Reflecting the nautical theme of Modest Mouse’s new album, Motion Theory directors Mathew Cullen and Grady Hall set out to bring the ultimate fisherman’s tale to life, creating an innovative and colorful vision of the sea and its inhabitants. The video takes the viewer on a surreal journey deep into the heart of the sea and back again, to the point where the tale and the truth might all be one and the same.
The initial concept sprang from lead singer Isaac Brock’s desire to tell a story around a 1940s fishing boat. Cullen and Hall conceived the bigger-than-life fish story, which takes Isaac from obsession with a musical fish to seasick delusions to an exotic island overrun by music-worshipping natives. As Isaac recounts this yarn to his fellow salty old sailors in a seaside tavern, the story gets progressively more outlandish, matching the carnivalesque mood of the song.
The Motion Theory design and visual-effects teams, led by art director Guilherme Marcondes and visual-effects supervisor Nick Losq, helped to seamlessly bring together the live action, animation, illustration and visual effects into the kind of tale that becomes taller every time it is told. Artist David Ellis, a longtime collaborator, added extra inspiration with his vision of the “speakerfish” and the intersection of music and technology.