Music Films
Free to seeShort films built from Patty Mooney’s own songs and video, made as complete works rather than promotional pieces.
Each film pairs an original song with visual storytelling to explore narrative, mood, memory and place. Music isn’t accompaniment here. It shapes the structure and the feeling of the film. Every title stands on its own, and together they form a growing body of work about atmosphere, rhythm and visual meaning.
- Titles
- 26
- To watch
- Free
- Songs by
- Patty Mooney, singer, songwriter and poet, in her own voice
- In the collection
- 4 featured music films, 14 short films and 8 music videos on the trail
Approach
Sound as structure
These films are deliberately concise, pared down to what matters. Some tell a story, others are abstract or impressionistic. All of them share careful composition, restraint and clarity, and they play as films, alone or as part of a curated program.
- 01Original songs and instrumental compositions
- 02Poetic or narrative imagery
- 03Archival and documentary elements
- 04Stories rooted in a place
- 05Little or no dialogue, sometimes spoken word
Featured music films
Four of twenty-six
4 featured · 22 more below · all free
Also in the collection
Short films
Video poems, tributes, travel films and true stories, spanning decades of independent production. Like everything on this page, they’re free to watch.
On the trail
Eight mountain biking music videos set to Patty’s songs, from the Laguna Mountains to the Avocado Run. They also appear on the Mountain Biking & Cycling Films page.
The voice behind the films
Patty Mooney
Patty Mooney writes and sings the songs, then builds each film from her own music and her own video footage.
The songs come first, and the pictures follow them. Words lead, the arrangements stay warm and uncluttered, and each film moves with the song’s emotional arc. Some of her earlier albums were released under the name Candace Love. The new work is in Patty’s own voice.
Creative process
From poem to film
Patty’s films start with words.
She began writing poetry at 15 and spent decades studying with some of the finest poets of her time. Those early poems became the songs. The songs tell the stories of her life, and the films are made from the footage of that life.
- 01The poemMany of the songs began as poems Patty wrote in her early years, the start of a lifetime of writing.
- 02The songEvery song is a true story from her life: the adventures she’s had on her own, and those she’s shared with Mark Schulze for nearly five decades.
- 03The footageThe pictures come from that same life: footage from their mountain biking films, their travel films and decades of filming around the world.
- 04The whimsyIn the lighter films, Patty uses AI to alter family photos and pictures of herself and Mark, turning old memories into something playful.
- Carolyn ForchéPoet and human rights advocateMichigan State University
- Galway KinnellPulitzer Prize–winning poetBread Loaf Writers’ Conference
- Mona Van DuynU.S. Poet Laureate, Pulitzer Prize winnerNapa Valley Poetry Conference
- Robert PackPoet and Bread Loaf’s longtime directorBread Loaf Writers’ Conference
- Steve KowitSan Diego poet and teacherOcean Beach poetry class
- LoVerne BrownPoet and teacherOcean Beach Poetry Writers
- Robert HallPoet and teacherNapa Valley Poetry Conference
- Ryan GriffithWriter, poet, artist and playwrightGrossmont College
…and others, over decades of workshops and study.
A year with the Skeleton Lovers®
Love, down to the bone
The Skeleton Lovers® turn up like old friends on the holidays that mark the shared human calendar. Their songs are becoming an album in four languages, for listeners of every age.
- 01ChristmasWarmth and wonder: even in the coldest season, love glows.
- 02Valentine’s DayWit and romance, gentle fun at longing, devotion in all its forms.
- 03HalloweenDancing with mortality, playful rather than fearful.
- 04New Year’s EveHand in hand at the threshold of time, toasting hope and beginning again.
Context within the archive
Stories shaped by image, sound and lived experience.
Music Films sit beside the documentaries, educational programs and historic collections such as the Mountain Biking & Cycling Films in the New & Unique Videos® catalog.
They carry forward the same practice that has run through the archive since 1985: treating sound as part of the story, and mixing traditional cinematography with new creative tools when they serve the feeling of the work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Education, storytelling and visual communication
Watch it, screen it, license it
Music Films are free to watch online, and available for exhibition, screenings and licensing depending on title and format.