As if you needed any more proof than the Grizzly Bear "Knife" video that directing team Encyclopedia Pictura is a weird bunch, here comes their warped, oozy vision for spacey indie rockers Seventeen Evergreen. Taking place in what looks like a felt poster depiction of a forest, a crew of sensualists coagulate into one jagged, strangely sensuous mess. The effect is made possible by ferrofluid, a "stable colloidal suspension of sub-domain magnetic particles in a liquid carrier," or, as best explained to the lay person: It's magnetic goo. For an idea of how this stuff works, check out this test film in which EP manipulates the fluid with electromagnets above and below the camera frame. Additional tidbits on the "making of" can be found in a Q&A over at the video blog Shots Ring Out. --> watch "Haven't Been Yourself"
Seventeen Evergreen "Haven't Been Yourself" (Pacific Radio Fire)
Encyclopedia Pictura, directors/editors/visual FX | Mark De Pace, producer | Ghost Robot, production co | Sean Hellfritsch, DP | Tom Seitzler, photron camea operator
