Synopsis

Houses' "Reds" unfolds inside a miniature frozen city, where ice-built streets, buildings, and delicate architectural details glow against the darkness. Television screens and Christmas lights provide the main illumination, giving the landscape an eerie, dreamlike atmosphere. The camera moves through the fragile model world as the ice gradually melts, turning a simple handmade set into a constantly changing vision of isolation, beauty, and impermanence.

Factoids & Trivia

• The frozen city was made entirely by hand from ice, using handmade clay molds for the basic forms and soldering irons to add fine details.

• The production used no CGI. Every location, building, and miniature element was created practically and filmed in-camera.

• Almost all of the lighting came from television sets and Christmas lights, which produced the video's distinctive flickering glow.

• The video was made in a normal two-car garage for a little over $200.

• Because the ice had to remain intact for filming, the creators assembled each shot and rushed the pieces to a freezer immediately afterward.

• Some replacement ice sections took about eight hours to freeze when parts broke during handling.

• The project began during a school break, when the filmmakers were studying film and video production and wanted to make a music video together.

• The concept grew from an earlier idea for an ice city. Houses frontman Dexter Tortoriello approved the approach, allowing the duo to develop the miniature world around the song.

• "Reds" was selected as a finalist at the 2012 Los Angeles Music Video Festival and received an official selection at the 2012 deadCENTER Film Festival.