It's Not Goodbye - December Fades Official Music Video

It’s Not Goodbye is the official music video from December Fades, the musical alias of filmmaker Kevin Rogers. As well as performing the track, Rogers also writes, directs, and edits the project, leading a micro-crew to shoot the whole thing guerrilla-style against the jaw-dropping backdrop of El Salvador.

Music videos are, of course, a unique medium within filmmaking; however, like any long or short-form film project, they still often work best when there is a clear connection between what we are seeing and what we are hearing.

Lyrically, It’s Not Goodbye seems to convey a regretful parting of ways between our protagonist and an unknown other, whereas the video itself portrays a lone Rogers traversing that aforementioned incredible landscape of El Salvador in search of some kind of divine creative inspiration. While at first glance this could be perceived as a thematic mismatch, looking deeper, one can interpret that, in fact, the “unknown other” Rogers odes to is inspiration itself, lamenting how the creative muse comes and goes so fleetingly, but also capturing that feeling where, once reconnected, such creatives do often feel that they can truly “touch the sky”.

Others might beg to differ; perhaps there is an undercurrent of another story here that is left untold. Even so, this capacity for open interpretation only highlights how many more levels are at play here than in your average music video. And while interpretation is of course always going to be subjective, the sense of feeling the film evokes is hard to argue. Visually and audibly, It’s Not Goodbye is able to intertwine tones of both melancholy and hope, working not against but with each other in what is ultimately one of the film’s greatest strengths.

The other lies in Rogers’ talent behind the camera. A number of the scenes are fairly low-key and uneventful, leaning occasionally towards the narrative, but more often than not simply showing Rogers walking through one beautiful vista to the next. But this minimalist approach again feels like it’s a clear choice to allow the music to be the star of the show, which was likely always Rogers’ ultimate goal here. And what’s more, it allows the viewer to really appreciate Rogers’ keen visual eye that makes full use of every single stunning backdrop without ever overcomplicating proceedings, not to mention creating a brilliant visual brochure for the El Salvador tourist board.

As well as now personally considering myself a new fan of December Fades musically, Rogers has also proven to be a more-than-adept visual storyteller and creative with many, many strings to their bow.