We want to make a music video with sock puppet versions of ourselves. We've already created the puppets AND we've built a miniature stage.” I love it when a band approaches me with an idea that's already crazy. The Father, The Son and The Holy Simon were such a band.

The concept missed story, though. Watching 3 hand puppets on a stage for 3 minutes would be boring. Since the song is called 'Take my hand', the idea started brewing that these puppets could  be the real chopped off hands of the band members. Having come to life, they would search the world for the rest of their bodies. Adding the motorbike with double side spans and a whole lot of matte paintings and this was a great project to work on.

Scroll down to see behind the scenes footage and a complete overview on this this video was made.

Watch 'Take my hand', by FSHS here.

Well, it's a band contacting a director, what would you expect? But this ws the first time that sentence ended with 'with sock puppets of ourselves'. This merry band of rock misfits had spent hours making sock puppet versions of themselves en dozens f hours more building a small stage to the tiniest detail, with working lights and everything.

I had experience with puppets from previous work together with Bert Plagman (Sesame Street) and started working on a script. I love narrative music videos so came up with the idea that the band members lost their hands amidst a raging war. But in this world, it's the rest of the body that's the appendage. So the hands wake up and start looking for their lifeless bodies.

2. Tests and a teaser photo

Before starting the actual shoot, we did some camera tests. I wanted to see if we could sell the idea, and test out the puppets in case they needed any modification. I went to the band members' home and we shot some tests on their front porch. The tests were so succesful, I decided to create a teaser picture out of it.

3. Principal photography

We started out with the last scene: the hospital. For budgetary reasons, the war outside was one without big scenes of countless soldiers and casualties. Yet it wouldn't have worked if these elements were left out altogether. So the hospital was the perfect place to show the chaos with a maximum of production value. Also, the puppets had less close-ups in this one, which made this scene the perfect general rehearsal to see if they would survive the rest of production. 

The entire videoclip is a mix of life-action footage, matte paintings and greenkey.

BEFORE / AFTER

The whole music video took just about 3 weeks to edit and compose in Adobe After Effects. Next are some before/after shots.

The first two pictures I ever got. Three sock puppets on a stage and a wacky looking bike.