KPU instructor creates music video for Peter Gabriel’s latest song

Kwantlen Polytechnic University faculty member Lee Beavington has created a music video for singer-songwriter Peter Gabriel’s song “i/o.”

Earlier this year, Beavington, an interdisciplinary instructor and learning strategist at the university, made a submission to Gabriel’s 50:50 project, an initiative for visual creators and artists to submit their work and collaborate with Gabriel’s songs. Through the project, the chosen artist and Gabriel split the revenue made from the music video, aligning with the musician’s approach to creating opportunities for artistic creators. 

Beavington’s video “I Run Like Water” was made using his footage from the Pacific Northwest, Mayne Island, and the Amazon over the last decade of him working as an ecologist and nature photographer. He chose to use clips that matched the themes of the song, which include interconnectedness, ecological connection, and the wonders of the natural world. 

For Beavington, making the video was a careful and intentional process that took time to put together.

“I had a lot of fun, and it took a lot of time to try different things and use the things that really fit,” he says. “I let go of the stuff that didn’t quite work or didn’t pan out. So it was a long [process], but it was a labour of love.”

Beavington has been a fan of Gabriel’s music since childhood, he says, discovering it in 1987 while watching a music countdown show. He admires Gabriel’s diverse musical style, his connection to world music, and his commitment to being a human rights activist. 

“He’s just a good human being. [He] tries to use his voice to make change, to shine light on things that need to be shined, whether those are good things or terrible things that are going on that people need to know about,” he says.

A few months after submitting the video, Gabriel’s team reached out to Beavington to tell him his video had been chosen, which meant he would be collaborating with Gabriel. Beavington says he thought the email was a scam, only to soon realize it was real.

“It was a weird colliding of worlds because I’ve been such a fan for such a long time, and then to have an opportunity to collaborate with him, it’s one of those things you dream of,” he says.

Beavington says the project is not a contest but an opportunity to collaborate and expose others to Gabriel’s music. He adds that he has received a lot of positive feedback in the comments on the video.

“I’ve had a lot of comments from folks saying ‘Hey, [I] really like this song’ or ‘I should check out more of his work.’ So, [it’s] a win-win,” Beavington says. “Just for me, it’s really cool to say I made a music video with Peter Gabriel …. It’s a way to honour his work and then share it with others as well.”

With the success of the music video, Beavington plans on creating another video for the 50:50 project. The video will be for one of the songs on Gabriel’s Passion album — Beavington’s favourite. Beavington says he cannot pass up the opportunity to make another video for the project, as he loves the creative challenge.

“I’m excited about that challenge and to see what I can make for a song that doesn’t have lyrics.”