Her Morning Elegance

The props are simple enough. A mattress, sheets and pillows. This lady and her lover live a Bohemian existence apparently, as the bed is simply on the floor. Along with a scattering of small lamp, notepad, and cheap sneakers, all on the floor, too. The tools aren’t overly sophisticated, either. Camera and tripod, situated for a single top-down angle. Also, an animation software for scripting and story-boarding.

The result? One of the loveliest music videos I’ve seen, garnering both popular and critical acclaim. Have a look.

Some people may characterize these days as a dour age. There is plenty of negative to go around in this world, they say, especially those bad things that knock daily on their door and just let themselves in because the door is never locked. So, judging solely by the lyrics that ‘speak’ to this lady’s life, these people may claim her as one of their own. Dour and sullen. Have a read.

And she fights for her life
As she puts on her coat
And she fights for her life on the train
She looks at the rain
As it pours
And she fights for her life
As she goes in a store
With a thought she has caught
By a thread
She pays for the bread
And she goes
Nobody knows

Sun’s been down for days
A winter melody she plays
The thunder makes her contemplate
She hears a noise behind the gate
Perhaps a letter with a dove
Perhaps a stranger she could love

Yet, for Oren Lavie, the creative energy behind this delightful music video, something as ordinary as everyday life doesn’t have to be, well, so ordinary. Or so dour, either. Here he is performing his song Her Morning Elegance, on the Jimmy Kimmel show. 

The Jimmy Kimmel show knew enough about the song to make a bit of silliness to it, and Lavie responds with a smile. His tune is light and jazzy, and lifts up the mood where it otherwise would have been dragged down by “sun’s been down for days, a winter melody she plays.” Here, too, his musical tools are relatively commonplace. Keyboard, a microphone, a simple accompaniment of instruments.

Stir all of this in the pot, and now add a pinch of rosemary, thyme, and cinnamon. That is, pretty actress Shir Shomron. I’m sure this video was a joy for her to perform in, but I don’t imagine the acting required of her was easy or simple. With eyes closed, she had to portray motion, paradoxically, by her still postures. All in keeping with the drama, humor, and music of the video.

Of course, Lavie had the talent of staffers behind him, too. Collating over 2000 photos and weaving them seamlessly into a motion picture was, I’m sure, a labor of love for them. 48 hours of shooting and weeks of preparation and post-shoot production, for a video lasting less than 4 minutes, must be testament to the complex efforts behind this.

Even the making of this music video was, in itself, a well-crafted video.

Altogether the props and tools to make this music video didn’t require the cinematic, technical genius of a Steven Spielberg. We regular people can make such a video, if we wanted, and I’m sure many people have done so. What Lavie and his mates bring to the table, however, is artistic genius a plenty. We can stand in awe, mouth agape, in the presence of artists who are so talented within the confines of their genre, say, poetry or dance or painting. But the talent of this crew runs through multiple genres, resulting in a work of art that is truly multimedia and cross-art in nature. Writing, singing, directing, photographing, acting, and filming.

In the end, all that was required of technology was simply to enable their talent.

Thank you for reading, and let me know what you think!

Ron Villejo, PhD