Where do I start with this one? When you watch the video you will be seeing the result of hundreds of hours of work over the last thirty years. I have collected footage from a lifetime of visits to the awe-inspiring Hermitage near Dunkeld in Scotland. My favourite place on planet Earth. A place of true stunning natural beauty.
This story begins in 1967 when my parents, following a local landlord’s recommendation, discovered the enchanting Hermitage. Little did they know that a photograph taken by my Mam during this visit would become the iconic cover of my album. However, as Mam only captured the upper part of Dad’s body, Dad certainly needed legs to be able to fit within the other footage that I captured for my video. Dad hardly drank in his lifetime so I could certainly not leave him legless. My Photoshop skills were taken to heightened levels of challenge.
I recorded my first version of a video around 20 years ago when I was at Teesside University. I had recorded a new version of the song for my degree and used Teesside Uni Greenscreen studio in the Aurora Building to put myself on the bridge using footage I had captured from the previous summer. Playing the violin in the waterfall and standing as a ghost on the bridge with my Dad standing behind me was the only way I could present this footage without physically going and shooting at The Hermitage. That video is still available somewhere on YouTube.
Fast forward to 2023. A powerful iPhone and imagination were all that I needed. Battling the inclement summer weather, I sought the perfect day to capture the essence of The Hermitage. On Tuesday 29th August, I saw that the weather in Dunkeld was good and I did just this. I set off at 5 am and drove from Middlesbrough to Dunkeld popping in for a cuppa with my lovely cousin Anne Marie and her husband Bill in Perth on the way.
The day unfolded as a perfect blend of nostalgia and creative exploration, as I walked the familiar paths, capturing footage from various angles and reconstructing scenes from years gone by. It was beautiful. I was living the dream. I remember all my visits to this place with family; many of whom are no longer with me. They were certainly with me this day. I envisaged how I could incorporate footage with other historical photos of my Dad with me on the river with my Uncle Dennis from 1976.
I had to pause my lip sinking when other families were walking around the place. They must have wondered what this nutcase was doing facing a camera and talking to himself. They were all lovely about it when I explained what I was doing.
I stopped off for lunch and drove into Dunkeld where I had a bite to eat in The Dunkeld Hotel. I walked down to the Tay River bank near the cathedral and grabbed some footage near the bridge to involve a photo of my boys when they were younger and one of me on the Dunkeld bridge with what is either my Dad or Uncle Dennis. The bridge in 1976 looks a lot different to how it looks now.
On the way out of the village, I spotted a new statue that was there to honour the wonderful fiddle player and songwriter Neil Gow. His cottage is at the bottom of the Butterstone Road and Dunkeld legend Dougie Maclean has done a lot to keep this man’s music alive. It was only fitting to shoot myself playing the guitar next to Mr Gow. It would have been lovely to have had him on the album.
I drove home around 7 pm after popping in and seeing the rest of my Cousins Christopher and Lizzie and their gorgeous children back at Anne Marie and Bill’s. It was a perfect day.
Post-production was the big job. Employing Final Cut Pro and Photoshop, I meticulously treated every element on the bridge, including a symbolic bottle of champagne for my wife Lisa but, as she doesn’t like champagne, I have added a little in-joke and briefly provided a bottle of WKD Irn Bru in one of the shots.
The arch of the bridge has been boarded up for several years due to a landslide on the path behind. When I was at the Hermitage in 2017 with my Uncle Patrick and Auntie Elaine I caught some lovely footage of my Uncle Pat and myself on the bridge. I had to painstakingly edit every frame of the video to add the restored arch with my Dad into that footage. I am very pleased with the result. The new Beatles video has similar techniques used to mix old and new footage.
I used a similar technique when I walked in front of Dad on the bridge. I filled out the panorama on some historical family photos to add to the widescreen movie using Photoshops AI auto-generate facility. This has become an invaluable tool in my visual creativity.
As I reflect on these creative ideas conceived three decades ago, I’m elated to see technology finally catching up with my vision. The journey continues, as I immerse myself in the joy of creating videos for my songs and live shows. I eagerly anticipate sharing these creations with all of you; a testament to the evolving symphony of art and technology.
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