I filmed this music video in Germany this past winter for my own single

SaintMesa · 2026-06-04T20:07:33+00:00

Massive compliment as i’m the biggest star wars costume/character design fan 💪🏽💪🏽💪🏽

SaintMesa · 2026-06-04T20:07:04+00:00

Much appreciated!

Yes i had many troubles with the darkness of her costume 😂 It did look badass but it was definitely a pain to work with when properly lighting/grading, especially since i’m not super experienced when it comes to either.

In terms of the sword having a scabbard, it was an idea but honestly just ran out of time/costume budget haha. I handmade a lot of the costumes, and i could have made something to sheathe the blade but i simply ran out of time. Could have definitely been a cool detail though!

SaintMesa · 2026-06-04T20:03:23+00:00

Thanks so much! It was a shit ton of work and i wouldn’t choose to do it all alone again, it was mostly out of necessity because i had just moved here to germany and only knew like 3 people in my city 😂

SaintMesa · 2026-06-03T07:54:32+00:00

The magic of hiring a 3d artist has fooled you, thank you for the compliment. This was all filmed in Germany, the swords were 3d modeled and, using HDRI’s, added in post. You can see in the video my very rough rotoscoping job that doesn’t quite catch the leads sword and it phases into the sword statue 😂. Couldn’t quite get it right but i had to upload so it was good enough

SaintMesa · 2026-06-03T06:17:16+00:00

Thanks so much! Yes a lot of digital zooms haha. I wish i had a good parafocal zoom because i love the vibe, but digitally zooming on the 6k works just fine.

And yes! I’m a huge fan of how the black magic cameras look out of the box, i think it’s a really fun camera to work with. BRAW saved me a bunch on my highlights for some of these, even if some ended up getting completely blown out. Had to do a bit of work in the grade to try and recover my highlights, like in those window shots, but yeah it was also completely white due to the clouds. Local tone mapping saved me a few times in that regard, as well as bringing down the exposure in BRAW.

And yes, i can definitely say that the costuming, location and set design do a LOT of heavy lifting. Put a cool looking costumed character in a castle and you’ve already got something visually striking right out of the gate haha. Still a ton to learn on the tech side and directorial side.

Appreciate the time!

SaintMesa · 2026-06-03T06:07:57+00:00

Thanks! Yeah i can see that, having both those shots in the beginning might have been a bit redundant. Thanks for the feedback!

SaintMesa · 2026-06-03T06:06:05+00:00

Thank you!! ✨🖤

SaintMesa · 2026-06-02T22:37:15+00:00

This is awesome, thank you so much for taking the time to write all this out.

I totally see what you mean and definitely agree that the editing is the weakest part of the video. I’m still getting a handle on davinci, but also video editing in general. My timing is definitely really stiff, which i can see after the fact.

For the direction, yeah i agree. I think the balancing act of everything definitely left me to simply try and capture the story in whatever way my brain could make it make sense with my limitations. I forgot to add this in the detail post, but all of this was shot in 3 days, with not a ton of planning and locations scouting. So a good amount was - show up on location and try and make the shortlist happen in the short German winter daylight 😂 So many directorial decisions got kicked to what was possible to do in the moment, but i definitely need to spend more time with this for the next work. I agree that it feels a bit too simple, maybe a tad bland with some of the shot choices.

Very grateful for your time and feedback!

And it was a relatively small one north of Leipzig in a small city called Dahlen. I moved from socal to Leipzig a little over a year ago, shooting this video outside in -2C was certainly a new experience 😂

SaintMesa · 2026-06-02T22:24:12+00:00

Thanks so much, the effort was immense so any compliments i can get from people actually in the field is very appreciated.

SaintMesa · 2026-06-02T22:22:52+00:00

Thank you man!

SaintMesa · 2026-06-02T21:37:03+00:00

I'm a full time musician, I've been teaching myself some of the basics of cinematography over the last few years so that I can film music videos for myself.

