Breathing in an Underwater Dream

We spoke with Mariano Nante, Mama Hungara director, Hera Hyesang Park, one of the greatest present day sopranos, and Diego Diéguez, Animation Machine Studio’s founder, about the production of Hera's video 'While You Live' for her latest album, 'Breathe'.

The album cover shows Hera underwater, with a distinctively relaxed face.

The album cover shows Hera underwater, with a distinctively relaxed face. She says she got the idea from a lucid dream that “enlightened” her. The director, the artist and the VFX expert told us about the six-month process of making this delightful work where the soprano is taken on a dreamlike voyage from an abandoned opera house to the middle of an infinite ocean.

LBB> How did the video come about?

Hera Hyesang Park> Mariano Nante and I have known each other for many years. When I shared my ‘dream’ music video for my new album ‘Breathe’, he was immediately enthralled by the idea. Having that shared goal was really wonderful. Mariano was a driving force in making my concept a reality. In my dream I was on top of a mountain, and a mystical energy came toward me. I then dived into the deep water and everyone else watched me and held a party. Then the background started blazing with colour, with rainbows and flowers and trees that bloomed. The entire time I was watching the scene underwater while smiling. It was such a blessing; I felt so alive even in a situation where I could be scared of dying, and I knew I had to manifest this into the album.

Mariano Nante> “We started envisioning the underwater video last year before Hera came to Argentina to sing The Magic Flute. She told me that she had this idea in mind from a dream she had a year before that concert. She even started taking freediving lessons to be ready for that! On the other hand, I had this idea of filming a temple underwater for a long time. For me it is an enormous privilege to film in this theatre, which is like a temple for me. It is the place where I go every time I want to listen to great music, and it is also where I premiered my first film, 'La calle de los pianistas' (Pianists Street)

Director Mariano Nante with the soprano at Teatro Colon.

LBB> From a VFX perspective, what were the challenges when Mariano Nante came to you with this proposal?

Diego Diéguez> When Mariano called us to film this video, the interesting thing was not so much to film underwater, the challenge was to flood the Teatro Colón! This is a historical building and as such you are not allowed to touch anything. So for the scene where the artist is swimming in the main auditorium, we filmed the theatre empty and the rest we did it in post production. My task in this case was to help the director frame the shot where the artist was supposed to be floating in the room. For the underwater feeling, we treated the colours, added particles, distortions, erased some lights and added 3D elements floating around like seats and instruments that were previously scanned on set. We worked very hard to create movement and a place where it seems submerged. On a separate day, we asked Hera to come to film all the scenes where the Theatre was going to appear underwater. In the case of the scenes in Salón Dorado (The Golden Hall), we used visual effects and invisible post-production. Mariano wanted to fill the theatre with vines so we placed them in 3D to give the effect of an abandoned theatre, taken over by nature. One of the most complicated shots in that room was when  water starts coming out of Hera's hand and the theatre starts to flood. For this shot, we built a 3D map of the Salón Dorado, we scanned it to reproduce the reflection of the water and to match the same lighting.

LBB> Part of the video “While You Live” was filmed underwater where special filming techniques and safety protocols were required to tackle such complex and challenging shots. How did you handle the shots filmed underwater?

Mariano> We had to add weight to Hera so she didn’t rise to the surface, her dress was quite heavy and the water had to be cool for technical reasons. We looked after Hera very well as she did all the takes. Fortunately we had an excellent team, Iván Insausti, arguably the best Argentinian underwater cameraman, Diego Dieguez with VFX, the DoP Marcos Hastrup, the production designer, Uki D’Amico, and the editor Alejo Santos, among others.

Diego> Hera is great, I realised then that she knew how to dive. In general when filming underwater with an actor you can do four or five takes maximum because it's very tiring to hold your breath and act at the same time. They usually stay for a maximum of 15 minutes in total.  In this case, Hera wanted to be underwater and rest there. We filmed for seven hours, she must have come out of the water three or four times. She stayed there as if meditating and when she was ready we did the shots. We had to take care with the movement of the water as the cameraman was also with her, and as the pool was small we had to hold her so that she could swim freely and create a natural movement.

“I could only see beautiful and indescribable images. I can hardly explain the bliss I felt”.

LBB> Hera, can you tell us your experience filming underwater?

Hera Hyesang Park> It took us seven hours to film the diving section of the video. It was such an intense experience! Afterwards I was not able to talk, walk, or even think for a while. Luckily, my senses gradually came back to normal. Having said that, it was an amazing experience to be underwater, I could hear my breath and nothing else. When I was under water, I lost focus for a brief moment, I also lost my ego and myself. I could only see beautiful and indescribable images. I can hardly explain the bliss I felt.

Here is a sneak peek of her experience learning to free dive for the filming of my album 'Breathe' on @DGClassics.

LBB> “While You Live” is part of your latest album “Breathe”. What is the message you hope to convey with your music?

Hera Hyesang Park> I hope the people who listen to this album will find the courage to live their lives with peace and strength through this music. We all have something to say that somebody out there needs to hear, and only we can say it in precisely the right way. So my message is: don’t keep silent. Share what you have to say with the world. Just breathe and be brave! Vulnerability is power. We are not perfect, but despite that, we must embrace ourselves and speak our mind.

This last 15th April, Mama Hungara launched its first major cultural event presenting the film “While You Live” together with a live Concert with Hera Hyesang Park at the prestigious Teatro Colón, Buenos Aires, Argentina.