Behind the Video: Trusting Instinct and Pushing Beyond the Human Form
With a crew of around 60 people, a carefully constructed black stage and a cast moving through an abstract visual world, this music video was a substantial production built around a simple creative ambition: making the emotion feel real.
Shot over two days on a soundstage, the project combines band performance with more surreal visual sequences. At the centre of its imagery is the relationship between a girl and an android, a scene that brings together the film’s otherworldly atmosphere and its distinctly human emotional core.
Below, director Jensen Noen shares insight into the production of “Architects – Machine”.
A Large-Scale Production
How many people worked on your selected video? Who played a key role in it?
We had around 60 people on the crew, plus the band and cast. Producers Phoenix Vaughn, Ruth Devereaux and Ashley Haines, our DP Powell Robinson, and production designer Christina Giddens Garcia were key collaborators in bringing it together. The full credits are on the final slide of the video.
Two Days on a Soundstage
How long did it take to make it? What was the process (in short)?
We shot it over two days on a soundstage. The first day was focused on the band performance. On the second day, we shot the remaining visual scenes.
Building the Scene, Protecting the Performance
What challenges did you face while working on the video?
One of the biggest challenges was getting the black stage built and moved in on a very tight schedule. Then we had to cover the actress in black goo, and she got very cold. Even with that physical discomfort, she stayed committed to the character and gave us a performance that felt real. That was what mattered most to me: keeping the emotion human, even in such an abstract scene.
Finding the Human Connection
What part of the video is your favorite?
The scene with the girl holding the android is my favorite. Her performance is what makes it work for me. It brings together what I was trying to do with the whole video: put a real emotion inside an unreal situation.
Leaving Room for Interpretation
Is there any message that the video is sending that you don’t want the viewer to miss?
I have my own meaning for every scene, right down to the details. But the song is so beautiful and emotional, with so much beneath the surface, that I don’t want to reduce the video to one explanation. I’d rather people find their own meaning in the way the images connect with the music and bring something of themselves to it.
Watch the music video below.
CREDITS
Director: Jensen Noen
Producers: Phoenix Vaughn, Ruth Devereaux, Ashley Haines
Production Company: Blesscode Entertainment
Director of Photography: Powell Robinson
Production Designer: Christina Giddens Garcia
VFX: Inception Post Inception
Post Lead VFX Artist: Alex Verenchyck
Inception Post Creative Director: Jensen Noen
Editing by: Jensen Noen Assistant
Editor: Vasyl Liubka
Colorist: Matt Osborne of Company 3
Production Software: Powered by MasterShot.io
Band Stylist: Michael Fusco
Costume Designers (Models): Jak + Judson Makeup Designer: Emilia Werynska
Key Hair Designer: Alisha Baijounas
Camera Crane Op: Eli Franks & Scott Acosta
SPFX Coordinator: Casey Noel Casting Directors: Jak + Judson 1st AD: Kendall Foote CLT: Nate Thomson Key Grip: Adam Shambour
Lighting Programmer: Zane Blanchard Written by Dan Searle & Sam Carter
Produced by Dan Searle
Drums engineered by Adam ‘Nolly’ Getgood
Guitars engineered by Chris Clancy
Bass engineered by Pete Miles
Vocals engineered by Dan Searle
Mixed & mastered by Sam Bassal
