about

Pernille Rübner-Petersen has directed and produced a collection of music video portraits of all 11 songs from the album When I Was A Soldier.

The music videos are alternatives to the smoothly produced commercial music videos.

They are a response to mainstream music videos which tend to have a male gaze on the female singer – objectifying and idealizing her at the same time. The intention has been to stage the female performer on her own terms.

Economically they cost a fraction of a mainstream music video. Aesthetically they are inspired by paintings allowing the viewer to immerse herself in each frame. The storytelling works in the depth of the frame and not in the speed of a horizontal timeline. This is far cry from the hard cut and fast-moving editing techniques of traditional music videos.

Therefore, the music videos are called music video portraits.

The visual design explores the personal, direct and less cool staging of the songs of the performer. The staging uses traditional codes for feminity and changes them into a turbid, anti-feminine presentation with a touch of irony. In this way, the performer becomes a subject for her songs less than being objectified for the camera.