Glass Of The Microscope
Music video Glass Of The Microscope starring NYC based pop band Yeasayer as post-apocalyptic bioscientists searching for a medicine to cure the world.
“... filmed in one of the oldest research universities in Europe and the place where the 17th-century Dutch microbiologist Antoine van Leeuwenhoek developed an early prototype of the microscope.”
science lab contextualising psy-pop
Psychedelic-pop band Yeasayer collaborated with Ruben Van Leer to create a cinematic trip for their Glass Of The Microscope single release from the Fragnant World album. The socio-critical song is heavy with the band's characteristic silky synths and torpid melodies. There's a post-apocalyptic vibe in the video that is subtle but persistent, imagining band members Chris Keating, Ira Wolf Tuton, and Anand Wilder as scientists struggling to find a cure for an unnamed global affliction.
In addition to the Naturalis tower, Van Leer filmed the band in a specialised molecular lab at Leiden University, one of the oldest research universities in Europe and the place where the 17th-century Dutch microbiologist Antoine Van Leeuwenhoek developed an early prototype of the microscope.
Next to cinematographically staging the real-life science lab, Van Leer shot different types of crystallisations under the microscope. An underwater duet by dancers Reve Terborg and Lucien Denny, is superimposed in the microscopy footage. In the visual story we literally journey inside the fluids of the world’s cure, expressed by a submerged choreography…
The organic microscopic imagery is complemented by a digital volumetric capture (Kinect) of the musicians, inspired by high-tech science electro-microscopy. Digital animation, music, science-visuals and dance are juxtaposed in this video to make a statement about a potential near-future society…
“After technology saves the world — as Silicon Valley wants us to believe — what then? Well, then it looks as though the future of humanity depends on four dudes from Brooklyn.”
credits
| direction: | Ruben van Leer |
| production: | Ruben van Leer, Jamie Timms |
| scientists: | Chris Keating, Anand Wilder, Ira Wolf Tuton (Yeasayer) |
| dancers: | Lucien Denny, Reve Terborg |
| scientist: | Fred Hess |
| DOP: | Diderik Evers |
| editing: | Rigel Kilston |
| VFX: | Justin Blyth |
| styling: | Bonne Reijn |
| set art: | Ine Van Den Elsen, Sanne Van Wersch |
| set dress: | Anne Mevissen, Anne Wagemaker |
| prod assist: | Anouk Valkenburg, Jurrien Steenkamp |
| set assist: | Bart Le Belle |
| gaffer: | Maarten Van Der Pluijm, Blaine Bradley |
| cam assist: | Alexander McKenzie |
| grip: | Peter Van Vugt |
| make up: | Kim Verhagen |
| hair: | Ellen Oosterlaar |
| MU assist: | Merle Holterman Mua |
| compositing: | Jurrien Steenkamp, Ruben Van Leer |
| microscopy: | Fred Hess, Ruben van Leer |
| projections: | Edwin Haverkamp, Kay van der Vree |
| diving team: | Kevin Lebis, Branko van Kooten, Lauren Lavoo |
| casting: | Patricia Hofstede, Nadia Moussaid |
| BTS pics: | Laura Andalou |
| extras: | Patricia Hofstede, Eva Bartels, Dim Balsem, Gerben Blauw, Petra Blauw, Kassandra Schreuder, Eli Schreuder, Heer en mevrouw Sterk, Roxanne Dekker |
| thanks to: | Jason Foster, Ceci Gomez, Paul Drake, Prof. Hans Tanke, Annelies van der Laan, Roman Koning, Prof. Rob Zwijnenberg, Martin Werkman, Laura Andalou, Pieter van de Waterbeemd, Kris Dekkers, Govert Janse, Rachel Stone |
| powered by: | TAX Fonds, Camera Rentals, Het Licht, LUMC Leiden, NATURALIS, Master Film, Hectic Electric |
filmmaker & media-artist
