Overview:

“The Sun Killer Lullaby” is amalgamation and post-modern remix of a lot of my influences from directors, artists & writers that I truly admire. The piece is centered around the idea of some of my favorite horror figures from my adolescent years and onward, and putting them together accompanying this amazing track (Spiritbox “Sun Killer” from 2021) ideating on the concept of these characters as different adversaries of the light.

In term of reference, think:

Hieronymus Bosch, Gustave Doré, Dantes Inferno, Ingmar Bergman, Paradise Lost , Jonas Åkerlund, Mike Flanagan, Stephen King, HP Lovecraft, Guillermo Del Toro , Francis Ford Coppola, John Logan, James Wan And of course - the mighty Spiritbox for the track itself.

Thematic Breakdown of Cinematic Symbolism, Colours & The Narrative Process:

The labour of love that was The Sun Killer Lullaby project took over 100+ hours to complete.

I put a ton of thought and care into how Colors, Motifs & References & their symbolic meaning combined with the different horror archetypes play a crucial part in the piece.

So, I thought I would be an interesting idea to break that down and guide you through my thinking process and the emotional flow of the piece. As well as some of the references, symbolism and meaning behind many of the shots.

➤➤ Intro: We start off with close-ups in neutrals and brown of the symbols of the light, Although forgotten and covered in dust & spiderwebs of ages past.

We then transition slowly into the midnight-draped shots in blue all building up to the opening of the door by the monstrous hand leading us into the first verse.

➤➤ 1st verse: We start by being introduced to a wondrous Dorian Grey gazing at His own broken mirrored self. From there the recurring motif of the eye & the eclipse brings us further along the dimlit cinematic corridors of the piece. We pass through scenes of various nocturnal creatures basked in the blue radiant rays of the midnight sun taking us to the 1st chorus.

➤➤ 1st chorus: We now descend into the abysmal underworld of Dantes's Inferno & Paradise Lost. These shots are very much influenced by my adolescent years when I was introduced to the mastery of Gustave Dore and his copper etchings. Here, the angelic demons are wrapped in a darkened bronzy brown and maroon red, veiling their otherworldly faces as they lead us further down into the abysmal circles of the underworld of the Sun Killer entity - Its eyes shining brighter than a thousand suns, eclipsing our worldly sun, which brings us to the 2nd verse.

➤➤ 2nd verse: Now, brought back from the yonder we find ourselves back in our world, but at night, when ”they” come out to hunt. Centered around various vampiric entities of cinema & literature, this particular piece is a not-so-subtle homage to Francis Ford Coppolas's Dracula. We’re then led through a gallery of classic nightly archetypes such as nocturnal spirits & ”night-mare”(in Swedish folklore Mar-dröm, the succubi & bringer of nightmares) the nightly predator the wolf, the moonlight-basked black raven and of course - The Bat, and it’s different vampiric shapes taking us to the 2nd chorus.

➤➤ 2nd chorus: And now, with the sudden stroke of an elemental match, the world is set ablaze - ignited by the fiery gaze of the vampiric sun killer bringing forth an armageddon-like cascade of blazing eclipses. Seen mid-air amongst the dying sun, is the winged sun killer entity, now arisen from its subterranean prison. Its silhouette contrasted against the solar flames as we reach the chorus crescendo, bringing us to the bridge.

➤➤ Bridge: Here, we’re back to one of the red threads thematically of the piece - the eye. Shrouded in various esoteric, spiritual and pop cultural symbolism, the Eye and Iris has too many references to count. But here it serves as the point of ingress to the eclipse - as one of the very first ideas for this piece was around having an iris overlaid with a solar eclipse - which became a recurring motif throughout the journey of the piece. Towards the end we’re drawn into armageddon-like skies overlaid with a particular set of horns, bringing us to the climatic finale.

➤➤ The finale: Now, the cacophony of fire & brimstone is upon us. Various shots of solar eclipses & armageddon infused scenes overlay in a dancing video inferno. Highlighted by synchronized musical shots of various adversaries of the light. And at the very end, the winged Sun Killer entity arises from the depths and puts the symbols of the light ablaze as the cacophony rises in the intensity of colour & dynamism, to its inevitable climax.

➤➤ The End: It’s always darkest before the dawn…
And as the golden rays of our worldly sun bring us out of the adversarial night and conclude the piece.

Credits:

Thanks for watching and check out www.billyboman.com for more.

Executed with a mix of AI video tools such as SVD 1.1, Runway, Leonardo.AI & Leia Pix.

Upscaled with Topaz labs to 4K & 60 FPS (https://topazlabs.com/ref/2424/)

Music track copyright: Spiritbox "Sun Killer"