Streetlights

Just like The District Sleeps Alone Tonight (DSAT) this video is part of Good for Great (GFG). This video is set right before the DSAT; there is an additional transition between the videos, but I am saving that for the GFG release.

I have always enjoyed the night. After the sun sets, the outdoors have a different feel. There are bright lights and the rest is different shades of darkness; there is a greater contrast between everything. Unlike the day when things are clearly visible, at night you don't know what could be happening around you. The dark creates an air of mystery and freedom from judgement.

I have been an avid fan of Kanye West for a few years now and the song Streetlights from 808s & Heartbreak has been a favorite song of mine since it came out in 2008. The lyrics of the song fit the mood I was trying to create in GFG of a man who is on a journey and knows where he wants to go, but just isn't there yet. 

Streetlights' Chorus:

Seems like street lights glowing

Happen to be just like moments passing in front of me 

So I hopped in the cab and I paid my fare

See, I know my destination but I'm just not there 

The beat and sound of Streetlights fits the described ambiance created by the night. The song is just very emotional. It isn't lyric-filled though, its expresses its message by creating an overall feeling.

When I was working on Good for Great's woods stop motion sequence, I took pictures for so long that by the time I was walking to my car it was pitch black out. I was walking down a bike path and at the end of the path was a street lined with street lights.

When I saw the view created by the darkness, trees and lights (as in the above pictures), I immediately thought of Kanye's Streetlights. So I took some more pictures before my camera died and headed home.

I wasn't sure how I would make the rest of the Streetlights video. I thought of long exposure photos, but I wasn't sure if that fit the song. Up to this point in Good for Great production (it was late-March 2011) I had only been doing stop motion work; I had only been taking still pictures and then I would put them in order and time it to the beat of the song. 

It wasn't until mid-June that I returned to Streetlights. I had shot  Zombies 8 Feet Below (explanation to this video will come soon) and had begun to experiment with videography. At this point in Good for Great, the boy who was "Lost in the World" now knows where he wants to go. But he's just not there, so he begins to travel in hope that he will find his place.

The HBO series How to Make it in America uses a mix of still images and video in its episodes, which I really like. So I decided that I would use the same method in my videos. I began by taking more photos at night, this time focusing on entering my car and driving it.

Next I videotaped myself driving. Yes, I know highly dangerous. When I showed my family members this video the first thing they all had to say was "Were you driving the car as you used the camera ?!?!" 

Just playing the video of me driving would be rather boring. To fit the lyrics "Seems like streetlights happen to be just like moments passing in front of me", I sped up the film by 20x. I took the footage of me driving and I played it forwards & backwards and experimented with sounds.

Finally, I took pictures and videotaped the highway at night to provide the illusion that I was getting on the highway, which leads into the transition between Streetlights and The District Sleeps Alone Tonight.