Q&A: Half Moon Bay’s “FOREST” Recontextualizes Love and Expression
☆ By Luis Blanco ☆
IN ITS TRUE NATURE — love saturates our surroundings in rosy, soft, glimmering colors that can easily deceive our eyes when dealing with sex and relationships. In depiction, us as human beings can’t help but pursue the irresistible, incandescent charm our loved ones bring to our lives. An exploit of ideas first introduced in his debut EP koi, Half Moon Bay — also known as Med — is a 21-year-old vocalist, producer, and engineer, collaborating with Jocelyn Woodsby creating a short film dedicated to his new EP release of FOREST. The film portrays a love exchanged by a couple who are almost seen as heavenly in a love game that never ends, but begins anew. Whether this is about betrayal or toxicity, the film illuminates the allegory that love conquers all in the best and worst of ways. It serves as an intimate moment in which the audience can relate when thinking of our experiences about how destructive love is, as well as the entrapment of our well-being when fighting to stay.
As Jocelyn says, “It’s an ode, an anime, the voice in your head that wonders if love can be forever.” It’s not only to visually represent one of many romantic entanglements in reality, but to convey a message in which love is the undying cause that continues to unravel our vulnerabilities. Our choices as humans can quickly define our character, creating a new pattern that leads along various paths. To ultimately overcome the power of love and trust despite the pain, a new chapter lies between the tip of our fingers when given an opportunity at the proper moment. Half Moon Bay — in attempts of making a music video — created a cinematic perspective that decompartmentalizes the struggles a person undergoes when confronting their heart’s desire.
The greenery, fight scene, and lovers lying by the lake in darkness under the everglades displays deep affection, suffering, and truth that ties the film’s purpose altogether. The trees whistle to one another to fall hopelessly — if not passionately — in love, and the film showcases the consequences that are attached to it. We see Half Moon Bay respawn back to life each and every time he is defeated, implementing the infidelity of love and how it can have an impact on us. As much as we can belong to a person, we try over and over to make things work. There is a period when we stop rolling the dice and start a new game, create a fresh start. The film ends with the two lovers huddling together in a lilac ambience that puts us in awe and reassuring there is hope.
Read below to learn more about the process of making the film, what Med is passionate about, and more.
LUNA: Congrats on the release of “FOREST” — it’s such a beautiful project and is really well done. Your visuals have always been important to you, but can you share what led you to create this short film rather than just a music video?
MED: For me, the process of translating the music to film was a lot less technical and more so just life experience finding its way out of me after I’d gone through extended arcs in my life story. I’d say the circle looks like outer-world-becomes-inner-world, [which] translates out again naturally … The film really came to my head one night and I saw it all. Immediately I started writing these visions out and I knew Joce would be the perfect vessel to bring it all to life — she’s so masterful. We talked for hours at her crib just flying through ideas that eventually ended up outlining the world we’ve created with “FOREST.” I guess the traditional narrative style of a music video couldn’t contain what “FOREST” wanted to be, so short film was just an appropriate medium.
LUNA: Can you share a favorite moment/memory from filming?
MED: We actually choreographed the fight scene ourselves — no real experience or anything. During rehearsal I punched Cole (Ghettoblasterman) in the face and his nose started bleeding! (laughs) Homie really took one for the team. I’m laughing that we got it on camera though! We iced it and then hopped back into rehearsal. Cole is forever the realest for that.
JOCELYN: When we wrapped shooting, it was really late at night on a rooftop in Inglewood and everyone was still vibing — skateboarding, dancing, laughing, running around, taking pics. We had a beautiful huddle before we left and I remember looking around and being so grateful for everyone that touched this project. It was really a dream. Thank you endlessly: Med, Schmenna, Jelal, Pastel, GBM, Peter, Alex, Will, Danny, Umi, Spencer, Ian, Fio, Sharon, Corey, Aaron, Joelle. I’m proud of what we’ve dreamt up together.
LUNA: Though it came out beautiful, I'm sure the project was not easy to create. What was the biggest challenge you all faced with the making of “FOREST”?
MED: The actual project itself was lowkey pretty easy! We really had an all-star cast and crew of people who know how to have fun but also focus in. [There were] good moods and amazing professionalism all around. The biggest challenge for me was facing homelessness during coronavirus times right before the release of the film — somehow staying focused on bringing the release to fruition while taking care of my life situations. [I’m] super proud and amazed at myself for making it through.
LUNA: What is your favorite scene from the film and why?
MED: Both of my favorite scenes are lake scenes. The first one is after Gene stabs Half Moon Bay: he’s lying there and she’s standing in disarray while the natural world around them is so still. It feels like a gentle sway within a pretty intense moment. That contrast is hella satisfying for me. And then the final lake scene where Gene and Half Moon Bay have their final moments is so gorgeous! The colors and composition and even the way the camera focuses in — chef’s kiss. That visual moment really does capture the emotion and essence of the entire film so precisely. Everyone snapped.
JOCELYN: Ah, so hard to just pick one. But I’d have to say the final scene at the lake when Gene and Half Moon Bay meet again where it all started. The tone, color, and pacing is everything.
LUNA: How would you like to see your music grow this year?
MED: I would love to see my music embedded into and leading conversations on where we’re headed as a culture and generation. This is a very exciting time for us as a collective. Consciousness is shifting and our generation is at the helm of it all — we can really create the world we want to live in. The Luna Collective is also such a prime example of a new gen hub really stepping up and killing it! So proud to be leading this new era with others who share similar depth and intention.
LUNA: What are you most passionate about lately?
MED: I’ve been super passionate about design lately; learning how to utilize space, balance, focus, and information in a way that also yields aesthetic harmony has been next level gorgeous for me. Could be the Libra in me? Not fully sure, but yeah. It’s a nice lens to look at the world through. Everything is designed — quite literally everything.
JOCELYN: Being present with the current moment. I also have been reading: cookbooks, poetry, novels, scripts, comics, magazines, art books, or anything I can get my hands on.
LUNA: This release is a great way to kick off the new year. What intentions do you have for 2021?
MED: [In] 2021, I’m excited to release more music from this year; explore more sounds and evolutions. I see myself doing a lot of living and traveling to experience myself in a new context.
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