Xavier Clover – Divine out of Time | MUSIC VIDEO OF THE WEEK

Behind the Video: Creating an Otherworldly Vision on No Budget

With Divine Out of Time, Xavier Clover builds an abstract, almost sacred visual world around themes of identity, duality and self-discovery. The imagery moves between darkness and light, giving shape to a deeply personal project that draws on pain, spirituality and the search for a sense of self.

For Xavier Clover, the video is more than a visual interpretation of the song. It marks the beginning of a larger artistic journey, turning personal experience into something both intimate and otherworldly.

One Artist, One Tripod, Thousands of Images

How many people worked on your selected video? Who played a key role in it?

For this music video, it was basically just me and my tripod. I had thousands of sequences inside my head, constantly asking me to bring them to life. During the first part of the video, my flatmates helped me with some of the filming and gave me a few tips, but I was the one who edited the entire piece, because I was the only person who knew exactly what I was seeing in my head: something abstract, divine and almost alien.

Making a Big Vision Work in Small Spaces

How long did it take to make it? What was the process (in short)?

The process was definitely not easy, it was a huge challenge. I had all these incredibly ambitious and professional-looking images in my head, but all I really had was myself and a tripod. I ended up using some pretty unconventional methods, like filming most of the video around windows and in my bedroom, and then transforming the footage in post-production by editing the lighting and colours and even adding background layers to create more depth within the frame.

Two and a Half Months of Fine-Tuning

What challenges did you face while working on the video?

It took me around two and a half months to complete the video. The song itself is four minutes long, which made the process even more demanding. I wanted the final piece to feel carefully crafted and polished, so it required a lot of time, patience and an almost obsessive amount of attention to detail.

Working on the video came with even more challenges because there was essentially no budget. I had to find clothes and props at affordable prices that could still create a coherent visual identity and communicate the almost sacred, otherworldly atmosphere I had in mind. I had to rely heavily on lighting, colour grading and visual effects to make the world feel larger and more elaborate than the resources I actually had.

The Pre-Choruses and a Finale in Flames

What part of the video is your favorite?

My favourite parts of the video are probably the pre-choruses and the final sequence surrounded by flames. Those were some of the most carefully crafted moments, and I feel they have an almost cinematic depth to them.

Exploding Statues, a Mysterious Apple, and the Video’s Hidden Meaning

Is there any message that the video is sending that you don’t want the viewer to miss?

The song itself is my catharsis. There is so much depth and imagery behind it that I could probably write an entire essay trying to explain its meaning. At its core, it is about self-discovery, the duality within human beings, and the light we carry hidden inside ourselves. Sometimes being human is incredibly difficult. We are constantly encouraged to fit into stereotypes and expectations, when in reality we are so much more than that. Divine Out of Time is a call to look within ourselves and find the identity that makes us unique and to remember that we are, in a way, divine beings living inside mortal bodies with an expiration date.

We’re out of time.

So get to know yourself. Love yourself. And remember that it’s okay to be darkness and light at the same time.

For me, this is the beginning of my first major artistic project, an almost religious experience built around everything pain has carved into my life, and everything I have managed to create from it.

Watch the music video below.

CREDITS

Artist: @xavierclover