The Big Interview

Jarbas Agnelli’s Birds on the Wires video

When most people look at a photo of birds on powerlines, they see birds on powerlines. But Jarbas Agnelli sees music, and his creative impulse to make the birds’ song a reality swept around the internet.

Tell us about the inspiration for the Birds on the Wires video. How did it come about?

I was eating breakfast and reading a newspaper when I saw this picture of birds sitting on electric wires that resembled a music score. I had an impulse to try that melody. I cut out the photo and went to my piano. I realised that it was a sweet, simple melody and I decided to make a classical arrangement to that. I sent the song to the photographer (Paulo Pinto), who I Googled. He was so amazed, he sent it to his editor, who told a reporter, and two days later I was on the pages of this very same newspaper – the biggest of Sao Paulo. It was that fast.

I then did the video. It was an attempt to demonstrate my interpretation of the photo, and make it clear to everyone that the notes and chords of that song came from the exact positions of the birds. In other words, I was trying to prove that it was the birds’ creation, not mine.

The video turned (out) to be a huge web hit. Millions of views, all over the world. I’m fascinated with the enthusiastic comments. It somehow has a universal appeal. People relate to the “nature read as music” thing. It is amazing to receive all those emails, Facebook friends, tweeter followers, from countries as diverse as China, Nepal, US, Germany, France, Mexico, you name it.

Jarbas Agnelli: Making music composed by birds.

Why do you think the video captured such attention and created such a positive response from around the world?

I think people were fascinated by the possibility of birds being the real composers there. Many people posted commentaries saying that it was impossible, that I had “Photoshopped” the image, changing the position of the birds. To those I replied with a link to the newspaper site, with the original photo. Those inquisitive comments made me even happier, because I realised how special the piece is being perceived as by the viewers. Many people still think it’s a trick. But in general, the response is great. I gave interviews to the US National Public Radio, a radio from Germany, a site from Norway, a TV channel from Brazil. The video will be featured in TEDx Phoenix, (and) a speech in a big music school in the UK. The feedback is incredible.

What instruments and software tools did you use to create the music? How long did it take?

For this, Apple Logic Pro on a Mac Pro. I used a mix of Garritan Personal Orchestra and IK Philharmonik samples. It took me about 10 hours, from start to finish.

How did you create the accompanying video for the music? Specifically what tools and software did you use?

I made the video using Adobe After Effects. It’s a simple motion design with photos and the score of the song.

Where have you learned your skills in making music and video creation?

I’m addicted to After Effects, for as long as I remember. And Logic, originally named Notator, on the extinct Atari computer. I use them both all the time in my profession, advertising film director. I guess I learned everything I know by trying, by reading all the books and magazines I find, and by having an open mind to experimentation.

Once you started working on the music, were you surprised by what a tuneful melody the birds created? Would you have proceeded if it was something of a cacophony?

The birds’ bodies were mostly above the wires. So I took them as notes filling the spaces between the lines. Those notes are F, A, C, E and G. If you make a melody or play chords with those 5 notes, there is no way to go wrong. Of course, as I said, I had to decide about some things and make some interpretations. No accidents. 4 by 4 tempo. And the duration of the notes. But I tried to keep it as pure as possible, on the matters of note pitch, note sequence and chords.

From the middle of the song on, I embellished the arrangement, playing variations of the theme, on various orchestral instruments, like the oboe, the bassoon and the clarinet. I think the success of the piece comes from all those elements. The idea of birds composing a song. The music itself. The illustrative video.

I had an invitation from a publisher to do a big photo book, with a music CD enclosed. The book will have several different photos of birds on wires, and I will compose a song for each photo. I definitely wanna do it.

That sounds like an exciting project. Are you surprised that a small moment of inspiration could cascade into something like that?

Yes. I definitely am. I never expected any of this in my wildest dreams (and I dream a lot, says my wife). If you look at my Vimeo page, you will find several other short videos. A funny series with my newborn daughter. A crazy time-lapse about big cities. Motion designs. Animations. I love to experiment, with no defined purpose. No client attached. It’s my way to exercise my creativity and keep my mind full of fresh ideas. It’s funny to see one of these ideas going so far.

Is it liberating to create in that environment, where you don’t have to worry about a client, and you can simply publish the end result yourself?

For me, it’s essential. And I recommend it in all my speeches to students and creative professionals. The more you train your brain to think in all directions, and to overcome limitations, the more prepared you are for your work, be it advertising, film production, music, writing, design, or whatever field that uses creativity as its motor horse. And beside being a training, doing such free exercises is so much fun. It’s probably my hobby. My wife thinks I work too much. I try to tell her I’m not working. I’m playing.

Even Jarbas’ baby videos have a narrative.

How does the creative process differ for your paid work and the works you share online for free?

Hopefully, it doesn’t. When you work in something you like, a challenge that both makes you grow and enjoy, it doesn’t matter if there’s money involved or not. The problem is that advertising today (has) lost much of its glamour, its freedom of thinking, its boldness. The clients are afraid and the agencies are passive. So (these) little free thinking exercises take us back to the nineties, or even the eighties, when everything was possible, or at least considered. That is valid to the film industry too. Internet is here to save us all from mediocrity.

Have you learned anything from making Birds on the Wires and from the response to it that you’ll take back to your advertising work?

