The Girl Who Faded Away, a music video with a heartfelt Tribute

The music video won Best Music Video, Best Original Score and Best VFX in our 2025 Winter Season.

We have the cast and crew of the music video, let's start with Brent Heise the director.

Tom Guernsey

Q: Brent, The Girl Who Faded Away is such a visually and emotionally rich piece. Can you tell us what inspired this story?

TGWFA is inspired by the song of the same name. It is the culmination of a promise made to a friend, and newfound collaboration with his former bandmate. Tom Guernsey, with whom I worked until his untimely passing in 2012, was a highly talented songwriter and guitarist. Back in 1965, his band’s single titled “What a Girl Can’t Do,” topped the radio charts in the Washington D.C. market. The lesser known but highly enigmatic B-side, “The Girl Who Faded Away” inspired me to fulfill my commitment to honor his legacy. That is when Executive Producer George Daly stepped in to help. Knowing the hardships that Tom’s widow Adrienne faces and being an ally of Tom’s family, George co-wrote the story and worked alongside me to make a film worthy of its musical counterpart.

Brent Heise

Q: Brent, what was the most challenging scene to direct, and why? How did you overcome those challenges?

The scene involving Theresa and Eric narrowly missing each other in a failed embrace on the staircase proved challenging. And we all had a learning experience. The actors appeared

together at first, with Theresa seductively descending and Eric waiting for her at the base of the stairs. Both of them then performed the full scenario by themselves. In order to compress the timing, several takes are blended in a series of dissolves and camera angles to heighten his anticipation and disappointment in losing her. I believe that we made a scene that resonates as their near miss happens during the song’s lyric “I dreamt that I was holding you tight.”

Q: The visual transformation of the owl into the Girl is quite striking. What was the significance behind this change? And what was the approach with special effects?

I wanted to give the “Girl” Apparition a parallel incarnation in the woods. The owl reflects her captivity in the “birdcage” of the Man’s imagination. Even as she cautions him not to go “back” to her, he travels to a space where he can interact with her. At first she follows him curiously in her mythological owl form. She then becomes The Girl, and subsequently vanishes. As the owl’s caterwauls transition to a human voice, we understand that she is a flight of fancy in either incarnation. The special effects involve rotoscoping and a simulated rack focus. I masked out the owl, Theresa as the “Girl” and a blackberry branch. As one element segues to the next in quick light bursts, the camera defocuses on her smoky aftermath and focuses on the foreground branch. There is foreshadowing as the branch becomes the new focal point. The branch’s white petals against the green foliage backdrop correlate to her seated in an white gown in a green tiled powder room later on.

George Daly

Q: George Daly, as the Executive Producer, what drew you to this project?

This independent project was something that literally came from a part of my own

history, my long-ago past as a musician and the link I had to a songwriter who was a

bandmate and friend back then. It would have been remarkable for me if I had stepped aside when Brent was introduced to me by my bandmate Tom's widow. I could feel it immediately when meeting Brent; my arrival seemed to be the third leg of a stool,

necessary and equal to Brent's great skills and dear friend Adrienne's great past with Tom her lifelong husband and the songwriter of The Girl Who Faded Away.

Q: George, what challenges did you face during the production process, and how did you

overcome them?

I have directed, co-directed, written and produced films. Meeting Brent, my co-writer, I could see and feel his drive, a true director's drive, to put the song on the screen in both a mythical yet dramatically evocative way. This was a framing I completely agreed with.We were always able to find a path forward that we both could believe in. I worked with him on the story, and I worked with him particularly on the choice of the Girl. Several were looked at. He brought Theresa and I was wowed. He brought Eric and I had zero

resistance. Brent knew, and I knew he knew. Vetting elements of a project like this

turned into a friendship; one with friendly exchanges that always ended up making art

for the better. So, challenges? More like inspirations. But, as any true producer knows,

it's beyond the story and ensemble acting where producers work on uncharted territory.

In this case, I felt strongly that we would have months of historical research and

paperwork maneuvering to get Tom's widow back in control of the title song. And, many

months and two consultants later, she had the tune. A great victory for Adrienne, and

what made the film possible. Pure producer's back-office work overcame what might

have killed this production.

Q: As the Executive Producer, how did you collaborate with the director and the creative team to bring this vision to life?

Continual discussion and fine tuning are the thrust, the meaning of the story. As an

example without going into details, I felt strongly that at the end of the show, the movie,

the Girl needed to become, if only for a moment, no longer just an apparition, but a flesh

and blood woman who was actually suffering from the finality of her behavior with Eric,

the Man. Sure he was being rebuffed by her, but, I felt in doing so, she had changed

herself, and, how to show that? After long discussions, Brent and I resolved it with

Brent's masterful cinematographic story-telling skills. So our collaboration ranged from

the highest level of "The Story" to the lowest level of pixels on a screen. And, once we

were happy we shared the same belief, he did all the work. Literally. He was wonderful to

work with, having that openness to inquiry and advice along with a massive creative

drive. And all this with a deep skill set to implement, which he always did, beautifully.

