Good Mourning

"Good Mourning" is an animated music video that follows a man as he moves through the five stages of grief. The song "Good Mourning" is a string quartet that uses algorithmic music software to create melodies based off the shape of Ovarian Cancer DNA.

  • Carl Christensen
    Composer
  • Kira Westlund
    Director
  • Project Type:
    Animation, Music Video
  • Genres:
    classical music, animated video
  • Runtime:
    8 minutes 59 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    April 14, 2021
  • Production Budget:
    750 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    animated
  • Aspect Ratio:
    19:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director - Kira Westlund
Director Statement

When Carl asked me to direct and animate a music video for his piece Good Mourning, I was as excited as I was nervous. This film was a big challenge for me, as all I had previously animated was segments of my film GET SOME SLEEP, a documentary chosen for the Local Sightings Film Festival. As I worked to further understand frame by frame animation and create a character traversing through his cancer diagnosis, I found myself experiencing similar feelings of grief related to the loss of my grandfather. Although he passed when I was pretty young, I realized that understanding each stage of grief helped me work through these emotions that I never dealt with as a kid. This project was cathartic and a huge learning experience for me, and I'll forever be grateful to Carl for extending this opportunity and trusting my artistic ability even when I didn't trust it myself.