Vision Quest: Helena Deland on the Video for “Claudion”

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Vision Quest: Helena Deland on the Video for “Claudion”

From The Series of Songs "Altogether Unaccompanied" Vol. III & Vol. IV Out Now via Luminelle Recordings

Nov 12, 2018 Helena Deland By Helena Deland

Vision Quest is our recurring series where an artist writes about one of their music videos, from the concept to the execution. For this edition Montréal’s Helena Deland writes about her video for “Claudion.”

Deland released two interconnected EPs, collectively titled From The Series of Songs “Altogether Unaccompanied” Vol. III & Vol. IV, last month back via Luminelle Recordings. “Claudion” is found on Vol. IV. Bronwyn Ford directed the video, which features Deland doing a choreographed dance routine with her cousin, Claudia Picard-Deland.

Read on as Deland writes about how childhood dance routines inspired the video.

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The idea behind the video for “Claudion” is extremely simple and seemed so obvious in a kind of necessary way that I felt like it was the only relevant thing that we could do for it. The song is specifically about feeling comforted by my cousin Claudia’s presence on a particular night, and generally about the fact that the idea of her existence has consistently been one of the most reassuring and exciting things in mine.

As kids we’d invent and practice choreographies we’d then perform in front of our dads’ side of the family, and there’s no footage of this though we remember everything about those moments-the songs we chose, the outfits we’d make especially for the presentation, how cool we thought we were and looked. I liked the idea of reenacting that childhood interest as adults, as an homage to all the time we’ve spent together and all the things we’ve made up and done.

Bronwyn Ford, who has a video production company called User Friendly, agreed to direct the video and got Hugo Bernier on board, whose work I really love. We were looking for a suburban space to shoot in and Hugo suggested we do it in his grandmother Gabriela’s incredibly well-preserved house, which plays such an important role in the video. He’d always wanted to shoot something there but hadn’t found the right project to do that with, and we were missing a house, so it worked out really well.

We shot with film, which I really enjoyed. It feels very different from digital because you only have so much time to roll with, hence you don’t have the luxury of remaking a shot 20 times, which puts a little extra pressure on everyone. You also can’t see the result as you’re going, which gives a “que sera sera” feeling to the shoot and allows cool surprises. My favorite shots ended up being those that were filmed without Claudia and I knowing. It was a lot of fun to make.

I’m excited about this video for its personal value, as a document of my everlasting friendship with Claudia, but mostly because I think feminine friendship, which is so rich and varied and fundamental in every woman’s experience, isn’t depicted as much as it needs to be.