Q: Theresa, playing the Apparition must have been a unique experience. How did you approach this ethereal, otherworldly character?

I have had many dance roles in my career that have required much of the same qualities, so I relied pretty heavily on my dance experience. I especially like to really detail my hands as much as possible to create a sort of graceful floating effect. For this story in particular I think I really tried to understand what we were trying to achieve with each shot and understand the effect the director wanted to create and use that to inform my character choices and movements.

Q: Eric, your character, the Man, goes on quite a journey both physically and emotionally. What was it like to bring this role to life?

Well, although I have a tiny bit of acting experience, I wouldn’t call myself an actor by any means. So I felt really honored that Brent brought me onto the project. He had a really clear vision of what he wanted so my challenge was actually to try not to “act” so much as just to try to embody that vision by being myself and making my own personal connections to the emotional arc of the story. I’m a musician so it felt natural to tell this story through music and images alone. We didn’t have to speak. Everything had to be conveyed through gesture and expression. It was like being a silent film actor—or, if I had any grace, a dancer. This two-character romance really plays like a dance throughout the whole space of the mansion even before we get to the ballroom. Luckily Theresa’s natural grace and deep dance background

was more than enough to carry that whole element of the project. The song itself sets such a strong mood too. I really like it. Purely coincidentally, the band was

from Rockville, MD which is very near where I grew up. I actually worked at a record store in Rockville as a teenager. My parents grew up there too so I’m sure they heard the Hangmen on the radio when they were teens. That added a level of connection for me too. Brent did such a good job of bringing all the right elements in to set the mood of the piece. It really made my job easy. Spending a long day in the eerie environment of that old abandoned mansion listening to this haunting song and interacting with Theresa’s genuinely spectral presence, it was easy to get into a sort of dream-like state. So it was less like acting and more like reacting to all these elements.

Q: Bill, as the Director of Photography, what challenges did you face in bringing this mystical, ethereal story to the screen?

There were a couple of major challenges. We had to create an unworldly, “now she's there, now she isn't” look across many different locations and set ups. However, the historic mansion location was being renovated, which meant there were all sorts of bogeys lurking in the background like scaffolding and tools and boxes. Even worse, on the main grand staircase the wooden railing was completely covered in bright blue protective padding!

I decided to go with a lot of “plates” where we took long lock off shots of an empty section, then let the actress move in and out of the space where she could be translucently blended into the plated image. This worked really well in the hallway peek-a-boo sequence, for instance. For the staircase, fairly similar: pick a variety of matching shots, lock them off, and then let Director Brent Heise work his movie magic as he effects edited the film in post. You'd never know how rough the staircase looked in the raw video. Pretty amazing skill! The gaffer and I tried hard to light the actress and her billowy white gown as softly as possible when she was in apparition mode, which made it easier to ghost her in and out of reality. Once she and the main character had their real time dance encounter, then it was a harder edged “spotlight” look to bring her more sharply to life and bump up the dramatic feel of attainment and then loss. One of my favorite shots was totally serendipitous. As we were under a porch overhang waiting out the afternoon rain to shoot the garden levitation sequence (hello...Oregon), a shaft of sunlight suddenly popped out and backlit the actress through the gently falling mist. I had her take two steps back into the light and gaze sorrowfully into the camera. The sunlight lasted less than 30seconds and then it was gone. That's the kind of unplanned lagniappe that keeps you energized on a long shoot day.

Q: The music in The Girl Who Faded Away is incredibly integral to the story. How did the song come to be a part of the project?

The song’s lyrics and classy, British invasion aesthetics inspired the visuals and storyline. The Man is smartly dressed in his imagination, and pursues a femme fatale of his own making in several extravagant settings. Similarly, songwriters Tom Guernsey and Joe Triplett were inspired by The Zombies, donning fake British accents over the phone in trial runs for Joe’s vocals. Tom’s widow Adrienne along with Tom’s former bandmate George Daly both encouraged and supported the effort to bring the song to the widest audience possible.

Q: Brent, what do you hope audiences take away from The Girl Who Faded Away?

It’s a romance with a sense of chivalry and a twist at the end. Broadly speaking, one of the most compelling conflicts to unpack is a person grappling with their past, a character who falls prey to their weaknesses despite the cautionary signs. Beneath the beautiful surfaces of the film, I would like audiences to know of the song’s captivating power to wrench the heart and to stir the soul. The ending suddenly shifts from the male to the female perspective, and this flourish is courtesy of co-writer George Daly.

