7 November 2020

Lorn - Timesink directed by Pavel Brenner

a new artistic music video gem in The Marvids

2020 has been a challenging year for a lot of things and music videos were no exception. With her latest The MarVids pick, editor Maria Dicieanu wants to make sure this little gem directed by Pavel Brenner for Lorn, doesn’t escape your radar of the must-sees of this year.

Maria: “When Pavel Brenner started the production for Lorn’s “Timesink” promo back in October 2019, nobody expected a pandemic to break through at the time of the video’s release. The director had previously collaborated with Lorn also for the music video “Acid Rain” depicting a group of dancing cheerleaders in a freshly devastated world. Timesink follows a similar apocalyptic narrative, with a singular protagonist, a boy, a last survivor of an unknown disease, cycling on empty roads.

Launched in March 2020, it was almost impossible not to associate Timesink’s universe to what we were experiencing during covid-19 pandemic: the empty streets, the victims, the wild animals gaining courage and venturing where humans would normally be. In this sense it probably made a more difficult viewing experience for a lot of people.

Yet, thanks to Pavel’s brilliant direction and to Christopher Ripley’s incredible cinematography the video manages to push you away but pull you in in the same time. The atmosphere is incredibly uneasy, although there are no really frightening images shown. The promo has a lingering-on feeling giving you chills  even after the video’s end. However, the combination with the music is so fabulous that you actually find yourself wanting to experience it again, pushing the repeat button.

Its breathtaking simplicity makes you wonder how you can understand so much of the story with so few actions actually happening. The answer often lies in elements subtly placed in edges of frames, almost like afterthoughts. So that the mind would perceive them without their being focal points. The wrapped up ambulance, the tightly packed bodies, some virus or disease clearly needed to be contained there. An eye contact, an eye bleed, a sight, an acceptance. The little things that actually say so much.”

Music videos are still very much alive and kicking as a genre where cutting edge creativity happens. And this is exactly why with this series, curated by Maria Dicieanu, we’re focusing on the absolute must sees artistic gems of music video origins. Whether linear, VR or interactive, The Marvids (short for Maria’s Marvelous Videos) aim to show-case why promos are still holders of unique aesthetic with their own particular beauty and artistry.

share