Sometimes, your best bet is to keep it simple. “There were several different music videos made for this song over the past two years,” says Marcella Simien. “To say I overthought this video would be an understatement.”
But all that work pays off today when “Sound” makes its Music Video Monday debut. “It’s just the way it is, being an artist,” says Simien. “You DEEPLY care about what you create, every step of the way. Especially being an independent artist with no big label support, sometimes it can feel like everything is riding on you and every move you make.
“We kept it sweet and simple for this video, and used my handwritten words as a lyric video interspersed with some shots we did in early morning light,” says Simien. “I’m filled with gratitude for all of the people who helped me find my way on this video. Lawrence Matthews was like a guru, who ‘found the space the between the notes,’ so to speak, by helping us remove the imagery that wasn’t serving the work. Jonny Pineda helped us do multiple shoot days, idea days and multiple edits. Eileen Neryssa choreographed an entire dance/movement piece to this song, and that footage will see the light of day soon. Our friend Chris Davenport saved the day this month as we approached the rollout. He helped us finish it off, adding my handwritten lyrics, creating some low-fi animation that we then juxtaposed with the higher-res quality video footage and made a harmonious lil lyric video.”
The final video is simple, beautiful, and most importantly, it serves the music. “I realized along the way, as I was overthinking this project, that this video about the SONG, not about how many looks I could wear or how many different cool locations I could fit in. I grew up a lot during this process in a lot of ways”
If you would like to see your music video on Music Video Monday, email cmccoy@memphisflyer.com.