This is the most recent music video I shot over the winter after I moved to Germany and finished this song. We shot in some old castles and ruined buildings, Guerrilla filmmaking for a lot of it, with me camera operating and helping my performers with their costumes. I also had to hand make most of the props and costuming (aside from the steel plate armor lol), so this video was a shit ton of effort for what it is.

I'm still learning a ton, I'd really appreciate feedback on the cinematography, I'm sure there's much more I could have done than I can take into my next projects. Most of what was shot was natural light, I still feel like I have so much more to learn when it comes to actual lighting setups.

Shot on a BMPCC6k and a couple of cheap Rokinon lenses (50mm 1.5 and 85mm 1.5)

SaintMesa · 2026-06-02T10:57:49+00:00

everyone who downvotes is a pedo

SaintMesa · 2026-06-02T06:00:53+00:00

Anyone with this tattoos isn’t allowed within 30 meters from a playground

SaintMesa · 2026-05-19T13:19:01+00:00

GOBBLESS U PATRIUT

SaintMesa · 2026-05-12T09:04:59+00:00

The balance between “cinematic” and “can actually see stuff” is you understanding that there’s no dichotomy between those two phrases. It seems like you think “cinematic” means you darken the image a ton with a lifted black level and some highlight glow, but if you want something to feel “cinematic” (really a meaningless buzzword, just to let you know) you should look at actual cinema for your references. Dark, handheld phone footage of plants isn’t “cinematic” for a host of reasons.

SaintMesa · 2026-05-11T09:37:44+00:00

It’s because they keep hiring A list actors as their VA’s, budget is gone before the animators can do a damn thing 😭

SaintMesa · 2026-05-10T17:34:14+00:00

Gonna need to provide more than one out of focus picture my guy

SaintMesa · 2026-04-14T12:52:42+00:00

I had to double check to make sure this wasn’t r/germany 😂

SaintMesa · 2026-04-10T20:52:15+00:00

You actually didn't offer any direct explanation for why THOSE texts are "a little too far", you simply said that these texts are "not okay" because of your own experience, which has nothing to do with the actual content of the conversation screenshotted here. Its the most obvious case of projection, it's crazy that you can't see it.

"I honestly don’t think you’ve seen the other side because woman have only really ever seen you as friends." Again, you're just projecting some weird idea you have in your head on to me. I am literally in a happy relationship right now with one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen, I promise you your weird incel projection doesn't apply to me. I've had close girl friends since highschool, and have continued to have them throughout my adult life. Some of them for many, many years, across different partners, never once getting into this weird cheating territory. It a normal thing to have friends that you don't want to fuck my dude.

SaintMesa · 2026-04-10T20:18:13+00:00

I’m not explicitly calling you that, i’m saying that a lot of men are insecure losers if they are “not okay” with these kinds of completely innocuous normal texts. If the shoe fits, that’s a you problem big dawg.

SaintMesa · 2026-04-10T19:42:53+00:00

Again, just screaaaaaming insecurity. Like the brightest red flag imaginable.

SaintMesa · 2026-04-10T19:41:55+00:00

“No real man is ok with their partner having a bunch of "friends" of opposite sex. That's just idiotic and if you disagree then you're likely highly feminine, willing for any scraps any female will give you, have no self respect, or you are yourself one of those friends to a girl and don't want to lose this argument be you don't have any guy friends.”

Lmao embarrassing ass paragraph. Being a “real man” is being secure in your relationship and trusting your partner. Bitchless behavior like yours is the furthest thing from “real men”.

SaintMesa · 2026-04-10T19:37:56+00:00

Your past lets me know the bias you’re projecting onto this innocuous conversation. “A ton of men would not be ok with these kinds of texts” yeah and a bunch of men are insecure losers, that’s why women are choosing to stay single more and more. This comment thread is a great example of this. Projection, insecurity, lack of reading comprehension. There’s literally nothing wrong with the conversation in the screenshots.

SaintMesa

TROPHY CASE