An interview with Phoebe Brooks discussing her experience of directing the Genshin Impact “Lamentation et Triomphe” music video.
What were your initial thoughts when the Particle6 team reached out to you?
It's always nice to get reached out to out of the blue, especially when it's such an exciting project and brief! I was intrigued and excited - especially by the scale of the project, which is rare in the music video space.
What does your planning and preparation process look like?
Normally I have a very extensive planning process - especially for a music video of this ambition and with so many moving parts (70 musicians! a boat!) in my experience there's no way to pull it off if you haven't meticulously planned out every single moment and shot. We started with recceing the locations which is crucial, then I built plans of the floorplans to lay out where everyone would stand, and I even built a mini replica of the main location on my kitchen table and used figurines to represent the musicians. This allowed me to properly visualise all of the camera movements, and I then designed a full shot list which I then edited into a pre vis timed to the track. So quite a lot of work before the shoot!
How does this project stand out from other projects?
Just the sheer magnificence of the vision and ambition of the piece - it was such a joy to work with such incredible locations and talented cast. Normally you're always working under very tight limitations for a music video, and so it felt very freeing to aim as high as possible, and work with a client who only wanted the best.
What was your inspiration for this music video?
The main inspiration was the track itself - I listened to it a few times and just tried to imagine what images naturally felt like they would fit with it. The main thing was the rapid tempo of the piece - it made me immediately feel like the camera should always be in motion, and that was the springboard for the whole visual style and editing rhythm of the video.
Tell us about an unforgettable/crucial moment on set.
Probably trying to film a violinist playing on a boat on the Thames while we filmed in a second boat at sunset! It was a bit of a nightmare logistically trying to get everything to work, but in the end I was really happy with the results.
What is next for you?
More commercials and music videos, but I'm also in development on my first feature film which is very exciting! So watch this space!