With the video for our 3rd release, we decided to go for a more upfront narrative to compliment the song’s storyline.

This track is a hard-hitting powerhouse, and we set up the visual to reflect its intensity.

The idea was to create a city and have it appear to be decimated by the threat of the piece.
A displacement map was laid out using f-curves to illustrate the appearance of constant motion and destruction (fig.1 and fig.2).

The next step was laying out the volumetrics to make the video feel more layered and provide tangible depth between the camera and the main focus (fig 3).

With this complete, it was on to creating the text (fig. 4 & 5)

We then textured it and placed it in as the backdrop to our video (fig. 6).

The last step in the initial setup was to add lights, having them sweep through the buildings as if they collapsed when moving forward towards the light (fig.7).

This adds the illusion of a mysterious force driving the narrative as well as adding additional action, and a nice cyberpunk feel to the scene.

For the chorus, we had the camera lift up through the atmosphere, coming up close and personal to the vessels.

The video needed a break up in theme once the interlude cut in, so we had the camera zoom in close, then tumble down as if we were pulled in and cast from the vessel (fig.8 and fig.9)

We reintroduced letterboxing to gain focus on the action, then went on to add a slow colour drain to signify the change, adding some effects such as grain filters and an overlay for the scratched-up, aged film look. (fig. 10)
This inserted a passage of time, feeling that the attack continued over a longer period.
The attack then feels relentless.

Once this was all complete, we added title cards, beginning and end. (fig. 12 & fig. 13)

Fade-ins and fade-outs were keyframed along with the titles to give the video a cinematic look (fig. 14).

The final step was to add some gamma correction to the video, to help highlight elements of the terrain, and prevent details from being lost during both light and dark moments.
(fig. 15 & fig. 16)

We were then ready to render.

All in all, this is a very complex video to undertake, but the overview has a simplistic feel that doesn’t get too busy for the viewer.
This was another video we enjoyed creating.
The outcome as well as the overall aesthetic is one we found to be both pleasing to the eye, as well as entertaining.

For this video, we decided to create a visualiser in its more traditional sense, but with a Serration Studios twist. The song itself is an aggressive, powerful and lively track. It kicks off right up in your face and doesn’t relent.
The Vocals are scathing, the Guitars are brutal in their emotional delivery.
If the Drums were an athlete, they’d be a heavyweight pugilist with the accompanying Basslines shouting out instructions from the ropes.

Read Music Interview Magazine.com’s review here:
Beseech The Scars: A Prog Metal Playlist And Video Must

As powerful as the song is, what was needed from the video was to keep the focus on the song, while not removing the viewer from the experience. A problem not easily met, but one that was solved.
The idea we arrived at was to give the video a hypnotic feel. The use of clever, yet subtle lighting was introduced to keep pace with the mood of the song and provide visual cues to the viewer.
The pulsating walls were again the genius of blender’s F-curves (fig.1).
The undulating floors were programmed using the same technique, and when it all comes together, it pulls focus into the centrepiece, the Beseech The Scars logo (fig.2).

To keep the viewers captivated, the F-curves were cleverly modified to drift the audience in on a soft wave via the floor (fig.3) with the walls programmed to do the hard-hitting leg work.
This kept it exciting and maintained the momentum (fig.4).
The Back wall then served as a “buffer” to keep the eyes fixated and prevent the view from softening or moving beyond the confines of the room (fig.5).

For the overall look, we wanted to create a sci-fi meets a clean, crisp hospital wall feel inspired by the work of Stanley Kubrick, and the “White Room Torture” cells (fig.6).

It all comes across as welcoming, albeit unsettling.
You are safe in your viewing environment, but are your eyes safe from what you’re being invited to watch, and from what your subconscious conjures up?
The walls are clean and clear, but is your mind creating the images, or are they being presented to you?
The feeling of catharsis and uncertainty weave into the song seamlessly.
We have many other plans to use visualizer’s and look forward to playing with ideas that can be utilised in blender.
This video may have been a quicker turnaround, but it didn’t come without its challenges.
As with many things, often the most simple ideas can be fraught with complications.