Surprisingly, the whole music video used all $150,000 budget that James allocated to Friedrich Wilhem Murnau. They were all for:
[Location Rentals (4 days)] [$12,000]
[16mm Film & Processing] [$18,000]
[Lighting & Grip Equipment] [$10,000]
[Set Construction & Props] [$15,000]
[Costumes, Makeup, Practical Effects] [$8,000]
[Talent & Choreographer] [$12,000]
[Camera Crew & Production Staff] [$25,000]
[Director + Cinematographer Fee] [$30,000]
[Post-Production + Betamax Transfer] [$10,000]
[Contingency] [$10,000]
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Chris Cornell was given another 3 days off after the filming of the music video for "Flower".
As for Friedrich Wilhem Murnau, he went into complete work mode to complete the post production and editing of the music video. And as a system personnel for James, he did not need to eat or drink at all so even the production staff were amazed that their weird director was always early to arrive and very late to leave.
The whole music video was finished at the end of the 3rd day.
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August 14, 1981.
The filming of the music video "All Your Lies" started early that day. It was all about the shooting of studio interiors, the interrogation room and thought Chamber. The next day, August 15, 1981, was for night shooting that was for the exterior night scenes. They were the alleyway escape and factory rooftop scenes.
The locations were in an abandoned warehouse complex in Tacoma, which was converted to sets, rooftop in Westport City with fog machines and rotating gobo lighting and soundstage for forced-perspective corridors and cells.
For cinematography, it was the same DP crew. As for lens equipment, it was the Cooke Kinetal 16mm primes. For lighting, it was made into shadow-heavy setups with Fresnels, gobos, and custom-built Venetian blind patterns. For effects, it was an in-camera distortion using prisms and bent mirrors. For the camera, they used an Arriflex 16SR.
As for the cast, it was as usual, Chris Cornell. He will play the dissenter, he would look like a shaven, gaunt person, wearing a torn uniform. His vocal performance was recorded live to give the scenes a more raw, visceral quality.
The supporting cast was a man named Gregory Sloan, a local actor, who will play as the warden and interrogator. Lastly, the two "Silent Enforcers", were portrayed by the hired masked dancers who were choreographed to move with robotic rhythm.
The next day, August 16, 1981, was for the post-production effects. For optical printing and title cards.
As for the concept that James and Friedrich Wilhem Murnau decided for "All Your Lies" was, they both decided the video story to become a thing like a paranoid descent into a dystopian world where truth was outlawed.
Friedrich Wilhem Murnau imagined a story in which Chris Cornell was a lone rebel escaping a society that punishes independent thought. Inspired by German silent films like The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and political thrillers of the 1970s, this video was heavily stylized, using warped angles, symbolic sets, and stuttering edits to evoke a sense of dread and urgency.
This was a visual protest art packaged for MTV, something dark, angular, and unforgettable.
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The intro scenes started with the grainy black-and-white newsreel footage that opened the video. Marching boots, flags with eyes on them. Loud static.
Smash cut to Chris Cornell being dragged through a corridor. His eyes darted toward the camera.
Then the first verse started. Chris Cornell sat in a shadowy interrogation room that has a blinding light from a swinging bulb.A guard slammed a dossier marked "TRUTH CRIME."
He then sang directly into the camera, sweat and defiance were written all over his face.
The chorus followed. The scene intercut to flashbacks of him walking in a crowd of masked civilians. People pointed and whispered. A huge poster with "ALL YOUR LIES ARE LAW" loomed in the background. Friedrich Wilhem Murnau used Dutch angles and sharp shadows. Set walls tilted slightly and disorienting the viewer.
After those scenes, the 2nd verse dropped. Chris Cornell escaped into a narrow alley. A flickering streetlight casted his elongated shadow behind him. Cutaways of signs that said "SILENCE IS TRUTH" and "IGNORANCE IS POWER."
He opened a hidden door into a small room with banned books and photographs of real human joy.
The bridge came in, then the guards discovered his hideout. Chase sequence ensued. Chris Cornell ran across a rooftop in silhouette. Wind blew the papers everywhere. One stuck to the lens with "TRUTH EXISTS" stamped in red.
A slow shot of him leaping from one building to the next, symbolizing the risk of free thought.
The final chorus followed immediately where scenes of Chris Cornell confronting the warden were shot. They exchanged no words, just looks.
Chris Cornell sang the last lines of the song while holding a lighter under a lie-filled government document. As the fire grew, the screen whites out.
The outro scene was cut to black. One final frame appeared. "TRUTH CANNOT DIE."
Music echoed with analog delay, and the film flickered as if disintegrating.
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About the budget, James allocated the same amount to Friedrich Wilhem Murnau and after the preparations and costs, the total amount used was $145,000. This was for the following expenses:
[Location Rental & Set Builds] [$18,000]
[16mm Film + Processing] [16,000]
[Lighting + Optical Effects Gear] [$12,000]
[Cast, Choreographer, Extras] [$10,000]
[Wardrobe + Props] [$9,000]
[Director, DP, Camera Crew] [$40,000]
[Post-Production (cutting, titles)] [$15,000]
[Betamax Mastering + QC] [$5,000]
[Contingency] [$10,000]