The Raven That Refused To Sing

The Raven That Refused To Sing

An Owl House Studios Production

Directed by Jess Cope & Simon Cartwright

Produced by John Cope & Tom Kaye

Animated by Jess Cope

Editing and special effects - Topher Holland

Additional animation - Simon Cartwright, William Powell

Storyboard - Simon Cartwright

Puppets & sets - Jess Cope

Additional artwork & puppets - Simon Cartwright, Beth Jupe, Paul Davies, Alison Cross, Louise Smurthwaite

Based on a story by Steven Wilson & Hajo Müller

Special thanks to - Mackinnon & Saunders, Steven Wilson, Hajo Müller

The video was made over a period of 4 months and was released ahead of the February launch of Steven Wilson's 2013 album 'The Raven that Refused to Sing (and other stories)'. The 6 tracks on the album are all based on stories of the supernatural, written by Steven Wilson and Hajo Müller. The video follows the story from the title track and the artwork for the video is based on Hajo Müller's illustrations, included in a book included with the album.

The story follows Eliah, who lives alone in his remote cabin in the woods. He is haunted by the memory of a tormented childhood and an abusive father. His only comfort as a child was his older sister, Lily, who would sing to him. She was taken from him at an early age and he has never been able to accept her death. As an old man, Eliah encounters a raven in the woods and is convinced it is connected to his sister's ghost. He becomes obsessed with the raven and believes that by getting it to sing his sister will return to him. As he is forced to confront his inner demons, he also has to face his own mortality.

The video was made using painted cut-out puppets, animated on a glass multi-plane. In the behind the scenes video, director Jess Cope answers questions about how the film was made.

See the video here: https://vimeo.com/80079269