I think all the success of simple pieces like this, that only exist because of the internet and the social networks, are signs not to be ignored by advertising people. Youtube and Vimeo show us every day short masterpieces made at home with no money at all, that have more impact on public that multi million dollar campaigns. Videos from BLU or PES have hordes of fans, commentators and followers. Advertising needs to reinvent itself. It’s old. It’s out of sync with the public. I have two teenage sons at home. Everything that impresses them comes through the internet, never the TV set. And usually, doesn’t come with a logo attached.

Music seems to be a theme running through a lot of your film work, both your personal projects and your client work. Is that something you’re conscious of?

Yes. It’s absolutely conscious. When I opened my production house, I created a format where we could produce the images together with the music. When I say together, I mean exactly that. At the same time, in the same physical space. I think AD Studio is the only Brazilian production house that works that way. And there are probably very few in the world, if any. We have designers, architects, animators, side by side with musicians. Everything is happening together. And the result is amazing. When you look at our spots made under that format, you can’t tell what came first, the music or the video. That’s the idea. That’s how we won our Gold Lions and Clios. With films like The Week, and the fnac campaign.

How do you go about matching pictures to music? How do you find the right song? For instance, even clips such as your family’s Super 8 footage from 1974 and the “adventures” of your baby Nina seem to have the perfect soundtracks. How do you achieve that?

Well, these are two examples of films I’ve made using music not created by me. So my only guess is that, working so closely with music and video for all those years, I may have developed some kind of trained ear for film music. My other guess is simply that I love to mach sounds to images. I can spend hours trying to find a sound to a specific part or scene. It really gives me pleasure. But training and learning is really important. Right now, I’m starting my second course of Orchestration at Berklee music online. The beauty of online courses is that you can study at impossible times for regular schools, like 3 in the morning.

An award-winning series of advertisements Jarbas produced for fnac stores.

One of the most memorable clips from your ad portfolio is the award-winning series you directed for fnac stores in 2001. How did you come up with that idea? And how did you go about creating the right sounds?

That was one of my first jobs as a director. I had just quit my career as an art director. Luckily, the creatives still saw me as one of them, and I was invited to contribute to the script. The idea was to have music played by the objects sold in the store. I started sampling every possible noise made with CD cases, DVD cases and books. I then processed and spread them all over the keyboard, pitched to the scale. I recorded several musical ideas for each film, about 8 or 10, from which we chose 3. The strongest ones, like the Jaws theme, or the Star Wars theme, easily recognisable.

Filming was the greatest challenge. No hand actor could manage to accompany the recorded playback of the soundtrack, stopping at the right piece at the right time. We were burning film reel after film reel (no RED cameras in 2001). I ended up doing the hand part myself, maybe because I was so used to the score.

Sounds like a case of, if you want it done properly, do it yourself. Speaking of cameras, what tools do you use to film your side projects, things like your baby videos?

Most of my home made stuff is done with photos. I have a Canon 5D MKII. But it all could be done with pretty much any digital camera, to tell you the truth. There’s nothing that requires tons of mega pixels, or expensive lenses. It’s much more useful to have some knowledge in Photoshop and After Effects. Spend your money in books and tutorials instead of expensive machines.

Are you planning to extend the existing Birds on the Wires composition? How will you go about that?

There were so many people asking for more, a longer song, a continuation, an mp3 for (their) iPod, please! I never thought of this as a longer piece, but due to all the noise, I decided to try an extended version. I even wrote some lyrics that I will try in a more pop-oriented version of the song, with a wonderful Brazilian singer. I’ve also registered birdsonthewires.com. I intend to try a cooperative site, where people can send photos and videos of birds on wires, for other people (me included) to try to make songs with them. Let’s see where my little birds will take me. I’m enjoying the ride.

A number of commenters have pointed out that a concept similar to Birds on the Wires was the basis of an ad. Given your job in advertising, were you surprised to discover an idea like that had been used commercially?

Many people quoted to this old commercial, of PBS. I never saw that. I tried Youtube, but couldn’t find it. As I said before, seeing a score out of a bunch of birds sitting on wires is not the most original idea. I knew it was possible that other people may have generated something with this concept. There were other comments pointing to similar ideas, like a song from Villa Lobos, a Simpsons cartoon, a Tiga’s music video, a Donald Duck cartoon! I’ve never seen any of this, but even if (I had), I think I would do it anyway. I was driven by sheer curiosity.

What creative endeavours online have inspired you recently?

Social networks never interested me, but now I think they are learning and improving themselves. I still don’t get the point of tweeting every 10 minutes what you are watching on television (and worse, following someone doing that) but being able to communicate through art to millions of people all over the world, without spending a dime, is spectacular. Vimeo is my playground. I love to discover creative stuff, and there’s so many talents out there! One guy named Jake Lodwick is really doing a project out of the ordinary. You can’t tell if he’s a performer, a musician, a poet or a film maker. You can’t even categorise his works, weekly short videos where he talks/sings about life. He’s critical even with himself and his own media. It’s fresh and creative. I love the feeling of getting in touch with the new thing, the next thing, even when it’s just an illusion.

Another thing that really impresses me on the web today is online learning. There’s nothing you can’t learn. There’s no better reason to be connected. I study music at Berkleemusic.com, learn programs and tricks at tutsplus.com and lynda.com, check wikipedia.com all the time. Everything is there, most of it for free. We have no excuses anymore! That’s the best way to evolve, until the brain chip implant is here. I like to believe in Ray Kurzweil prophecies, but I better keep learning, just in case.