Synopsis

In a dreamlike forest, Isobel emerges as a wild, instinctive figure living outside modern society. She creates tiny moths from the earth, watches them transform into airplanes, and moves through a world where nature and technology collide. Intercut with these scenes, another version of Isobel sits at an organ-like instrument, apparently composing the world around her. The video presents her as both creator and creature, tracing her decision to leave civilization behind and return to a more elemental existence.

Factoids & Trivia

• "Isobel" is the middle chapter in a loose visual narrative that also includes "Human Behaviour" and "Bachelorette." The three videos follow the same mythic character as she moves between nature, civilization, and increasingly theatrical versions of reality.

• The visual concept grew from Bjork's story for the song, developed with the Icelandic writer Sjon. The video distinguishes between the Isobel who creates the world and the Isobel who inhabits it.

• The forest material was filmed in Wales over two days, while additional studio work took place at Black Island Studios in London on May 31, 1995.

• The production used a Mitchell S35 camera with varispeed. Rewinding the film allowed the crew to create superimpositions and masks, giving the moths, miniature figures, and other images an old-fashioned optical-effects quality inspired by Georges Melies.

• The completed film was projected for the crew in a London cinema, with a 35mm positive print made specifically for the screening - an unusual presentation for a music video at the time.

• Bjork reportedly disliked the outfit used during the first day of filming, which is why two different costumes appear in the finished video.

• The video helped convince its filmmaker that music videos could work as large-screen experimental films. A later screening of "Isobel" at London's Electric Cinema contributed to his decision to pursue feature filmmaking.