostly and eerie, and while it cloaks things it also wraps them in mystery.

The stringed instrument I play is a kantele, a traditional music instrument from Finland that also has other names in other countries like kokle in Latvia, kankle in Lithuania, kannel in Estonia or gusli in Russia.
My 10 string kantele, a Finnish and Karelian folk instrument with triangular shaped soundbox, when plucked it produces a bell-like heavenly tone. It plays almost in solo in the intro. This music instrument is also known as "Baltic psaltery" Mine was made and gifted by my friend and instrument maker Gerry Henkel.

The Making of the video (includes some bloopers and "behind the scenes")

Click above to watch the behind and scenes video. It includes some funny moments and even the mysterious Mr @hedac appears on camera for a selfie, which is really a unique and rare event
It was a very sweet experience in which we learn to make the most from very humble resources. With our camcorder we worked all the details to transform the cover of my album into a living character. With the help of my friend Alassie from El Costurero Realas stylist and the assistance of our friend Felix we created some magic! Great part of the video is filmed indoors and we used regular ice to make the fog of a standard fog machine to flow slower. Lots of laughters and imagination...

Indoors and light test shooting

Filming in the place I was born: La Palma

Outdoors locations are filmed in La Palma, my native island. Most of the landscapes belong to La Caldera de Taburiente and we were lucky enough to film some takes of a raven.

Actually it is an African subspecies of the common raven, Corvus corax tingitanus. The gorgeous bird volunteered for the gladding scenes at the end of the video that work so well with the lyrics (posted later on this post)

Above: my gorgeous native island La Palma (Canary Islands, Spain)

Incorporating my drawings and matte painting in the video.

As I said some of the sceneries were transformed slightly by matte painting and colour grading to make them look from another world.

Above: Some of the castles and odd structures featured in the scenery, the engraved face also drawn my be transforms at the beginning in to live action like this:

I worked on all the concept art and @hedac helped me to turn my illustrations into animated magic. Most of the landscapes are altered using a technique called matte-painting. We would animate the layers. The particles of smoke in the vortex at the end were all different shapes I drew myself.

Bringing "The Underliving creatures" to life

The Underliving is a made-up word I created, a shadow of our own, a world of "beings" that never lived but feel very alive and communicate with us through the silence, through our thoughts, through the voice of the wind, that fill with their presence empty spaces, that lives side by side with us, but always veiled and unseen, sometimes protecting us or sometimes misleading us. The Underliving along with "ghosts" and "fairies" are the third kind of creature portrayed in YIDNETH mythical Universe that has spawned. The album portrays the story of a chosen child that can perceive this "Otherworld" and longs to be part of it.
I love drawing monsters and creatures. I guess some spawned from my sleep paralysis experiences but others were inspired by impressions and feelings.

We animated some of them also during the video... so you can see them "walking" here and there.

Here some of the designs that appear scattered and blurred in several takes

Above: some abstract foggy creatures

Below: Example of puppet 2D simple animation of one of the creatures that was later composited into the image. Making new videos with illustrations is something I want to explore again in the near future.

From my Cover illustration to music video

It was a challenge to try to transform myself into my own cover illustration. We used massive amounts of white yarn provided by my friend Bryony and some braided synthetic extensions. The dots on my forehead were placed by make up and tracked, my partner Héctor added the glow in CGI and also animated the extensions so there is a subtle movement in them. My friend Alassie (talented designer and stylist) did my makeup and used feathers in my forehead to mimic my own illustration. I may say that I never thought of myself when I drew the drawing. "Yidneth" is the female character of a story I wrote and also my trademark and company, so it was some kind of "cosplaying".

As funny anecdote I will say that if you are laying on the floor with all those extension arranged you can't move for many hours until all the takes are done. You can't move AT ALL, not even if you need to go to the toilet haha.

The Lyrics and my drawing for the album:

Above: An illustrated I drew for this song and that was featured in the album. I made this drawing way before I did the cover of final concept art of the video.

theunderliving.com is a world of reveries in the mist, lost veiled memories concealed in an alluring grey and white realm. And like the fog itself... Settle, rest and then move on, further on

Voices... voices...
rising... rising...
Comfort me when I dive in sorrow
meandering through this lonely moor
And if a doleful thought is drawing near
Could you obscure it make it disappear?
Would I fade myself if I step into the mist?
Engulf the unribboning light
escaping through my seams
into the alluring gray and white
transient world you build
this bleary ruins the reveries
of your dim kingdom now concealed
in the mist
Now concealed
And in such stillness I can hear
the songs that silence brings
Lost veiled memories echoing in the mist
Lost veiled memories...
Unraveling the mysteries of your dim kingdom
Lost veiled memories...
what if we rise?
what if we rise from the Underliving?
in the mist
Settle, rest, then move on further on
Don't be sad, unfurl

Video and Music Credits

Above: My friend Alassie doing the make up. I wish I could have her to make me pretty every morning ;-) She is also a talented photographer herself. Looking forward to collaborate again with her in the future because we had a great time.

Video credits
-Music by Priscilla Hernandez
-Concept art and illustrations by Priscilla Hernandez
-Locations: La Palma (Canary Island), Devon Moors (UK)
-Directed by Priscilla Hernandez @yidneth and Hector Corcín @hedac
-Edition, FX: Héctor Corcín
-Stylism/Hair/costumes: El Costurero Real
-Assistant: Felix Goggles
-Hair extensions by Briony Whistlecraft and Puppy Cat Meow.
-Kantele (traditional Finnish instrument) endorsed by Gerry Henkel from kantele.com

Music production:
-Priscilla Hernandez (@yidneth) Music, lyrics, arrangements, lead and backing vocals, kantele, flute, keyboards, low whistle, koshi chimes
-Héctor Corcín (@hedac): percussion, mixing, mastering
-Biel Fiol: cello
-María Montes (violin)

Where to buy this song or how to support my music?

• Order Physical album THE UNDERLIVING (limited Ed. Digibook with a booklet of my illustrations It is a very special edition featuring a booklet of my paintings, pages of drawings and
  songs. It includes the digital download too.

• Purchase The Underliving (DIGITAL only) from my shop or ITUNES. You can also stream from spotify or even contact me to buy it in SBD (digital only, the physical units can only be purchased from my shop).

• Priscilla Hernandez Official site: http://yidneth.com

• Or simply share your feedback her, and if you may, upvote or resteem.
  Thank you

I hope to share more of our new music videos (and fantasy video experiments) here.
I also want to say thanks to @alexpmorris who gave me the idea of dedicating a series of post to explain the background and making of a particular videoclip/song.

All music, photos and art in this article is (c) Priscilla Hernandez (yidneth.com). All Rights Reserved.