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BITS & PIECES: MUSIC VIDEOS www.postmagazine.com 9 POST JULY/AUG 2023 SURVIVAL GUIDE — BLOOD PERFUME In October, Emily "Agent M" Whitehurst will release her fourth full-length al- bum, titled "Deathdreams." The former Tsunami Bomb vocalist's latest project comes under the banner of Survival Guide and debuted on July 13 th with the music video and single for Blood Perfume. Blood Perfume takes the form of a short horror film, with nods to the cult feature The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. In it, M stars as a deranged serial killer, who outsmarts her victims and then disposes of their bodies, burying them in a shallow grave, burning them in an incinerator, or completely butchering them with an assortment of meat cleavers. The lyrics warn the victim that they won't able to "say no to the brightest teeth in the room." And ultimately, it's their blood that will make its way into the killer's signature scent. "A lot of the feel/tempo/vibe of the music video comes from that opening beat and especially with the three bells that lay on top of it," explains director Bryan Heiden. "Once I heard the lyrics, I knew it had to be very dark, and I also knew that we wanted our protagonist to be a 'bad guy.' My producer (Michael Kohn) and I wrote a couple of different treatments without asking Emily what the lyrics meant. We were actually a little bit off, but luckily she really liked one of them." Heiden says he immediately had a location in mind — Buckeye, AZ — a set- ting that a friend had offered him for shoots. "[It's] really scary at night, with a lot of rusted metal on the property," he notes. "It just looks like people have been hacked up there at some point!" Danny Gurrola shot the video using a Blackmagic Design Pocket Cinema 6K camera. For the narrative parts of the video, the team used a Rokinon 14mm lens, while the performance parts were shot with a Sigma 24-70mm Art. Gurrola also handled the edit, cutting the video in Adobe Premiere Pro. "We had a really cool shot from the bottom of an old garage oil-changing pit, where I wanted to shoot through some fire," Heiden recalls. "We looked at several ways to do it, but ended up not feeling comfortable with the amount of old oil and dead grass we were set up in, so we used a fire effect on a couple of Amaran 60xs (lights) and a fog machine for our practical footage. Then, in Adobe After Effects, Darren Ito added a couple of layers of fire, as well as some heat waves that ended up really selling the effect." Heiden says he is very happy with the final video. "I think Emily and her record company were great to work with. You'll always end up with a better product when everyone involved is very passionate about what they are doing." — Marc Loftus ELEINE — WE SHALL REMAIN Swedish symphonic dark metal band Eleine recently released the music video for "We Shall Remain," the title track off their new album from Atomic Fire Records. According to founding members Madeleine Liljestam (vocals) and Rikard Ekberg (guitars, vocals), the song combines all the elements Eleine is known for, including chuggy riffs, groovy rhythms and empowering lyrics. The song was written and produced by Ekberg and Liljestam, with Thomas "Plec" Johansson handling co-recording, mixing and mastering at The Panic Room Studio in Skövde, Sweden. The music video, says Ekberg, was shot just a few kilometers from the band's headquarters and took roughly nine hours from arrival to wrap. The project was shot using a Blackmagic Design Ursa Mini Pro 4.6K G2 camera with a DZOFilm Pictor 20-55mm lens and a 50-125mm lens. Ekberg cut the piece in Adobe Premiere Pro. The final edit combines live action of the band performing in a stark warehouse, slow-motion footage and well-timed fire blasts going off around band members. "The slow-motion effects, I feel, can be used either to fill emptiness or to emphasize an emotion or part of a video," says the guitarist/editor. "I went with the latter and wanted to use the slow motion — gradual in and out sometimes — at very precise moments to serve the song. And, slow motion is always cool!" Liljestam and Ekberg produce, direct and edit all of the band's videos. "While being in the seat of producer/director, we have started working with a film and media company called Moob, and they took care of all the light- ing, rigging and the actual filming," Ekberg notes. "It's nice to feel you can focus a bit more on the acting, as we feel they are easy to work with and do a great job." In addition to Liljestam and Ekberg, Eleine (www.eleine.com) is made up of Filip Stålberg (bass) and Jesper Sunnhagen (drums). — Marc Loftus