NORTH PORTAL — North Portal artist Lindsay Arnold was provincially recognized for a stop-motion music video she created for Alexis Normand, a Saskatoon Fransaskoise singer-songwriter.
Arnold won Music Video of the Year at the Saskatchewan Independent Film Awards for her creation of the video for Tous les Matins by Normand, and shortly after that she also claimed Music Video of the Year at the SaskMusic Awards. The awards were announced in late November and early December.
"Alexis approached me to create a music video for her album project, and it was so much fun. Stop motion takes a lot of time, but I get a kick out of it," Arnold shared.
"Alexis Normand emailed me and just said, 'Hey, I saw your work,' because I've made some other stop-motion videos as an artist, and she said, 'Would you be interested in creating a video for me?' So, we had a discussion, and she sent me an early demo of her song. So, I worked from that," Arnold said, recalling the start of her award-winning project.
"She had a beautiful story related to the song, which is about spending time at the family cabin with your large extended family and having lots of kids there. And it's a bit chaotic because you're all squished into one small space. And so, we played around with some ideas and decided to build a storyline around inanimate objects. They're dancing, and they come to life.
"Throughout the song, she talks about things like her dad going to pick up cinnamon buns and of course, everybody's fighting over the butter; it was just really playful. And for me, it meant a lot because my parents also have a cabin that we spend time at every summer so I could really relate to the song."
Arnold worked on the project in the summer of 2022 and completed the final details in 2023. Not only was the work joyful, but it also brought some recognition for the artists.
"Much to my surprise, I won both. Unfortunately, I didn't attend either one of the award ceremonies, we were actually performing. For the Saskatchewan Independent Film Awards, we were performing at a fundraiser in North Portal as Last Birds. So, it was a surprise, when we got home that evening, and I got a message from Alexis saying that the video has won," Arnold shared.
Arnold is a part of the folk/Americana family duet Last Birds along with her husband Mike Davis. The North Sask Music Zine (NSMZ) magazine recently named the band as the 2023 Folk/Roots Artist of the Year.
"We appreciate the kind words about our album and our live shows. Thank you so much for supporting our work," the Last Birds wrote on their social media.
"That was a nice honour, and unexpected. It's one that they just choose. For a lot of awards, you have to send in a submission. With NSMZ, the writers just get together and decide who they felt was Artist of the Year for different categories. So that was quite an honour," Arnold added.
The band released their latest album, Endless Turn of Day into Night, in October, and it's been well received, Arnold said. Among other achievements, they were number two on October's Top Albums picked by the American Highways music blog.
Arnold is an all-round artist and she often has various art projects on the go.
"I always got my hand in different things. Sometimes your focus is, of course, a little bit more on certain parts. We just wrapped up our recording project with Last Birds, we released the album, and I do feel I would be ready to do another large project. I love making stop-motion videos, so if the opportunity came along, I would definitely entertain it," Arnold said.
"I would like to work on some projects that are art-focused but also have to do with Last Birds. One thing I'd like to do is get a t-shirt designed for Last Birds. Maybe work on some imagery and another video for Last Birds, but none of that is written in stone yet. So, I feel like I'm at the beginning of the next phase of my creative projects, whatever that may be," she added.
