Kim Hye Jung (part I)
Director of ‘Butterfly’ music video from G-Dragon’s first full-length solo album
Producer of videos for ‘Gossip Man’ and ‘She’s Gone’ featured at G-Dragon’s Shine a Light concert
G-Dragon’s gallery planned an interview with director Kim Hye Jung for the publication of G-Book volume 2. Inverview questions were taken from gallery members for a period of about two weeks from April 20 to the beginning of May; after screening such interview topics in addition to survey questions regarding director Kim Hye Jung’s projects and videos, it has all been organized and produced into an interview book that was released on June 1, 2010. We thank director Kim Hye Jung, who not only graciously agreed to the interview, but also sent us honest and sincere responses to all of the questions.
1. How did you come to work with G-Dragon?
- What was your first impression when you were asked to work on the music video; what was it that most influenced your decision to work with G-Dragon?
When I first received the request and heard the music, I thought it was really surprising.
That fact that [‘Butterfly’] had a completely different feel from the intense title track was fresh to me, and first and foremost I liked the song a lot. I sketched a few scenes that came to mind while listening to the song, and it’s true that once I showed it to them, I worried that my ideas were too far from what was considered popular. But surprisingly, G-Dragon had requested something that would not entangle him within the idol frame but would rather allow for more freedom. I remember that after that first meeting was over and I turned to leave, President Yang [Hyun Suk] told me that “of all the songs on his album, this is the one that G-Dragon treasures the most.”
I had felt this way when I first received the song, but once again it came to me like a fresh shock and I felt really good. I started to give this artist called ‘G-Dragon’ a second thought and knew that it would be an awesome project.
What most influenced my decision to work with G-Dragon.. would probably be just because he is G-Dragon. ^^
2. How was working with G-Dragon?
G-Dragon’s music stirs up visual inspiration. I think he wanted to express his music visually in that way and give off an extremely fresh feel.
Even though he did not say much, G-Dragon fully understood story boards and concepts that were explained to him only once and followed through by preparing not only his wardrobe and hair accordingly, but also props and other items for the set.
I believe that he was extremely professional in his ability to put forth his best on set and yet respecting the line between his own role and the role of the director.
3. What is your impression of ‘Butterfly’?
- Was there any inspiration that immediately came to mind as you first listened to the song?
There was an image that was floating around in my head from the moment I first heard the song until the moment production for the music video was complete. It was the image of ‘the laugh of a boy in love.’
The feverish thrill that all people experience at least once. I thought of things like twinkling joy and memory. But because the pounding of the heart may be painful to the one who is experiencing this fever and the beauty of it all may only be recognized after the fact, at times this fleeting transcience came across to me as a distant sadness.
4. How did the form for the ‘Butterfly’ music video come about?
- Where did you get the idea for the music video’s concept?
- The union of real picture and animation: what led you to utilize such a technique?
When I first received the request, I heard that they wanted an animated music video. The concept came about after discussing the preliminary sketches I drew.
The music itself gave me very vivid visual inspriation, but it was G-Dragon’s blond transformation that helped me conjure up images of different fairy tale characters.
Also, G-Dragon himself as a person is inspiration who looks very strong but is actually quite sensitive and pure, and he has a complicated charm that simultaneously carries conflicting sides, just like how he is loved by many yet still somehow looks lonely, so I started from there and created a character accordingly.Truthfully speaking, the combination of real picture and animation is something I didn’t even expect. The real picture was taken for the purpose of the animation’s motion capture, but there were too many great takes to just throw away. Also, G-Dragon fit in seamlessly with the illustrated background. I showed a few scenes with G-Dragon cropped into the animation to G-Dragon himself and the rest of the YG staff, and in the end, we decided to change the direction of production accordingly.
5. I’m curious about the girl in the ‘Butterfly’ music video.
The girl is a universally relatable virtual character.
I wanted those who watch the music video to become one with the girl and see G-Dragon through her eyes. And so we purposely designed her looks, clothes, and style to be normal rather than flashy.The scenes in which the girl is blankly staring out the window or where the boy comes along and haphazardly grabs the girl’s wrist and carries her to a far away land resembles my childhood to a certain extent, when I would fantasize and dream about breaking free from reality.
6. About ‘Butterfly’ music video
The ‘Butterfly’ music video is a kind of fantasy. I believed that the fantastic and beautiful feel given off by the music and the fantasy world that G-Dragon guides you through were one and the same.
I gave a lot of thought to the background of the fantasy world, but I gave the most consideration to the character of mystical boy. I wanted to show a side that was different from the strong and unique image that we’ve seen [from G-Dragon]. Of all the music videos off of his first solo album, ‘Butterfly’ is the one in which he changes outfits the least. (^^)
But it’s true that it was extraordinary because of G-Dragon. This character who is not just a nice and handsome fairy tale prince, but has a somewhat dark side to him, and yet is able to disarm those around him with his bright and unconditional smile is a character that I believe only G-Dragon could have pulled off.
As long as the production time for this music video was, there are many symbolic elements hidden all over the music video. And I was really interested in all of the various interpretations by those who watched the music video once it was released. There were ideas that I had intended and even those I had overlooked. There are many questions in this interview asking about this, but I don’t think it’s my place to say one way or another. I believe that the meaning of the music video will be made complete once we put together all the different interpretations by those who watch it through their different view points.
7. How was working with G-Dragon on the ‘Butterfly’ music video?
While turning ‘Butterfly’ the song into the music video, the things that G-Dragon specifically required were not about simply trying new things. He did so in order to break free from the preconception of being an idol and show never-before-seen sides of himself.
As expected, he showcased a shocking transformation through a solo album into which he poured all of himself, but I believe that ‘Butterfly’ was another shock in and of itself.
…To be continued.
Source: seungri@tumblr
Shared by Trisya@BIGBANGWORLD
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