Bjartmar - New Today - 2019

Project Overview:
This music video was built around Bjartmar’s concept of a post-apocalyptic world where small groups of survivors band together against overwhelming odds. Inspired by imagery of collapse, rebellion, and dreamlike desolation, the visuals evoke a cold, washed-out atmosphere that blurs reality and memory. Shot in an unfinished parking structure abandoned after Iceland’s 2008 financial crash, the video combines improvised scenes with stylised performances to create a fragmented, dystopian mood.

Recognition:

Although not widely promoted through formal press channels, the video has been noted by viewers for its atmospheric world-building and distinctive end-times aesthetic.

My Contribution:

• Worked as producer, director, director of photography, and editor.

• Interpreted the artist’s conceptual imagery into a coherent visual approach without a pre-existing narrative.

• Designed the cold, desaturated colour palette to support the dreamlike, end-times mood.

• Managed lighting in an abandoned, unpowered structure using resourceful solutions, including battery-operated LEDs built into the gas masks.

• Shot the entire project in one day under tight time constraints, capturing varied material to allow the narrative to be built fully in post-production.

Creative / Technical Notes:

• Entire production completed in an abandoned, unpowered structure requiring fully portable lighting solutions.

• Lighting design incorporated visible fixtures to align with the “makeshift survival” aesthetic.

• Minimal prep time resulted in on-the-spot scene creation and improvisation guided by the artist’s mood board.

• Colour work focused on achieving a cold, desaturated, post-collapse tone.

• Built the emotional through-line entirely in post, shaping rhythm, texture, and atmosphere from loosely connected footage.