I met vISION and Vyle, the founding members of Tragic black, through their drummer at the time, James Perry.  James and I had worked together on a handful of projects, and when he mentioned the band was planning to make a music video, I pitched the basic idea to them.  They liked it, and we fine-tuned it as the shoot went on over the following days.  

Apparently most filmmakers consider that the sole purpose of a green screen is to remove backgrounds and create an artificial environment.  I think it’s more interesting to use them to change the properties of an object in a natural setting.  So the concept was to use an old picture frame that held a photo of the romantic couple, and replace it with the green fabric, filling it with footage of a bonfire.  

That became the psychological lens that vISION used to burn down his world.  I’m sure the two of us looked quite bizarre wandering around town at all hours, holding up this odd prop.   

The band line-up and musical styles of Tragic Black have evolved and changed since the release of their first EP, Vatican Demonica, in 2002.  This music video, for the track ‘What In The World’ can be found on the 2013 album ‘The Eternal Now’.  It has since become one of my most watched uploads.  

I asked vISION if he wanted to contribute anything to this write-up and he sent me this:

“I had a great time filming the ‘What In The World’ video with you, Logan. Tragic Black was at a really unique point when we made this song. Our sound had gone heavier, and we had some members who were in the band for this point in time. We had explored into new terrains, bringing in more metal influences from former members Johno, Kyle and James. James Perry is one bad ass, he recently mixed/mastered our new album (Unsightly Visitations) even though he is no longer in the band. We (TB) are back to what I feel we are meant to be doing with Stich, Vyle and I being the members of TB. This song is about circumstances where you say to yourself “what in the world”. When things have gone crazy, when shit has hit the fan and all that. Back to das video! It was a good time wandering around SLC with Logan, in and out of stores, the Trax train, and all over. He mixed those interesting shots with a pretty awesome performance of us playing at the Dark Arts Festival at Area 51. I look back at all of this very fondly and really appreciate working with you Logan! Cheers to you from me and Tragic Black!!”