When Lovro Kruljac contacted me with an idea for a collaboration, I knew straight away this wouldn't be a standard music shoot. The Varaždin epic black metal band Häxänking came with a crystal-clear vision for their first single “Undivided”, from their upcoming second studio album “Troubadoom”. Their direction is dark, epic and deeply cinematic. So my job wasn't to invent an aesthetic, but to find it and bring it to the screen.

We shot the whole narrative music video in just one day at two key locations: Lovro Kruljac's private property and the untouched natural surroundings of the springs near Varaždinske Toplice. Water, massive rocks and dense forest created the perfect atmosphere. It's the kind of setting that, when framed properly, does half the work for you.

Preparation and directing on location

I arrived on set with a detailed shot list on my phone that I'd written out in Word beforehand. My philosophy is to come fully prepared and then adapt those planned shots flexibly to the location. I built the visual story by the book, but efficiently: a wide shot that establishes the space (the so-called establishing shot), mid shot that follows the narrative, a close-up that draws the viewer into the details and an ultra close-up that closes the sequence and adds the necessary artistic, dramatic effect.

The music itself, forged between January and April 2026 at the cult studios SlavSoundStudios and Saraswati under the production of Igor Josipović-Šmit (recording, mixing and mastering), needed equally powerful visual support. The band members, Heretik (vocals, lyrics, guitar), Mantrik (backing vocals, guitar), Desekrator (backing vocals, bass) and Armagedon (backing vocals, drums), are also the main protagonists of this dark story as the Warlock, the Hunter, the Peasant and the Rogue Crusader.

But the narrative part of the video wouldn't have worked without outside help. We owe a huge thank you to the fearless warriors of the living history association Red Čuvara Grada Zagreba (Order of the Guardians of the City of Zagreb). Daniel Jambrek, Leon Bošnjak, Ognjen Pranjić, Slaven Pranjić and Ozren Šenator played the crusaders perfectly and brought authentic historical weight to the set.

Technical challenges and the magic of colour correction

To stabilise the dynamic shots I used a DJI RS 3 gimbal, and the whole project was shot on two cameras, with my colleague Petar Krajačić Vilović behind the second one. Working with two different sensors is always a technical challenge in post-production, because it leaves you with two different visual profiles that have to merge into one coherent whole. That's exactly where my favourite part of the work comes in: colour grading.

I love the process where footage that looks like two completely different stories in its raw log form starts to breathe as one body with the right technical handling. For Häxänking the visual tone was defined from the very start: gritty, raw, dark and stylised. Getting darkness in a cinematic video doesn't mean simply lowering the exposure; that would be a cardinal sin that destroys detail in the shadows. Instead I graded the image by introducing specific bluish, cold tones, which gave us a stylised, mystical look that directly supports the occult, epic story of the video. The final seal on the whole aesthetic was the band's striking visual identity, their logo forged by Coffinslave.

Together we created an audiovisual cohesion that won't leave anyone indifferent. Because when a band's clear vision meets flawless execution behind the camera, the result is Undivided. If you need professional music video production, video work or stylised colour grading for your next project in Varaždin and the surrounding area, get in touch and let's take your story to a cinematic level together.