Q: Brent, what are you most proud of in bringing The Girl Who Faded Away to life?

I kept the vow that I made to Tom. I told him that I would continue to share his music and hisstory. He gave me a thumbs up as he was close to passing on from this life. There is a sense of fulfillment in giving Tom more of something that he wanted but could not fully accomplish in his lifetime.

Q: The film leaves us with a bittersweet feeling. Was there a message you were hoping to convey through that sense of longing and loss?

The film’s log line is a variation of a quote from a pastor friend. “The search for love happens in a place where angels fear to tread” connotes that even in our noblest effort to find a significant other, it is a perilous journey.

Q: What was the most rewarding part of directing The Girl Who Faded Away? What moment in the production are you most proud of?

I am most satisfied to know that I collaborated with great people on this project in particular. I took certain creative risks which paid off, but I had the good faith and support of my wife Elzbieta no matter the outcome. And George Daly, adding to his story career as a music industry icon, collaborated wholeheartedly. Just working with him alone was a big win. DOP Bill Ward is a steadfast friend who provided incredible shots, creating a majestic undergirding. The cast and the crew made this a project that has resulted in over 108 festival awards so far.

Q: Final thoughts from each of you, what do you want audiences to remember most about The Girl Who Faded Away?

George Daly:

For myself, I know what I want the audience to remember, and it's the beauty of the story on-screen, and the even more wonderful back story behind it. The truth behind this film is as fascinating as the seamless short film itself. And, what an authentic back story. Tom and I were in a band, a band we put together when we were young, when we worked, played, got famous back East, many decades ago. Yet here's this song, his song, not being lost down the dark corridors of the long-ago past, but here, right now, being heard globally. And, why? After his surviving widow (who actually gave me the last physical copy of the song The Girl Who Faded Away only two years ago) asked me to meet Brent.

After all, of my own life's successes in my years in music, where, in general it's only the hits that matter, this film delivered more of a joyful outcome to me than any I could have imagined.. I want the audience to learn and remember that things only Fade Away if you let them. Friendship, music, youth, remembrance of it all, it's precious stuff and it's the stuff this film is made of. And I think that's a miracle the world recognizes and will continue to recognize. So, my answer is, I want the audience to know the true story of The Girl Who Faded Away. And, that is nothing really fades away if it's made out of joy and love, as this short film certainly was and is. And, yes, there's more to the story. As a producer, I see a feature length. Only time will reveal to us the best way to share this tale further with the world in the same living and authentic way The Girl Who Faded Away shares it: as a beautiful next step towards never fading away.

Theresa Hanson:

I would like audiences to come away feeling rather than thinking - I hope they remember a deep sense of wistfulness and yearning with a touch of magic and beauty.

Bill Ward:

I'll let Brent do the heavy lifting here. My main takeaway is that guys who wander the

woods with vintage turntables are probably prone to hallucinate a fair bit...and that's perfectly OK.

Eric Schopmeyer: The music. Hopefully the film fulfills its intention and makes more people

connect with this relatively unknown song and fosters some renewed interest in the Hangmen as a band.

Brent Heise:

Thank you for giving our team a platform to celebrate and to continue to make this dreamy inspiration into a reality.

Q: What's your take on AI, especially involved in the industry?

It is simultaneously a wonder and a threat to the livelihoods of traditional artists. I believe in bringing others along for the ride when the times change, and I appreciate others who would do likewise.

We want to thank you for your submission this year as you helped with the recovery from the Californian fires.

Brent Heise: Morgana Film Festival has shown incredible generosity in donating to the cause of restoring California’s wildfire damaged areas and, from all of us on The Girl Who Faded Away Production, thank you!

Your help is important for this cause that is very close to our heart.

Watch the trailer here:

Follow Brent o INSTAGRAM

THE GIRL WHO FADED AWAY INSTAGRAM

The team behind The Girl Who Faded Away crafted exceptional graphics to announce their well-deserved victories on social media. With these graphics, it's clear that their award for Best VFX was earned. The creativity and precision behind their visuals are evident, especially with the inclusion of our Morgana Film Festival logo. This recognition truly reflects the artistry and dedication that went into creating such stunning effects. Congratulations to the entire team on earning this well-deserved award!

The work done by the VFX team not only enhances the storytelling but also elevates the overall visual experience of the film. It's a perfect example of how cutting-edge technology and artistic vision can come together to create something truly impactful. The success of The Girl Who Faded Away serves as an inspiration to all filmmakers, showing the importance of pushing boundaries and delivering excellence in every aspect of production.