My new video, “The Nest of The Heart”, is all about showcasing my most meaningful memories…
Dear Friends,
Today, I have released my long-awaited video, “The Nest of the Heart”, on VEVO. This is an art video which is based on my poetry. In this video, I sing my verses and act them out in order to give them more richness and dimension.
My video project is centered on memories. These memories evoke plenty of emotions, both positive and negative. We all have our own memories, some of which make us cry and others which make us smile. The happiest memories are the kinds which bring warmth to our hearts, even in the dead of winter. For example, the memory of a loved one, memories of parents or siblings, memories of school days, memories of childhood friends and memories of special places all reside in our souls and leave an indelible imprint. These golden memories are priceless reminders of how good life can be…
Letting go of sad memories is part of personal growth and I touch on this in my video. Sometimes, we need to put our emotional baggage aside, even though this can be difficult to do. In order to move forward, we need to focus on positive memories which fuel our creativity, happy energy and gratitude. Without positive memories in the forefronts of our minds, it’s harder to be happy, and this is why we all need to find the strength to push negative memories into the shadows…
This video is a compilation of memories which have been transformed into a poem. I sing this poem with feeling and sincerity, in the hopes that it will become special to you, too.
Here is the English translation of my poem, which was written originally in Punjabi:-
The memories nursed in the nest of the heart
I have kept with care, like pure and precious pearls
With gentle self-strokes, I softened my pain
And blew out all of my burning contemplations
Because firewood of thoughts, I had lit up in my mind
I have kept with care, like pure and precious pearls
Even numb cold moments give a soothing heat
When warm teardrops plaster my cheeks
Then brooks of longing flow from the creeks
I have kept with care, like pure and precious pearls
I always cherish silk-like velvety dreams
Then serve tears to my body from the salver of my eyes
In this way, I have spent all of my lifetime
I have kept with care, like pure and precious pearls
The memories nursed in the nest of the heart
I have kept with care, like pure and precious pearls
This compilation is the product of years of effort. I wrote the poem back in 2011 and then recorded it during 2012. Born in New Zealand and California (US) settler Geoff Maddock put a lot of energy in composing sweet music for my poem. At this point, I began to develop the concept of creating a video based on my poem. Now, it’s 2015 and I’ve brought my concept to fruition.
The video is professional and it’s designed to help me express myself in a whole new format…
During May of 2015, I began to map out the storyline. As I recited my poem to myself, the storyline seemed to appear in my mind. This “flash of inspiration” made me feel wonderful! In fact, it really moved me and I’m hoping that the finished video will move you as well!
During the spring, I connected with a professional video crew in Vancouver (Canada). I knew these experts would be able to help me bring my vision for my poem into the video realm. So, I discussed my poem and vision with Rusty and Bradley. Both men are very passionate about their work and I knew that they would help me to make my video the best that it could be. To complete the team, highly creative Carver Langdon was brought in as director.
Next, we auditioned child actors in order to play parts in the video. In time, the team narrowed the search, by focusing on the Snow siblings – Brayden Snow and Kayzhia Snow. Both kids are great actors and they have the sense of innocence and positive energy that our team was looking for.
We talked a lot with our young actors while liaising as a group. Once everyone was on the same page, we scheduled filming. We spent one day shooting the child actors (and me). On the second day, I performed alone.
We needed to do editing as the initial video footage spanned hours. I chose to take on the task of editing and put painstaking attention to detail into this important task. In addition to editing, I “colour-graded” the video in order to give it just the right visual impact! Vancouver-based author Heather Matthews deserves my spacial thanks for editing my texts and offering creative suggestions. I am also thankful to Angelika Hackett, Ray Zschau, and Lizzie Calvert for their timely support. A long list of many other names is in my heart.
By October of 2015, my video was ready to be published.
At this point, we scheduled a premiere of the video, for selected viewers only. This premiere took place on the 24th of October, 2015. We gathered friends at the Old Firehall in Whitehorse (Yukon, Canada) and let them see the video!
Our first viewers were so kind and positive and they had so many good things to say about the video. This was very heartening, as we knew that we had produced something meaningful.
Some of my friends like Todd Pilgrim, Tamara Goeppel, Emma Barr, Alina Dragomir, and Erin Sanderson recorded their impressions of the video and they were so gracious in terms of expressing their honest opinions. Of course, one expects some negative feedback of a new creative project! However, opinions which were expressed were not negative at all.
Suffice it to say that these video reviews boosted the team’s confidence and we are so grateful for them!
Next, I thought about platform – which video-sharing network would be best for this video? After vetting a range of platforms, I settled on VEVO. It was all about finding a platform which is dependable and which allows for maximum outreach to friends and strangers alike.
I want to thank my team for their hard work and their great communication, as well as their artistry. This project was a labour of love and it was a fine collaboration between cameraman, director, actors, music composer and make-up artist.
VEVO released my video today. I hope that you will watch it and then leave a comment.
Please click here to watch my video!
Sincerely,
Gurdeep Pandher
