As I wrote in my previous entry, I entered this 2019 full of resolutions, but one thing that was clear to me is that I wanted to spend the first day outdoors, grounding, healing and connecting with Nature. And so off we went to look for an item we had lost just a few days prior when we were filming for a forthcoming video, not hoping to find it but enjoying to retrace our trail back. And It was found… which I consider a sign of good luck… Because that is precisely one of feelings I want to cherish… You may think you’ve lost something yet you might not.
Halloween is drawing near and the veil is getting thin…
Every year I do a Halloween special and this was last year’s Hocus
Pocus but I am resharing it now along with the photoshoot, making of and
locations
so get ready for some eerie entries this October… :). Video was
done last Fall, but many of the pictures have been recently edited and
are shared now for the first time. Sharing here a special creepy little
music video I made for Halloween last year as I am preparing a new
seasonal special for this one. In the mood for something slightly eerie?
This post also includes photo shoot, filming locations, and lots of
pictures!
Are you in Halloween mood quite yet? Do you usually celebrate it?
Are you plotting your costume already?
There will be some “Special Spectral entries” as Autumn is here now in
its full glory with its mysterious mists and fallen leaves.
Press play to listen / watch the video featuring several locations in Spain and France.
Who remembers this movie?
Hocus Pocus is a fantasy seasonal Halloween movie that was released
in 1993 by Disney. Featuring a trio of Witches (The Sanderson Sisters)
the movie is lighthearted and fun entertainment, but there was an eerie
haunting moment, darker than the rest of the film by its tone and
meaning, that stayed with me longer, and that was the moment Sarah, the
blonde haired witch (how appropiate) uses her power, her sweet voice
with which she is able to lure unfortunate children into her lair…
just like a Siren.
So as a collector of movie scores, my main and major influence in my
own music, I have been picking some “classics” from my childhood and
giving them a spin within my own style. And thus here I’m sharing my own
version of the soundtrack.
So do you remember this movie?
It was indeed a commercial and critical flop back in the day but
slowly it became a cult classic. Apparently there is a sequel about to
be released too after so many years. I remember it with fondness though
and some scenes like Sarah singing this song are quite vivid in my
mind… It is now a seasonal classic of my generation, so well drop also
your impressions if you remember or have watched it. If not, this is
the perfect month to have a look at it!
I put a spell on you and now you’re mine
But this post is more than about the song but also the hikes and
behind the scenes of this little creepy video I made as Halloween
special. (Preparing another surprise for this one) as we get into the
mood for the forthcoming All Hallows Eve. Despite being blonde
myself and having a “similar garment” than the character that sings it I
did not pretend to cosplay the character but tell a different kind of
story (darker in mood) than the original take… I am curious about your
own interpretations.
The veil is getting thinner…
Lyrics
“Sarah’s Theme” is one of the sung and most iconic tracks in Hocus Pocus Movie score with music by James Horner;
lyrics by Brock Walsh inspired by Edgard Allan Poe; performed by Sarah
Jessica Parker in the movie. Additional variations were made by who was
in charge of most of the instrumental soundtrack of the movie. The theme
also known as “Garden of magic” and has become a rather well known
seasonal Halloween classic. There are longer versions but the original
lyrics (very short) are these:
Come little children, I’ll take thee away,
Into a land of enchantment.
Come little children, the time’s come to play,
Here in my garden of magic.
Credits
Original version
Credits: Sarah´s theme was composed by James Horner and variations and rest of the movie soundtrack by John Debneyhttp://johndebney.com/. Lyrics by Brock Walsh.
John Debney was kind enough to listen to my version and send back a
compliment which I found so encouraging. This is just a tribute cover
and it’ was not an official release, I always recommend to purchase the
ORIGINAL soundtrack but I enjoyed recording this as it was a challenge
was a good practise to improve my hammered dulcimer playing 🙂 and thus it deviates quite a lot from the original arrangement.
I loved your rendition, it sounded great John Debney (Hocus Pocus OST composer and conductor)
Priscilla Hernandez voice, lead and choir, arrangements, hammered dulcimer, piano, video edition
Armen Vartanyan: violin
Svetlana Tovstukha: cello
Héctor Corcín : mixing, mastering, camera work, video edition
Filming locations
The abandoned decaying ruins of a former village of miners of Arruitzgain on Basakaitz
Mount (Spain) served as main background to film the video… There used
to be also a train (Plazaola) to transport the minerals from this area
that has been of mining interest since the Romans settlements in the
area… And at the beginning of the hike you can choose to go over the
now deserted rails and tunnels. Then there is a hike uphill while while
enjoying a forest of long and slender beech trees. I filmed this exactly
mid October last year but the leaves hadn’t fully shifted into autumn
colours quite yet (thus we used color correction in the video to make it
moodier)
The mining village was abandoned in the fifties and barely a few
buildings tumbling down and emerging chimneys and walls over the
engulfing and lush vegetation and they look much older while a thick pad
of moss, vines and blackberry bushes have covered the walls.
It felt convenient that there was a fireplace in one of them… oddly
enough with signs of recent use, maybe one hiker took the remaining
building structure as shelter.
Don’t worry, I don’t eat children, I’m vegetarian 😉
We also collected some wood in order to create that uneasy feeling of
“Witch in the Woods” as I was intending to do a video for the song
“Come Little Children” anyway. I always try to release a Halloween
special, whether a cover of Halloween classic like this, or an
original… so already working in this year special Halloween release.
The early autumn filtered light was perfect and I found a perfect witchy
staff out of a wooden stick.
After filming we stayed in the woods until dark… you had to be
careful as light got dim you could easily for into hollows like this
El Señorío de Bertiz also in Navarra (Spain) served
as additional location including the spooky shot at the end wearing a
mask I made out of a piece of bark I collected from the floor. It’s a
place we often visit and hike that I will cover in detail in one of my
“hiking adventures” posts. But here a clear still of that “eerie ominous
ending”. I decided to add a spooky reverse effect to finish. And well ,
I think I succeeded in my “spectral” makeover.
Additional scenes were added filmed on or hike to the mountaing Midi
dOssau (French Pyrenees), some general scenes of autumnal elements and
small waterfalls and conveniently filming scenes dressed in black like
casting spells in different spots on our ascent. Yes, I hiked with a
corset up to the Pyrenees and here is proof!
I even got into thef freezing mountain lake but I did not use that footage in the final edit of the video.
In conclusion
Little boys and girls don’t get lost in the woods after dark
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