Thunder Bay-born filmmaker turns his attention to space for Artemis II music video
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NASA is preparing to send humans – including a Canadian – to the Moon for the first time in more than five decades, and the mission may have even given the Thunder Bay-born filmmaker his own “Kubrick moment.”
The Artemis II mission could launch as early as next week. It will send four astronauts, including Canada’s Jeremy Hanson, on a 10-day journey around the moon. Although the spacecraft will not touch down, it will conduct observations, tests and experiments in preparation for Artemis III, which will return humans to the lunar surface in the coming years.
The mission is being celebrated through a new song by Canadian singer-songwriter Emme Griner called Touch the Sky.
and filmmaker Laura-Lynn Petrick, who was born in Thunder Bay, Directed, shot and edited the music video.
Look Touch the Sky by Emma Griner:
“It’s really an honour,” Patrick told CBC News. “I’m obsessed with space and science fiction in general, so this feels like my Stanley Kubrick moment.”
“And it is also an integrated mission,” he said. “I think it really…shows what we can accomplish.”
The video was shot in autumn. Some were filmed at Belluz Farms, near Thunder Bay, with local actors. Leo James Durocher, who portrays the younger version of Hansen.
The remainder was filmed in Sarnia, featuring Griner performing on the piano.
Griner said of the song, “It really came about through friendship.” “I became friends with Jeremy’s wife Kathryn Hansen and we talked openly about a song for his upcoming moon mission.”
“When you talk about things like this, it seems like it’s still so far away,” he said. “I didn’t really know if I could bring it together, but I built a team of super talented people, some people I’d always wanted to work with.”
“I think it turned out really good.”
Superior Morning6:16Laura-Lynn Patrick: Artemis Song
The first human spaceflight to the Moon in decades could launch in just days and has a Thunder Bay connection. Laura-Lynn Patrick directed the music video for Emme Griner’s new song, Touch the Sky. It celebrates the mission and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen. Hear more from Laura-Lynn.
The project also gave Petrick and Griner the opportunity to work together, which they had been discussing for about a year.
Patrick said, “We were planning to work together on a music video and some visuals for her new music, and we were looking at different song options.” “Then finally in the fall, this song was written with some of his collaborators and we decided it was a perfect match for me because of the landscape and my connection to Canada.”
In addition to Durocher and Griner, the video also features footage captured during other NASA and Canadian Space Agency space missions and Hansen’s training.
“It took me about two or three weeks to get everything done,” Patrick said. “A lot of it is very scientific, the footage, and because I’m looking at it from a cinematic perspective, I’m looking for those little brief glimpses where I get that feeling, that very special feeling that you get when you’re watching a coming-of-age movie, or watching a movie about achieving your dreams.”
“I got it all and I’m so happy. And Jeremy is such an inspiration. So it’s really cool to be a part of it.”
Griner said she was “amazed” when she saw the final product.
“I’m very picky about how I look on camera,” she said. “But the cool thing about this video is that it’s not about me.”
He said, “It’s really cool to make a song that’s like a tribute to all the work Jeremy’s been doing.” “I am very pleased with it.”
Griner said all income from the song is going to Bluewater Health Foundation in Sarnia.
