40 Day Dream
40 Day Dream is the third installment of SALVO!, a 12-part music video series from Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros. Now if you’re like many people, you may hear “music video series” and chuckle as flashbacks of ‘Trapped in the Closet’ flood into your mind. But SALVO! has none of the gun-toting ridiculousness of R. Kelly’s ego-fueled magnum opus. Sprouting from a truly original concept by band member Alex Ebert, the saga chronicles the journey of Edward Sharpe as he struggles to find his destiny in a water-starved, post-apocalyptic world.
The series began with Desert Song directed by Benjamin Kutsko and Corelleo and continued with Isaiah Seret’s Kisses Over Babylon. The eventual goal for SALVO! is to create a full-length feature with different chapters centered around each song on the Up From Below album.
“Even while writing the album I had ideas in my head, just sort of vague cinematic visions, some specific but not necessarily any that could be carried out. Kisses Over Babylon for instance always felt to me a sort of desperate but strong statement of survival in the face of death. And then to do the 40 Day Dream thing is great. The initial vision was more of a feeling of grandeur and space and sort of sweeping over geography. 40 Day Dream was always a moving song for me, rushing over landscapes, you know vast, beautiful, full of galloping freedom.” -Alex Ebert
For this next installment, the ever-talented Matt Amato came on board to help develop Alex’s vision into a truly cinematic experience. While each director has managed to tell a unified, cohesive story, they’ve also brought their own original perspectives into the project.
“The most important thing was to introduce the other band members and help the viewer fall in love with these faces in a way that was warm and enveloping, like some grand pageant as if these figures existed inside of a painting. Even though I knew all these people really well, I still wanted to see them in this iconic way and it became increasingly more and more about the Zeros.” -Matt Amato
“There was a lot going on, a lot riding on it, a lot of bold sort of moves. It was a miniature Heart of Darkness, we had a lot planned. But eventually we did it. I definitely had my moments when I would relax into it, and it was one of those things you can definitely get a little lost in when you’re out in the middle of the desert and you’re actually enduring the situations that are somewhat similar to the situations you’re portraying. You know, the life imitating the art.” -Alex Ebert
If you recall, we first met Edward wandering in an arid desert, struggling with questions from his past. After being sent to water-labor prison for the murder of his father, Edward is soon reunited with Brother, a friend from the past (who also happens to be a Magnetic Zero). Together they break out during a violent prison rally and narrowly escape with their lives, now forced to roam the desert plains once again. In this next chapter, it is the ever-charming Jade who comes to the rescue. Having received Brother’s telepathic message, she arrives on horseback with an embroidered canteen of water, reinvigorated, the trio makes its way back to where the rest of the Magnetic Zeros are camped. The Zeros welcome Edward immediately and shroud him in love and good spirits as they dance together into the night.
“The shots of everyone sitting on those rocks and dancing around the fire, that celebratory mood—that is the stuff that clenches the video.” -Alex Ebert
“We were shooting on the last day, the sun was going down and I just wanted to get more and more shots of those beautiful faces. So, I took the camera up to the top of the rock and stayed close to the band until the sun went down. Most of them I’ve known for years and to me the entire purpose of creating visuals is showing the world what you love.” -Matt Amato
Yet all has not been reconciled in this barren world—while the Magnetic Zeros sleep innocently, others are worried by the situation at hand. In this full-length version of the video, Edward is summoned from his slumber by Angel, the elder leader of the Magnetic Zeros. Their conversation, filled with riddles, leads us even deeper into this mysterious world, making us more curious to see what happens next.
This last intimate scene between Edward and Angel is responsible for the development of much of the mysticism of 40 Day Dream. Angel is, in fact, played by actress Lisa Richards, Alex’s mother. With the help of makeup artist Sarai Fiszel and some tribal art inspiration, Angel was developed into an incredibly believable avatar of the Zeros. Their chemistry is impeccable and her performance is just as convincing as the rest of the Magnetic Zeros, who manage to make you forget that you aren’t actually wandering around the desert with them.
“Sarai and Lisa created something really unique together. When Lisa showed up on set, we immediately felt the impact of this Angel character. The desert night was upon us after a blistering hot day, the wind picked up and this total vision arrived on our set. It was a beautiful experience to work with artists who conjure real magic.” -Matt Amato
Equally striking is the score for the piece, created by Miguel Atwood-Ferguson. Though it’s never easy to create music for another musician’s project, Miguel managed to craft several perfect numbers that dramatize the vision and truly add to the video.
“I really think Miguel is our answer to Ennio Morricone. Every director in Hollywood will be working with him in years to come. He’s amazingly talented and we are blessed to have his contribution. The music prepares the video for take off.” -Matt Amato
Having premiered on the VEVO network, Rolling Stone has already reviewed the video as “gorgeous, incredibly cinematic execution…stunning visuals.” So check out 40 Day Dream directed by Matt Amato, complete with horses, gritty close-ups, sweeping helicopter shots, and the desert’s natural beauty. This is only place you can watch all ten breathtaking minutes of the project, so enjoy!