Dead Of The Night

‘Dead Of The Night’ is a haunting electro-pop ode to creative night owls by Melbourne designer turned songwriter, Minhy. Written from her personal metaphor “My muse is a vampire”, the song and music video shines a spotlight on the creator's journey and the lengths they go to bring their ideas to life.

The animated music video was created in Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 5 using real-time rendering.

  • Minh Huynh
    Director
  • Rhys Kaunda-McKenzie
    VFX Specialist
  • Thuan Huynh
    Animator
  • Bryan Lee
    Concept Designer
  • Project Type:
    Animation, Music Video
  • Runtime:
    2 minutes 50 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    October 26, 2021
  • Production Budget:
    150 AUD
  • Country of Origin:
    Australia
  • Country of Filming:
    Australia
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Minh Huynh

Born and raised in Melbourne Australia, Minh is driven by her family’s refugee journey after the Vietnam War, inspiring her to make the most of the blessings she's been given.
From automotive design, graphic design to now songwriting, she builds worlds for her stories to breathe, through vivid visuals and reflective lyrics.

Her debut single and self-directed music video “Dead Of The Night”, released under her artist name, Minhy (pronounced mini), won Best Music Video at LA Film Awards, New York Film Award, Top Shorts and more.

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Director Statement

In creating the ‘Dead Of The Night’ song and music video, I wanted to provide a glimpse into what it feels like to be a creative night owl. During my uni days, I’d often stay up all night completing design assignments. I’d completely lose track of time, so when the birds started chirping at dawn that would be my cue to crawl into bed, feeling drained yet gratified. I realised that my muse is a vampire!

Although I wrote the song from the perspective of a vampire slave, the music video’s camera angles were from the perspective of the muse. We would have liked to get closer to the figures, however we were limited by the quality of the 3D assets. My aim was to create a feeling of solitude and anticipation, that slight fear of the blank page, building up until a moment of complete surrender, before the satisfying drop - when the muse strikes and sends you into a flow state.

The centerpiece of the music video is a zoetrope: A pre-film animation device that illustrates the illusion of motion. It features various creatives including music producer, singer, writer, digital artist, dancer, actor and painter.

The use of marble represents the creator’s journey, not only carving out their art, but their own path through life, as well as referencing The Muses’ Ancient Greek mythological origins. The zoetrope represents the evolution of art - from capturing the human form in statues to now bringing them to life through animation.

I hope you enjoy it!

For a short behind the scenes: https://www.instagram.com/tv/CWAfD7slvgz/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link